Thursday Seeds | lay down the letters

“It’s all in how you lay down the letters.”

You are playing board games with your date. It’s winter, the fire is on, coffee is on the table with this scrabble board. He is a fanatic about board games and impressed that you own a board from all the way back to the 90’s.

You have how many words down on the board unchallenged? He has just as many. The game is getting cutthroat.

He places this word on the board: QUEAN

You look at him with hesitancy… Did he mean to? He nods his head slowly.

“You want to have me look it up for you? It’ll cost you most of your points standing.” He smirks with that smile.

This could be the time in the relationship that hits the point of no return.

“Dictionary,” you say in the lowest of voices.

He pulls out his phone to show you the definition:

“A woman regarded as being disreputable, especially a prostitute.“

And it’s not that he is in fact right, this is a valid spelling, it’s the tone of condescending competition that turns you off. No compassion or humility? The actual definition doesn’t help either. No more time. Goodbye.

Or maybe not goodbye this sec but this is a dozen red flags in one. Why? Because he’s not hiding it. His regard shows through. He thinks he’s better.

When he asks you out on the third date, you suddenly are really really busy….

He can be technically right and still be completely wrong. Most won’t even see it.