CHAPTER 105: HIKING WITH ANALISE (1)

It was five am Saturday morning, and the city was slowly waking up. Despite the early hour, Jack was excited and looking forward to hiking with Analise. He pulled into a guest parking spot of Crest View Apartments and grabbed his phone to send her a message to let her know he had arrived. Just as he was pressing send, someone knocked on his window. His head snapped up to see who it was and found Analise grinning, bouncing, and waving at him excitedly.

She was wearing a light jacket over a yellow sports top, with black spandex shorts, green knee-high socks, and hiking boots. She had a small backpack slung over one shoulder and was holding a wide-brimmed hat in one hand.

He had his pack and boots loaded in the back, so he got out to open the back gate for her. As soon as he was clear of the door, she grabbed him in a hug.

"Oh, Jack," she said, "I’m so excited! Thank you for inviting me to go hiking with you."

He returned her hug, enjoying the feel of her body against his. Then he took her backpack off her shoulder and said, "Here, let’s get this loaded so we can get on the road."

As she followed after him as he headed to the back of his Land cruiser, she kept one hand on his back. When he opened the back hatch and she saw that his hiking boots were sitting in a box next to his backpack, she looked down and noticed he was wearing sneakers.

"Oh, um, are you wearing sneakers so you don’t get dirt in you car?" she asked.

"That and I just don’t like how hard it is to feel the peddles when I’m wearing boots."

"Um, do you want me to get my sneakers? My boots are clean now, but they’ll be dirty by the time we get back from the hike."

"I have the hard rubber floor liners and they’re easy to clean, so it’s up to you. Whatever you’re more comfortable with."

"Okay, I’ll be right back."

Then she dashed off towards the entrance but skidded to a stop and dashed back.

"Ha, I put my keys in my pack."

She stuffed her hand in a side pocket of her pack, then dashed off, waving her keys over her head. A few minutes later, she came dashing back, wearing sandals and holding her hiking boots.

She put her boots next to his in the cardboard box and said, "There, all set."

He closed up the hatch and walked back to the driver’s side door. When he turned, he saw she was still standing by the back hatch.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Oh, um, yes, I’m fine," she said, sounding vaguely disappointed, then headed towards the passenger seat.

As he climbed into his seat, he realized she might have been expecting him to open her door for her. So after she was in and they were on their way, he asked, "Were you expecting me to open the door for you?"

"Um, kinda, yeah."

"When I was younger, I noticed that Jacob never opened a door for Fran, except if she had her hands full. Whoever got there first opened the door. When I asked him about it, he said that the whole opening a door for a lady thing was a holdover from the Victorian era and stank of sexism. He said that opening a door for a lady implied that she was too fragile or incompetent to do it herself."

"But isn’t it romantic for a guy to open the door for his date?"

"It’s associated with romance because it’s portrayed in romance novels and movies. But I still think it’s sexism. It seems contradictory that women want to be treated as equals, yet also expect preferential treatment. Open the door for her, give up your seat for her, pay for her meal. When do guys ever do that for each other?"

"But don’t guys sometimes pay for their friends?"

"Sure, but there’s usually an implicit understanding that they’ll return the favor at a later date."

"Oh. But I’ve seen men give up bus seats for men."

"Let me guess, in every case, the man receiving the seat was old, or disabled."

She thought for a moment, before saying, "Damn, you’re right."

"So think about it, if guys normally only give up their seat to a guy they think is weak or infirm, then what does it imply when a man gives up a seat for a healthy woman?"

"That she’s weak," she said, sounding annoyed. "Why have I never looked at it this way?"

"Probably because guys want into your pants and aren’t willing to rock the proverbial boat by failing to open a door for you."

"Hey! Does that mean you don’t-"

"No, I do. I just don’t see a need to sacrifice my ideals for it. Either you like me knowing exactly who I am, or we go our separate ways. The age old ’be yourself’ advice doesn’t mean ’do whatever you want’, it means don’t hide who you are."

"But isn’t that just an excuse to be rude? I’ve seen it a lot. Someone does or says something rude, and when they’re called on it, they give the excuse of, ’that’s just who I am’."

"I like to think of it like masks. There are two kinds of masks, the kind that hide, and the kind that deceive. A blank mask hides some or all of you true face. A monster mask presents a false face. If you keep some of your thoughts and opinions to yourself, that’s like wearing the blank mask. If you say you like Nickelback because your girl says she likes them even though you find their music boring and formulaic, that’s wearing a mask of deception. That’s not being yourself. Being yourself isn’t about giving yourself an excuse to shit on people, it’s about choosing not to deceive people about your likes, dislikes, beliefs, and opinions."

"Okay, I see where you’re coming from, but isn’t it necessary to tell little white lies every now and them to avoid hurting someone’s feelings?"