Must Love Sharks

Marnie Jacobs sat in her office, chewing the tip of her pen and staring blankly at her computer screen. She couldn't believe what she was going to do, but desperate times call for desperate measures. She was tired of being set up by friends, going out on horrific blind dates with one dud after another. It was time to take matters into her own hands. It she were going to be bothered about dating, she might as well take charge of things herself. And, it would be nice to have someone special.

She looked at the webpage, All the Fish in the Sea, it was called. Ha! Ironic. She didn't like any of her pictures, so she jumped right to the written portion of her ad. Clever and cute, she figured, that would be the way to go, but truthful:

Must Love Sharks

Cute marine biologist, f, 43, seeks fun loving, honest, intelligent M (38 - 55) for companionship and maybe more (we'll see how it goes). Not into games or casual hook ups.

There, that didn't seem too bad. She poured over her photos again and settled on one that showed her standing by the seaside in a wetsuit with her sister. It was a decent picture and not too close up. She held her breath and hit "submit". No going back now.

She picked up the rubber shark on her desk. It was so old. The grey paint was peeling off the body, the red paint which signified it's tongue had flaked off decades before and it's tail was half off, an injury sustained at the hands, well, the teeth of Marnie's chihuahua, Biscuit.

She loved that old toy. It had been a birthday present from one of her friends when she was a kid. She had been fascinated by sharks for as long as she could remember. Jaws was her favourite movie, she had shark decals on her bedroom wall and a shark themed birthday party when she was 7.

And now, all these years later, she spent her days studying the grand creatures. Her work had taken her around the world, from Australia to Hawaii to England and now, back to Canada. Granted, she did more teaching these days, but she liked that almost as much as research. It was a different kind of excitement, watching young minds unfold and sharing her passion with them.

But even she had to admit there was something missing from her life. Someone to share all her other passions with. A partner. Sure, she came home and told Biscuit all about her day, but he only listened for so long. About long enough for her to fill his bowl with fresh food.

It didn't take long for responses to come pouring in. Most were obvious no-gos, with opening lines using crude double entendres involving sharks, or asking wildly inappropriate questions. Others just felt off, some of the pictures were strange, like who takes a topless selfie in front of a mirror for a dating profile? The answer to that question is "too many people".

Then there were some that appeared normal enough. One caught her eye. His name was James, he was 44 and a pediatrician. From his picture, he wasn't conventionally handsome, but he had one of those faces you'd call pleasant looking. She decided to write him back:

Hi James,

Thank you for the reply. Yes, I would love to meet you. I am quite busy during the day, but how about coffee at the Old Millstone sometime this week?

He must have been online because he replied almost instantly:

Tomorrow, 11 am?

With a nervous lump making its way from her stomach to her throat, she agreed and began wondering what to wear. She searched her closet. It seemed like nothing was right. She wanted to look cute, smart, but not like she was trying. She finally settled on a black pair of tailored pants and a blush pink blouse. The blouse would set her golden hair off nicely, and the outfit is exactly what she'd wear to work. If James turned out to be horrible, she could say she had to rush back to work and it would at least look plausible.

Marnie woke up to a rainy Wednesday. "Just my luck," she muttered, the one day she has a date is the one day it pours. She ran her hand over her blonde curls. She wouldn't be wearing her hair out today, not in that mess, it would be a ponytail kind of day.

She ran out the door, bagel in one hand, coffee in the other and her briefcase under one arm. She'd get to her office by 9, mark some midterms, then meet James.

James was waiting at the Millstone when Marnie arrived. She looked at her watch, she was 5 minutes early, she wondered how long he'd been waiting.

"I've only been here a few minutes," he said, leaning in to give her a friendly hug, "sorry, I've always been in the habit of being 10 minutes early, it's an old military thing."

Marnie giggled, "me too," she said, then asked, "were you in the military?" He smelled really good, clean and earthy, but not overly scented.

He released her and smiled a mouth full of perfect teeth, "no my father was."

"Mine too," Marine exclaimed, happy to have something in common. She noticed how much better looking he was in person. He was tall, althletic looking and had piercing green eyes.

All in all, it was a great first date. The conversation was steady and easy. James was just as advertised, intelligent, engaging and quick - witted. They agreed on a dinner date the next evening.

Marnie left with a nagging feeling in her stomach. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she felt like she knew James. Not in that star-crossed lovers sort of way that one feels like they've known someone for ever. And not in the way you know you actually knew someone before. It was something else, a strange familiarity she just couldn't place.

She met James for dinner straight after work. "Bringing your work along in case I bore you to death?" he quipped, standing to greet her.

She looked at the soft sided leather case in her hand, "oh, this, no," she shook her head, "I just came from work."

"Who's your friend?" he asked.

Marnie stared at him quizzically, "what?"

He pointed to the grey toy sticking out of her case. "That guy."

Marnie reached in and grabbed her shark. Embarrassed, she stammered, "oh, this, it's, well, it's an old toy, and it's half broken and I was taking it home to fix it." She tossed it back in the bag, nonchalantly, "or just toss it, ya know, whatever."

"Lemmie see," he reached across the table.

"No," she felt silly now. Here she was at dinner, on a date with a grown man and she's carrying a toy shark around. Might as well mark him off the list.

"Come on," he grinned, his eyes sparkling.

She handed him the tattered old rubber shark, mortified. She pretended to be closely examining her silverware to avoid looking at him as her cheeks flushed through various shades of pink and red before settling on a light crimson.

He examined it. "Hello Sammy Sharkey," he said, waving the toy as if it were speaking back to him.

"How did you know his name?" Marnie demanded, stunned, her blue eyes wide.

"I didn't," James replied, "well, not HIS name, but when I was a kid, I lived next door to a girl..."

She interrupted him, "McElroy Crescent?"

"Yes!" James dropped Sammy on the table, "34."

"Jimmy Woodworth!" she exclaimed, "you're little Jimmy Woodworth!"

James laughed, "not really, Jimmy was 7, I'm Dr. James Woodworth now. And you're Marnie Jacobs, they called you Mar - Mar." He shook his head, "I'd never have guessed, but knowing now and looking at you, I can see it."

"Yes!" she said, "but don't call me that, I hate it." She stared at him for a moment. It was hard to beleive this handsome man was the tiny, shy little boy she knew all those years ago.

"I gave you Sammy for your 7th birthday, remember?" James said, " You had a Jaws party and I think I said something really cheesy like someday I wanted to get married and ride sharks with you. I can't believe you kept him all these years!"

Marnie remembered. "Yes, I distinctly remember that. I was going to wear a pink dress and we were going to live at the beach in a teepee."

James continued, laughing heartily, "I had such a crush on you! Then you up and moved away and broke my heart."

Marnie nodded, "yeah, they wouldn't let me live at the old place on my own, being 8."

James beamed. He reached over the table and took Marnie's slender hand. "So, how about that shark ride and the wedding we planned? I just happen to be free," he teased.

Marnie smiled warmly, "well, I don't recommend trying to ride a shark. As for the rest of it, let's eat first."