Destined to be Orr

Sunday, June 26th, 2011… I walked into Floods Bar and Grill around 6 p.m. It was early, and the place was pretty empty—just two young ladies sitting at the bar near the entrance. One of them, Nay, was wearing the cutest big floppy hat—so big it completely hid her face. She had on a sundress and some adorable little sandals. I walked past them to my favorite seat, sat down, and placed my usual order with the barmaid: catfish dinner and a Heineken. As I glanced down toward the other end of the bar, I noticed the two ladies’ drinks were almost empty. Just being a gentleman, I told the barmaid to send them another round—whatever they were drinking. We hadn’t made eye contact or anything; I wasn’t even really looking their way. About 10–15 minutes later, Nay came over to thank me for the drinks and introduced herself. It was the first time I saw her face up close—beautiful, sun-kissed chocolate skin and the brightest smile. But I couldn’t help but notice her sundress was cut low, showing a lot of cleavage. 😳 She was standing while I was sitting, so—BOOM—everything was right there. It caught me off guard. I literally leaned back a little to gather myself. “Hi,” she said. “I just wanted to say thank you for the drinks.” “Oh,” I said, a bit startled by how close she was—and those boobs right in my face. 😳 “Oh! Uh, hi… and no problem, young lady. I hope you two are enjoying yourselves.” I always use words like “young lady” or “queen” to make women feel respected and at ease. Being a gentleman has always been important to me. Right then, the waitress brought my food out. Nay smiled and said, “Well, I’ll let you eat. I just wanted to say thank you.” She was so pretty, and her skin had this radiant glow. I was honestly blown away. “No problem,” I said, watching her walk back to her seat. I ordered another beer and sent her and her friend another round, since their drinks were getting low again. Not long after that, Nay and her friend Kendra finished their drinks and were getting ready to leave. Nay walked back over to me and said, “Okaaaaaay, we’re leaving. Have a good day.” “Thank you,” I replied. “It’s a beautiful day today, so you ladies be safe and enjoy it.” Then she gave me a puzzled look and said, “Soooooo… you’re not gonna ask for my number?” 🤔 I was caught off guard. “Honestly,” I said, “I don’t usually do that. But I’ll tell you what—take my number and hit me up if you want to.” I wasn’t expecting her to call or text. I figured she was just being polite. But she texted shortly after leaving, and it felt like she wanted to make sure I had her number. 😎 I wanted her to feel free to decide whether we’d stay in touch—no pressure from me. Truthfully, she was young, beautiful, and I wasn’t even thinking about dating at that point. 🤷🏾‍♂️ I was just being a gentleman—the way my daddy taught me. 😎 The next day, I started a new job. I got in at 3 a.m., and while cleaning my new office, I found a DVD labeled The Secret. I watched it (texted Nay), and honestly… life hasn’t been the same since. 😎

I remember getting dressed in my apartment in Ypsilanti that day. I glanced at this big, floppy brown sun hat in my closet and thought, I’m wearing you today. I had been so pressed to buy that hat years ago, and it had just sat there, unworn. But it matched my brown sundress perfectly, and since I was headed to the Detroit River Days festival on the Riverwalk, it felt like the perfect occasion to finally put it on. Little did I know, I was about to meet my husband that very day. After spending time at River Days, my homegirl and I decided to grab a quick drink before heading home. We drove around downtown for a bit, eventually parking in the Greektown structure. As we began the long walk toward Flood’s, we joked about turning around because it felt like a trek—but we pushed through and made our way there anyway. When we walked in, the place was nearly empty—just the staff and us. HA! Looked like it was going to be a quick drink after all. We took two seats at the bar near the DJ booth and ordered apple martinis made with Grey Goose. While we were sipping, I noticed this brown-skinned guy walk in and take a seat a few stools down from us. He was alone, just chilling. Our drinks were nearly gone, but we decided to linger a little while longer. A moment later, the bartender came over shaking the cocktail shaker and told us the guy had sent another round our way. I looked over in his direction, trying to catch his eye to say thank you—but our eyes never met. After a few minutes, I decided to walk down and thank him in person. Honestly, I don’t know why I did that—it was so out of character for me. I slid into the barstool next to him, turned so he could only see my shoulders and back at first. We chatted briefly, and when I finally turned toward him, I think I kind of caught him off guard—my dress had a low cut, and his reaction said it all. 😂 While we were talking, his food came out. Not wanting to sit there watching him eat, I smiled and said, “Well, I’m going to let you eat. Thanks again,” and went back to my seat. As my friend and I finished our drinks, the bartender brought yet another round—he had sent more our way. I was genuinely surprised and thought it was such a sweet gesture. Eventually, it was time to go. Before leaving, I walked back down to chat with him one more time. As the conversation was wrapping up, he simply said, “Goodnight.” That threw me off. He hadn’t asked for my number—and that felt strange. So I said, “Wait… you’re not going to keep in touch?” He replied, “Take my number.” I saved it and texted him my name, like I normally do. He had mentioned he was starting a new job the next morning. When I woke up for work the next day, I checked my phone—and he had already texted me. Paragraphs. 😂 He was on my line early, and honestly? He’s been blowing up my phone ever since. I’ll always be grateful that we didn’t just go home that day—because that very day, I met my husband… my best friend, my sweetheart, my forever Valentine, and my rock.