On Valentine’s Day I had fully intended to sit on my couch binge-watching episodes of The Bachelor and rooting for the bad girl to win. But as I clicked on the tv, I saw that my new hero, Devin, was going to be hanging around on the streets of Williamsburg, freezing her ass off waiting for a man who would probably never come. I decided to join her.

I couldn’t let my new “BFF” (at least, in my mind) be left to deal with this on her own. Besides, I’m a hopeless romantic, and to be honest a part of me was really praying that the stranger in yellow shoes would show up. This was the complete opposite of ridiculous episodes of the reality shows where 25 girls hang around hoping to be chosen by a guy who makes out with 8 women each week, telling them how much he cares.

I spotted her immediately standing in front of the giant, 22-foot mural that told the world about her search for possible love.

The Craigslist missed connections ad was plastered across the side of a building behind her, declaring her interest for the mysterious “Yellow Shoes Guy on the G train” (or, as I’ve nicknamed him, Yellowman) who flirted back until they were abruptly separated before having the opportunity to exchange contact info.

 

I was partly relieved, partly dismayed to see that not only was she not alone. She was surrounded by family, friends, curious onlookers, film crews from every station you could imagine, and a few guys wearing yellow shows who obviously were there for the media attention and not for Devin.

I was glad she had the support of her family and friends, including her real BFF and roommate, Hilary Schuhmacher. But once I saw the line of people waiting to interview her, I wondered if the guy who was too shy to talk to her on the subway would be able to get up the courage to approach her in public where their meeting would be televised live for the entire world to see.

 

 

It was difficult to tell what she was feeling as I watched her, surrounded by reporters. Her expression seemed to switch from excitement and hopefulness to a bit of embarrassment, but that may have been me projecting how I would feel if it were me. I wondered if she was feeling vulnerable or awkwardness as she stood alone at 12:55 pm, waiting in front of the mural. Perhaps she was thinking about some of the negative comments she’d received online after posting her search on social media, calling her a stalker or making jokes about the guy who was probably married or gay.

But no; she stood there confidently, smiling as her friend Hilary explained to those watching and waiting and staring that this was no ordinary fleeting fantasy of unrequited lust. She had witnessed the undeniable mutual attraction between the two, and there was some serious chemistry going on as the sparks bounced off the walls of the train. In fact, she said that the hot guy with the sexy smile continued moving closer and sparks flew between the two as they rode closer to home, but sadly, he was too shy to talk to her.

 But he wanted to.

This was not Devin’s wishful thinking, Hilary insisted. She had witnessed the entire thing, and as Yellowman inched closer and closer, he just wasn’t fast enough. Too soon the train brought them to their destination, but even though they passed their stop hoping that he would have the courage to say hi, somehow in the midst of people rushing on and off the train, the two were separated. The last thing Devin saw was the look of intense disappointment on his face as the doors closed.

If only he’d had the balls to approach her. But what guy would, on a crowded subway when a hot girl is surrounded by a group of friends?

Well, Devin decided to take matters into her own hands and take advantage of social media in order to try to make some moves herself. After hearing about Devin’s post on Craigslist, the Las Vegas hotel Park MGM paid for a giant mural of the post to be plastered on the side of the building in Williamsburg saying, “If you’re out there, meet me here on Valentine’s Day at 1:00 pm.”

We all watched and waited, checking out every man’s shoes as they passed by and hoping that maybe, just maybe, we might witness a spectacular budding romance occur on Valentine’s Day, if not for ourselves then at least for this hot, sexy, strong, confident Brooklyn babe as she shivered bravely on the corner in her cute red sweater and leopard shoes.

But he never came.

Who knows; perhaps he never saw the ad or the viral social media posts describing his strange shoes. Or maybe he actually is married and was just enjoying a few moments of harmless flirting on the subway.

I prefer to believe he simply has not yet learned about Devin’s search for him, and that once he does they’ll finally meet. But my romantic fantasy of their potential fairy tale ending isn’t what made this one of the best Valentine’s Days I’ve ever had.

I dug a little deeper as I listened to those around Devin asking how she will feel if Yellowman doesn’t show. She replied by joking about how if he’s on the G train he’ll never come. She just laughed as onlookers tried to console her as the clock ticked past 1:00 pm, declaring that she’s “very single!”, but now every man in the world knows that she’s available.

Her clearly not being devastated that this man was a dud, and her carefree attitude impressed me.  Her bold, assertive actions and the fact that she saw something she wanted and she went after it, not giving a damn what anyone else thought also taught me a lesson. But I learned something else that day.

