Page 52 of A Fall to Remember

Jim didn’t do well with small talk or forced politeness.

Most of the women he’d met on the app had been fine, but the spark had been missing and it wasn’t from the lack of trying. He had made a concerted effort. That was also part of the deal with his nieces. He couldn’t just show up for a date and phone it in, expecting sparks to fly.

“Uncle Jim, modern women aren’t willing to settle.”

“Are you implying that dating your old uncle is settling?” Jim had teased.

They had assured him nothing could be further from the truth and then proceeded to give him their “seasoned” take on the perfect date.

Ah, to be in your teens again.

“Bring her flowers, Uncle J.”

“Yeah, compliment her nails, but don’t make it creepy.”

“How would I make that creepy?” he’d asked, hoping to clarify the modern rules of meeting and mingling in middle age.

“Like, don’t make it only about her appearance. Compliment her intelligence and her career. You have to tread carefully, but women love it when you notice the little things, like her nails or her earrings.”

Jim had been a dutiful student. He’d taken copious notes. He followed their advice to the letter. The women he’d met at coffee shops, wine bars, jazz clubs, bookstores, hiking trails, and romantic restaurants throughout Seattle had blushed appropriately when he’d mentioned he liked their forest green nail polish or gold hoop earrings. Jim paid attention. He’d enjoyed many of the outings and evenings where they lingered over a bottle of wine.

But the fact remained that something had been missing.

That jolt of electricity.

Someone who made his breath catch in his chest or turned his palms sweaty.

He wasn’t looking for companionship. His life was full with his family, friends, and work. Opening his heart again would mean finding a woman who made him feel weak in the knees.

It was love that he was after.

He couldn’t believe he was saying this, even if it was to himself, but he was convinced he had found it with Miranda.

Yes, they’d only known each other for a short amount of time. It sounded silly and juvenile. He had never believed in love at first sight. That was until he met Miranda. Now he was acting like a lovesick teenager, counting down the minutes, the seconds until he got to see her again.

Is it all in your head, Jim?

He stared out the window of Brews and Views, the coffee shop a few blocks down from the Green Grocer. Half Moon Bay was just starting to come to life. Surfers in board shorts and rash guards carted boards toward the beach, and couples strolled leisurely with warm drinks in hand. A small line had formed at the counter. Jim snapped a few pictures on his old Nikon. It was his secret passion project. One day, after he retired, he wanted to publish a photography book. Pictures that captured this—the mundane, simple beauty of a crowded coffee shop on a Saturday morning or a single golden leaf, clinging to the tree.

Old-school photography demanded that you be in the moment. It was his own form of meditation, a reminder to pay attention as he was walking through the world.

That’s why you’re not in your head.

Jim sighed and stared at the jazz prints on the walls. A piano sat near the long vertical windows that were cranked open to let in the morning breeze. A line was already forming at the coffee counter where tourists were eager to get a jump start on the day with slices of bacon and leek quiche, and cinnamon-maple coffee cake.

He took a long drink of his coffee that had gone cold, as images of Miranda popped into his mind. Her behind the deli counter, chatting effortlessly as she scooped chicken salad and pesto pasta into to-go containers, tying each one with a pretty ribbon. Or of her last night on the dance floor, her hair falling loose on her shoulders as the stars lit up the sky.

No, this wasn’t a crush.

It was fate.

Voyager had brought them together.

Jim was old enough to know what he wanted. He’d been married before. He’d certainly had more than his fair share of dating experience. At this stage of his life, if the spark was there, he was ready to ignite it. Today was his chance to prove to Miranda that they had a real shot at love.

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MIRANDA