“Hey, you got a boyfriend?”  Kyle asked.

“Yes, I do,” I said, spraying myself literally with sunscreen.  “And it’s very serious.”

“Think he’ll mind if I take you on a date?”  He asked.  He pulled a second folding chair out of the back of the truck.

“Depends on the date,” I said.

“What would you think about breakfast?”  Kyle said.  “If it goes well, I’ll also buy you lunch.”

“That’s putting the cart pretty far before the horse,” I said.  “And I should tell you that I expect coffee for breakfast and hot dogs and pickles for lunch.”

“That’s a sophisticated request but I think I can make it happen,” Kyle said.  He handed me the travel coffee mug he had prepared for me at home.

We walked the hundred feet from the truck to the baseball field where our 11-year-old was warming up for his first game of a weekend baseball tournament.  It was Saturday at 8:30 AM, and the sports complex was already filled with other parents and grandparents who were also on breakfast dates with their loved ones.  Kyle set up our chairs and offered me some of his sunflower seeds, a lesser-known international symbol of love.

“During the game yesterday, I chatted up one of the team’s grandmothers about Brian Urlacher and hair loss billboards,” he said.  “And she gave me her number.”

“I feel like you should have warned me about that before our date today because that’s a tough act to follow,” I said.  “Maybe I would have done my hair.”

The first game came down to the bottom of the final inning; Eleven’s team lost by one run.  We consoled him with a hot dog, chocolate milk, mini muffins, and Doritos. After hearing the coaches call for the next game, we deposited him back in the dugout revived by salt, sugar, and hype, after which I filled our water bottles and Kyle filled his arms with more food – specifically, a hot dog and pickle for me – from the concession stand.  Kyle sat on one of the chairs and I sat on what we call the truck blanket and we picnicked.

“That was a great hot dog,” I said.

“Only the best for my girl,” he said.

The second game concluded, this time with a win – again, by one run in the final inning.

“What would you think about taking this date on the road?”  Kyle asked as we fed Eleven his second lunch of the day, this time at home.  “Like, to Climax?”

“If I’m going to continue this date any further it will only be to Climax,” I said.

 We loaded up the car with even more water bottles and not one, but both of our children, and drove the 30 miles to Climax, Minnesota, where Climax was celebrating Climax Small Town Saturday.  As you may recall, we attended Climax Small Town Saturday last year and had a very enjoyable time.

While we arrived too late for the parade, we were right on time for the community rummage sale.

“Check out this potato box, it has a heart on it,” I said to Kyle.

“I will buy you that,” Kyle said to me, because potatoes are also a lesser-known international symbol of love.

“It’s $15,” I said.  “Do you love me $15 worth?”

“I do love you $15,” he said.

After walking around the sale a bit more, I decided that I did not love the idea of trying to find a spot in our house or garage for a potato box with a heart on it, and instead picked out a glass bowl for $1.  While I was waiting for the boys to pick out their own items – for Fourteen, a tiki sculpture that was also a water fountain; for Eleven, nothing because he wanted to go to the bouncy castles; and for Kyle, a jar of rhubarb jam – I spied a young couple looking at a combination record player-cassette tape deck.

“I had that exact record player when I was younger,” I told them.  “I listened to a lot of cassettes with my boyfriends on it.”

They looked over at Kyle, who was trying to decide between two different jars of jam.

“Not that boyfriend,” I said.

After the rummage sale, we sat at picnic tables while Eleven bounced in the bouncy castles and Fourteen went to check out the petting zoo.  Kyle hustled off for a minute and came back with a sloppy joe, Fritos, lemonade, and a bag of free popcorn.

“I thought you might want a snack,” he said.  “Since you are a snack.”

“Thank you very much,” I said, scooping up the sloppy joe with a Frito.  “I do have to say, this has been a very satisfying date.”

“What can I say, I know how to treat a woman,” Kyle said, taking an enthusiastic sip of lemonade.

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I took a photo during our date. It is above.

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This week on North Dakota Today, we talked about the Traill County Historical Society, my Nice People of the Week, as well as an update on a past ND Today story. (Valley News Live)

Per the top comment, “One last round of applause for the Zeeland Vikings.” (Facebook)

Two North Dakota off-roaders strayed from the familiar path and found a missing woman. (Valley News Live)

Tell me this doesn’t sound awesome. (Grand Forks Herald)

Congratulations to the four ND Guardsmen on receiving the Bronze Star Medal for their heroism. (KFYR TV)

I told you last week that I’ve started making weekly videos about events going on around North Dakota; here are a few of the things happening this week:

• June 9: Election Day
• June 11: GF City Band at the Myra, Grand Forks
• June 10-13: Miss North Dakota Competition, Williston
• June 12-14: Buggies-N-Blues, Mandan
• June 12: Final Gather Round at Ground Round, Grand Forks
• June 12:  Bakken BBQ, Dickinson
• June 12-14: Antique Farm Machinery Annual Show, Wolford
• June 12-14: Halloween in June, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park
• June 13-14: Mott the Spot, Mott
• June 13: The first GF Town Square Farmer’s Market, Grand Forks
• June 13: City of Minto Citywide Garage Sale, Minto

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