As I watched her, I realized that so many people, (myself included) freak out when Valentine’s Day comes and they don’t have anyone to give overpriced roses and stale chocolates to. Maybe Devin did feel a bit embarrassed as she stood alone with a hundred cameras pointed toward her, capturing the shame and frustration that probably every single girl has ever felt when a man simply did not show up. But you couldn’t tell as she continued smiling and holding court.

Before I could marvel at how brave she was to be the center of what must be utterly humiliating; having hundreds of strangers documenting what for most people is a private and deeply intimate part of their lives, I saw her friend Hilary from the corner of my eye. She was crouching down toward the back of the crowd, snapping pictures of her friend.

When I had first heard about Devin and her missed connection post I went to her Facebook page and immediately wanted to meet her. It wasn’t because I thought she was cool by posting on Craigslist. She was, but um, I may have posted on that seedy site once myself. (Okay, maybe twice. Alright, damn, I was addicted to the site, until I saw the movie The Craigslist Killer on Lifetime.) And it wasn’t because she looked like a model or famous actress, (although she is stunning).

I wanted to meet her because whoever had photographed her had somehow been able to capture the essence of who she was, and she seemed cool as hell. Her personality jumped through the screen and I saw a woman who was confident and daring and fun. She was adventurous and tough, yet ultra-feminine. She was sexy in her leopard coat and mysterious sunglasses but didn’t seem like someone who would ever agonize over Vogue centerfolds or Instagram models wishing to be them. She didn’t need tons of makeup or feel the need to follow fashion trends or wear stilettoes.

She had pure sex appeal in the way that starlets from old black and white classics exuded glamour, their hips swaying from side to side as they glided across the screen.

Photo credit: Hilary Schuhmacher

Of course, Hilary had taken the photos. I wasn’t just looking at pictures of my new hero; I was seeing Devin as her best friend saw her, a bad-ass from Brooklyn that anyone would want as a friend. And here she was again, not seeing a girl waiting passively by in hopes that some knight in armor might come, but proudly shooting memories for her friend, documenting the day she kicked ass by taking control.

I watched Hilary shoot her friend from various angles for a few minutes before I turned back to Devin, crossing my fingers that this dude would get some balls and make a move this time. However, the reporters apparently had decided that the show was over and were firing off their final questions, excited to broadcast her discomfort for the world to view.

At that moment, Devin’s demeanor seemed to change from being the confident, assertive, I don’t really give a f* if he shows up or not, I’m just having fun, to an awkward pause where she had to admit that he was not coming. Then suddenly, Hilary was at her side. She handed Devin a huge bouquet of flowers and gave her a big hug. I couldn’t hear what she whispered to her now famous friend, but that awkward moment was gone and Devin’s face broke into a huge smile.

That girl we were all praying would get her fairy tale actually did get her happy ending, just not the one we expected. This princess would never lay down and sleep, waiting for her prince to come. She was already preparing for her next adventure.

I watched Hilary step aside once again to allow her friend to be in the spotlight as the reporters finished up with their final questions, and I walked over to her.

“It was you who posted the Craigslist ad for her, wasn’t it?” I asked. She reluctantly mumbled something that sounded like her admitting to creating the initial post, but quickly exclaimed, “This is about Devin and her search for love.”

I realized then that Devin already had love on Valentine’s Day. I watched her father beaming as he beamed proudly next to her, and he and Hilary guided her back to the people who had come to support and encourage her. Yellowman not showing up may have been momentarily disappointing, but her missed connection faded quickly as she walked away from the giant mural without a glance.

I admit that I secretly enjoy watching silly reality shows once in awhile where women gossip and name call and back-stab each other to compete for their Prince Charming. But in real life, nothing compares to the true love and support from friends who will always be there for each other no matter what crazy situation you’ve got yourself into.

This is a story about a bad-ass chick who was fearless and assertive and courageous in her quest for love. But it is also a story about the love of a best friend who also made bold moves. She, too, stood outside in the freezing cold, letting her friend get all the attention as she stood silently by because if that guy didn’t ride up on his white horse to save the day, she was going to be right there by her friend’s side. That’s the kind of friend, and the kind of love, we all deserve in our lives.

Do you have a Valentine’s Day love story? Have you ever had a missed connection on the subway, (or anywhere)? Are you Yellowman?!

Please share your story with us or comment below!