“Meet and greet,” he parroted.
I nodded and started to go through a list of them and explain some basic rules.
“Shortest word usually goes first,” I started to explain. “A positive word almost always goes first. Like pros and cons…or give and take. Things that pair together.”
“What if there are three words?” he asked. “There is a game that Ruthie and Cat play in the office sometimes to determine where we get lunch from. It’s called…umm…paper, rock, scissors. Yes, that’s it.”
“So that’s an example of the shorter word going first because it’s actually called rock, paper, scissors.”
He nodded, taking this all in, and I realized I enjoyed spending time with him like this. Teaching him, learning new things myself, and having a great time.
“Common foods also follow this rule, like fish and chips because they are a good pair.”
“They go together likesillandpotatis,” he responded confidently.
“What?” I asked, and my confusion must have been written all over my face.
“Sorry. Swedish foods,” he clarified. “It means pickled herring and potatoes.”
I knew what he was trying to say, but I tried to come up with a better alternative, though he beat me to it.
“Umm…maybe a better comparison would be jelly and peanut butter.”
“It’s peanut butter and jelly, actually,” I told him.
“But you just said the shorter word usually goes first,” he reminded me.
“Well, not always.There are a few exceptions…like chips and dip.” I gave him a small smirk as a nod to the phrase that started this whole conversation in the first place.
He groaned and I held up my hands in defense. “Sorry, Axel. I don’t make the rules.”
“English has too many weird rules. I guess I’m just lucky I have such a great teacher.” He winked at me before crossing back over to his other customers.
Every moment I spent with him, I was falling harder and harder for this man. I ate my meal smiling like a loon, fully embracing Team Viking without remorse.
