Little Miss Sunshine

At the restaurant, I sat across from him, fidgeting with my straw wrapper. What was I supposed to say to him? Up until five minutes before, I had never even seen him in person. He was just a name in my phone contacts, a person I'd texted a few times each day for a week or so. We sat there in awkward silence for what seemed like a long time. Then suddenly, he said to me, "So, your favorite movie is Little Miss Sunshine, right?"

Crap!

I was the worst date ever. I knew we had discussed our favorite movies via text just the other night, but I couldn't remember his favorite. Guilt washed over me like a flood.

"Yes," I replied.

"Why is that one your favorite?" he asked.

I thought for a moment before responding. "I guess it's because the family in it is so dysfunctional," I said. He looked confused. "In a way, watching their dysfunction makes me feel more normal," I explained, "because I feel like my childhood was far from normal." He nodded as if he understood, and then he smiled at me.