I booked a pedicure because I wanted to see her again

I had never gotten a pedicure in my life.

Then I met Lily in a clothing store, and three days later I was sitting in her nail salon pretending my feet suddenly needed professional help.

My name is Ethan. I am 35, white, and live in Sitka, Alaska.

I met Lily while trying to buy a birthday gift for my sister. I was standing in the women’s clothing section holding two sweaters and clearly had no idea what I was doing.

Lily was shopping nearby and asked who the gift was for.

She was Vietnamese, 38, curvy, and very confident. She helped me choose the better sweater and explained why the other color would probably make my sister look tired.

We talked for only about ten minutes, but she was funny and easy to remember.

Before leaving, she mentioned that she owned a nail salon in town.

I went home and kept thinking about her.

Sitka is not a huge place, so finding the salon was easy. I looked it up online and saw Lily’s picture on the business page.

I almost sent a message, but that felt strange. She had only helped me choose a gift. She had not given me her number.

So I booked a pedicure instead.

When I walked into the salon, Lily recognized me immediately.

She looked at my shoes and asked whether the sweater had worked out.

I told her my sister loved it.

Then she asked if I normally got pedicures.

I admitted it was my first one.

She smiled like she already suspected I had another reason for coming.

Lily was busy managing the salon, so another nail tech started my service. I felt disappointed, but I could not complain because I had booked a pedicure, not an hour with the owner.

Still, Lily kept coming by to check on me.

We talked whenever she had a free moment. I learned she had owned the salon for six years and was usually there from opening until closing.

When my service ended, I stood near the front desk longer than necessary.

I wanted to invite her to dinner, but several employees were close enough to hear everything.

I lost my courage and left.

The next week, I booked another pedicure.

Lily looked at my feet and said they could not possibly have become bad again that quickly.

I told her I believed in regular maintenance.

She laughed and finally asked why I was really there.

I decided to tell the truth.

I said I wanted to take her to dinner but did not know whether asking her at work would make her uncomfortable.

Lily became quiet for a moment.

Then she said she had wondered why a man with perfectly normal feet suddenly became such a loyal customer.

She agreed to dinner, but only if I stopped wasting money on weekly pedicures.

Our first date was at a small restaurant near the water.

I expected her to be as confident as she was in the store and salon, but she seemed nervous too.

She admitted she had assumed I was only being friendly because she was older than me and not the type of woman men usually approached in public.

That surprised me.

To me, she had been the most noticeable person in the store.

We have been dating for eight months now.

I still visit the salon, but not every week. Lily says dating the owner does not come with free services.

I tell her that is fine.

The first pedicure already gave me more than I paid for.