Dave & Busters

I walked up to her table, the seventh of twenty tables that I'd be visiting that evening. The first six were forgettable. All of them were nice women, four of them Jacksonville natives, one from Iowa, and one from Cuba by way of Miami. That last one was the most attractive, but the least interesting. Her longest sentence was three words: "I'm not sure."

So here I was at the Dave & Busters off of 95, at my first attempt at speed dating, getting ready to go on my seventh five-minute date of the evening. I forced a smile and stuck out my hand to greet her.

"Hi, my name is John," I said.

"Hi John, I'm Ruth," she flashed a toothy grin beneath her kind blue eyes. I couldn't tell how tall she was from her seated position. She had short blonde hair with her dark roots beginning to peak out. I notice an open notebook sitting in front her as I pulled the chair out to sit down. She also had a piece of paper with a series of questions.

"So Ruth, how are you?" I asked, getting started before they hit the bell to start the time. "Are you enjoying the evening so far?"

"I am."

"Me too."

"Okay everyone, we are starting the time for the next dates. Five minutes!!" the bubbly host announced before dinging the bell and starting the oversized digital clock.

"Do you have any questions for me?" Ruth asked.

"I certainly can ask questions, but it looks like you have some questions for me."

"I do have a bunch of questions if you'll indulge me," Ruth touched my hand. I looked down at my hand and then looked back up at her as she pulled her hand back and looked down at her paper.

"Ask away, Ruth," I replied, enthusiastically. She smiled and picked up a pen, licking the tip before asking her first question.

"Where are you from?"

"Indianapolis."

"Do you have siblings?"

"I have two younger sisters."

"You're the oldest?"

"Yes. What about you?"

"I am an only child. How long have you lived in Jacksonville?"

"About five years."

"What do you do?"

"I'm a high school teacher."

"Oh cool!" she beamed.

"What do you do, Ruth?"

"I'm a florist. Do you want to get married?"

"To you? We just met," I joked. Ruth placated my joke with a quick smile.

"I mean ever. I'm in my mid-thirties, I am looking for someone who wants to get married someday."

"I plan on getting married when I meet the right person."

"What do you mean by the 'right' person?"

"I guess I mean someone that I can love and be myself with. Someone who I respect. She's fun and funny and loves to laugh and smile. Someone I can be vulnerable with and someone who understands she can be vulnerable with me."

"That's the best answer I've heard tonight. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Are you a Christian?"

"Are you asking if I believe in God?"

"I'm asking if you've accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior."

"Yes, but I don't belong to a church or a denomination...although, if I were to say I was any denomination it would likely be Episcopalian, since I go to more Episcopalian services than anything else." Ruth nodded while jotting down some notes.

"Three minutes left!" the host shouted.

"Are you Christian?" I asked Ruth.

"I am. I serve as the secretary on my church's board. I love it. It's very important to me that the person who I marry needs to be a devout Christian. I want to raise our children in the church, and I want someone who wants the same."

"That makes sense," I responded. I looked up at the clock and saw that we were halfway done. At this point, the woman from Miami who had almost nothing to say was looking pretty good.

"Do you have any kids?"

"No."

"How many kids do you want?"

"How many kids do you want?"

"I want as many as God blesses me with."

"Kids are a blessing."

"Yes they are. So how many do you want?"

"I don't know. I come from a family with three kids. Perhaps three."

"What would make you a good dad?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know if I'd be a great dad, but I'd love my kids."

"I think you'd make a good dad. You're certainly patient answering all my various questions."

"These are good questions," I lied. "They're very different from what I was asked at the other tables," I truthed.

"Do you want to stay in Jacksonville?"

"Where are you from Ruth? I never asked you."

"I grew up in Fernandina Beach."

"One minute warning!" the hostess called out.

"The world is a big place. I don't know if I'll end up in Jacksonville."

"That's fair. I could be persuaded to move to another part of the country if I met the right person." I nodded and smiled. Fifty seconds left.

"Do you have any other questions for me?"

"Just a couple more. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"I don't."

"How long ago was your last girlfriend?"

"Geez, a couple of years."

"Really?"

"Yeah really."

"You're a good-looking guy. You seem very nice."

"Thanks Ruth. You're very attractive yourself." I did find her attractive. She wasn't my type, but she was attractive. She had a way of scrunching up her nose when she smiled, and furrowed her brow when I paused before answering her questions. Throughout the date she kept tapping her right index finger on the table when she asked questions. It was all really intriguing, and a small part of me wanted to put her name down on my list to see if we would match. What is a real date like with her? She couldn't ask all these questions on a date and I'd imagine she'd be more open to talking about herself. Now I wanted to know. As odd as this experience had been, I think I'd have to find out if we were going to match.

"Do you date a lot?"

"I do okay. I wouldn't say I date a lot, but I date. You?"

"I haven't had a boyfriend in over five years. I haven't been on a date in a few months...but I haven't really tried. That's why I came out tonight, my friends convinced me to get back out there. They thought I might be able to meet someone."

"Times up! Go to the next table." I stuck my hand out to Ruth and she met my hand with hers.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Ruth."

"It was a pleasure to meet you John. I hope you'll pick me." I nodded politely. "One last question. What is your favorite sex position?" I looked down at her. She handed me her pen and pushed the notebook closer to me. "Put your number here." I wrote my number.

"Call me."

"I will." I walked to the next table.

"Hi, my name is John, what's your name?"

*Author's note: This is an exaggeration of my actual experience with one woman that I met when I did speed dating nearly twenty years ago. She really did have a list of questions and took notes like I was on a job interview. It was such a surreal interaction. This isn't exactly what happened. Feel free to ask me what you like.