Mindy sent me a message on Monday night that read: “My dad has two extra tickets to a concert at the Jaeb Theatre and he wants us to go with him.” I said yes immediately even though I didn’t know who was playing, because Mindy and her dad, Jim, have excellent taste in music (in my opinion. I remember a girl saying once, “He has the best taste in music than anyone I’ve ever met.” That just means it was exactly like her’s.)
The tickets said we were there to hear Rose Cousins. I imagined the Rose Cousins could be two girls who were cousins that bonded over their love for roses. I’m kind of kidding. But I really didn’t know what to expect. And Rose Cousins, one lovely gal from Canada, blew us away. After she introduced herself and then sang three words, I looked at Mindy and my eyes said, “Whoa.”
Rose has a dry wit and a soulful voice and plays the guitar and piano likes it’s as easy as…brushing your own hair or swaying from side to side. She strings poetic lines together that seem to explain what I have been thinking and feeling lately. It was unreal and beautiful and I found myself holding my breath at the end of each song. They all ended too soon.
The concert venue was small enough for the audience to answer Rose’s questions. Like, “Where do you get your potatoes?” and “What should I make sure I do while I’m in Tampa?”
Someone yelled, “Frenchy’s!” A popular place to see the sunset and enjoy she crab soup on Clearwater Beach.
At intermission, Mindy and I discussed how we should be friends with her and how we could make it happen. We decided that we should offer to take her to Frenchy’s. By the end of the show, I was star struck with Rose and it was too big of a risk to let me talk.
Jim, Mindy’s dad, decided to speak first. He said something like, “These girls have fallen in love with you.” And I thought, and you were worried about ME talking! We offered to take her out the next day. She got our contact information and I was fairly certain we’d never hear from her because of our strong first impression.
But the next day, we got an email with the subject “French Dining” around lunchtime. I was shocked. She said, “Let’s meet at Frenchy’s in the 7’s?”
We somehow skipped all small talk and dove into song lyric meanings and what the future could look like. While we ate grouper nuggets, this was what the immediate future in front of us looked like:
It was almost impossible to pick my favorite video to share with you.
The timing of meeting Rose Cousins was just what I needed.
beth of fresh air 