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“Not my fault I haven’t found many people who I want to listen to talk that long. Except you of course,” she quickly added.
“Funny. I believe you’re the one who does most of the chatting. If I had my way, we’d already have ended the call and I would be dressed,” I said, trying to drop the hint.
“Fine. Go get ready. Call me tomorrow with all the boring details, I mean details,” she teased before ending the call.
I am not boring.
If Penny was trying to get me to prove that to her, she was going to be disappointed. I love her, but this was about my happiness, not hers. The man I wanted to be with was going to love and accept me just the way I am.
Love?? I mean like. Cotton briefs and all.
The clock was ticking, and I’d run out of time. I opened the closet and pulled out a white sundress with tiny daisies on it. It was one of my favorites. Comfortable. I slipped on a pair of sandals just as my doorbell rang.
Even as I walked to answer the door, I could feel myself getting nervous. I had no idea why. This isn’t the first date I’ve been on since my husband passed. Maybe it was because I kept telling myself this wasn’t a date, when I really wanted it to be.
When I opened the door, Mikal was standing there smiling, holding a bouquet of daisies.
Perfect.
It was the only way I could describe how this date was beginning.
Reaching out, I took the flowers. “Thank you, Mikal. They are beautiful.”
“I’m glad you like them,” he said, eyeing my dress. “I couldn’t have planned this if I tried.”
If this had been Marvin, I’d worry that he’d been watching me from outside my window as I got dressed. I hadn’t told Penny, but even though I had blocked Marvin’s calls, he continued to leave me voice mails asking me out again.
“Let me put these in a vase and then we can go,” I said, not ready to invite Mikal in to make himself comfortable yet. I really didn’t know him, and unlike Penny, I needed the connection first before anything else.
We headed out and Mikal said, “I see you got your car back. That was quick.”
“I have a good mechanic and thankfully he had the parts on hand. If I had your number, I could’ve called you and met you at the restaurant,” I said.
He opened the passenger door for me and said, “That wouldn’t be much of a first date, would it?”
So, this is a date.
“Probably not.”
Once we were on the road, Mikal said, “I know a wonderful seafood place right on the beach. The lobster is amazing. Would you like to give it a try?”
Lobster?
I didn’t want to be sitting there replaying my bad date with Marvin. “I was thinking something…different.”
“There is a pub that I usually go to for dinner. It’s nothing fancy but the food is great,” he said.
“Burger and fries?” I asked.
“Best that I know,” he replied.
“Sounds like a place I’d like,” I smiled.
When we arrived, I was surprised that the waitress knew his first name. Didn’t even have to ask for a table, but she looked me over and then gave Mikal a wink. What am I missing?
“A friend of yours?” I asked.
“I come here frequently. Actually, almost every night for dinner. Like I said, the food is great,” he said.
