Harmless?

“I just want to thank you,” Penelope said, as Rose, she, and I were saying good night.

“Seriously. I was really nervous coming in, and you made me feel really… comfortable. You know, you could have been super intimidating, but you weren’t. You were… I don’t know, I can’t think of the word. But I wasn’t worried, I wasn’t uncomfortable. Given how you write, given how dominant you are, I don’t know – I sort of expected, feared, I don’t know…. But you were…. I don’t know. It was really good, though. Thank you.”

We talked about my recent posts on whether I’m intimidating or not. She said, “Not at all.”

I offered some possible words for the one she was lacking. “Kind? Approachable? Friendly? Open?”

“No,” she said. “I don’t know….”

A day later, she e-mailed me.

“Harmless. That’s the word.”

“Next time, I’ll harm you,” I replied.

Harmless. Harmless?

I’m not sure that’s quite the vibe I was going for, but I’ll take it.