A Date with Fate

Vera Pennington adjusted her glasses as she sat pensively looking at the small screen in front of her. She had not expected to find love so quickly. It was hard for her to put the words together but between the half-dozen horrible dates she had subjected herself to this past month alone, what did she think would made “Just Jim” any better or different than the rest of her online suitors? It was a well-known fact amongst all of Vera’s friends that she had all but had given up on the whole idea of dating and finding love when “Just Jim” messaged her that Thursday, a week before her life changed forever. She had been surprised by how easy it was to talk to Jim and their conversations went on for hours and hours and before she knew it, the hours had materialized into days.

Truth-be-told, “Just Jim” hadn’t even been on Vera’s radar before that fateful week. It was all happenstance when she signed up for the app a few months before and once she gained enough courage, she figured it was only a matter of time before she met someone worth giving her time to and “Just Jim” or Jim Adelson was her perfect match—a down-to-earth business man with a penchant to travel. He was everything she wanted from a relationship and more. It would seem she had hit the relationship lottery, a rare chance to find love had literally landed in her lap. It was not even the end of the week and he had sent her a plane ticket to meet him for dinner. She had no choice but to accept. Her friends who had once been harping at Vera to “just jump, you don’t know what is out there until you try” and to “hurry up and just pick someone” had voiced their reservations about her flying out to meet this mystery man—I mean after-all, it WAS crazy that she barely knew anything about him. She couldn’t find much on her precursory search of him online but that didn’t matter, she felt like this was right.

Vera arrived to the restaurant near the airport at half past seven. Her two hour flight had been filled with differing emotions—anxiety, fear, curiosity, and desire. Of course she was overcome by a strong desire to meet the man who had ultimately changed her life but she was also hesitant, fearful it was all too good to be true. She smiled to herself as she thought of all the positives he projected in their many conversations and how much they had in common. It was almost as though they had known each other their entire life and for this she was thankful. She didn’t have to be anyone but herself around him and he showered her with so much love and admiration it was hard to ignore.

She walked calmly exerting one-foot before the other through the rushing blur of gloved hands as she was quietly ushered into the back of the swanky restaurant to a small corner that had been divided off amongst the hustle and bustle of other dinner-goers. There he sat as perfect as she had dreamed and at that moment, nothing else seemed to matter. He stood a few inches taller than her, his dark hair coiffed loosely against his head; he wore a nice button up shirt and slacks—cozy, casual and handsome. Jim Adelson welcomed Vera with open arms as he led her to her seat at the small table next to him. At the center of the table was a bottle of unopened Napa Valley Merlot nestled between two-glasses. Vera smiled wondering how he could have picked her favorite wine out of the thousands of options.

As he uncorked the bottle memories from her childhood flooded back—even as a teenager before she could taste the velvety, dry elixir she sensed the grounds were ripe with a beauty unlike anything she had ever witnessed before—and now, sitting in front of Jim, she knew this bottle of wine was a fitting start to their wonderful romance.

As she inhaled the familiar scent she was transported back to all the pleasant years before. The air at Napa Valley was clear; the skies were a bright blue cloudless expanse that went on for as far as the eye could see. The acres of well mapped rows of grape trees edged seamlessly into the rolling hills in the distance—it was hard to see where one stopped and the other began.

As the night progressed it was clear Jim Adelson was everything Vera had imagined and more, they talked about things they wanted to do together, places they would go, all of the dreams and fears they had for the future and it neither dissuaded nor scared either of them. All of the negatives seemed to go away and Vera smiled to herself, a broad beaming and alluring smile that never left her face. If you had passed by the birdcage styled divider that night you might have thought you were looking at a couple who had been together forever—a beautiful, tender and loving conversation filled with the sparks of electricity that was unmatched by any of the lights around them.

As they walked out of the restaurant she was sure her cheeks would be sore in the morning but she didn’t care, he had paid for a separate room at his hotel for her to stay—but unlike many other love stories gone wrong, there was not a catch to this wealthy, successful and young business man. He was just looking for something real, someone who didn’t care about his money. He wanted someone he could share life with and in Vera he had found his soulmate. It didn’t take long for the world to catch on. The once private bachelor had made an announcement—he was taken and Vera Pennington was the one.

Vera sat looking out the window of the coffee shop that morning and smiled as she continued to write about her whirlwind love and pending honeymoon. It had only been six months but it felt like a hundred blissful years. She sat awestruck staring at the large oval diamond encased in a thin fiery diamond halo that sat nestled against the matching band on her left hand. She couldn’t believe this was her life now—as she signed off—Mrs. Vera Adelson—the name had quite a ring to it. In the few months they had courted and married she had accomplished more than she ever had as an adult and it was a feeling unlike anything else. All because of a date and a glass of Merlot…fate had brought them together and sealed the deal and Vera was looking forward to what lie ahead, every bit of it, for she knew it was going to be magical.