A Sip of Fate

Cabernet Red. How fitting, I thought, as I dabbed at the lipstick I’d just messed up. Again. I could use a glass of that right now.

I looked in the mirror at the “natural” makeup I’d just spent an hour on to make my best feature – my hazel eyes – pop. My hair flowed in not-so-perfect brown waves around my shoulders, failing to reflect the two hours I’d struggled over it. And the navy dress that hugged my body down to the knees sat somewhere between elegant and revealing, with its long sleeves, high, draping neckline, and open back.

This was my first time prepping for a date in over a year, and I wanted to make the perfect impression. Grace, my best friend from college, had said she knew a guy who would be perfect for me, and she’d set us up on a blind date.

“Come on, Eve, just trust me on this one!” she’d begged when she brought up the idea. “He’s one of the nicest guys I know, super cute, and almost as nerdy as you.” Grace had laughed as she said the last bit. Everyone knows that she’s the fun extrovert in our friendship, and I’m the geeky bookworm with all the answers.

Most of the time.

I had no idea what the guy looked like, or really anything about him. All I knew was that his name was Michael and that Grace knew him from her job at the local elementary school. She told me that he had chosen the location for our meetup: Paolo’s, a cute little Italian restaurant downtown.

I looked at the clock and cursed under my breath – I had to leave in five minutes if I was going to be on time. Throwing the lipstick-stained tissue on the counter, I looked at my reflection one last time, took a deep breath, and left the bathroom.

Grabbing my purse and jacket, I rushed towards the front door, kissing my dad on the cheek as I passed. “Deep breaths, honey,” he called out to me as I grabbed my shoes. “Just be yourself and it’ll turn out fine.”

“I know, Daddy,” I responded breathlessly as I yanked my heels on. “I’ll text you later. Love you!”

The front door slammed behind me as I raced to my car, threw open the door, and turned on the ignition. I put the address in my GPS and set off for the restaurant.

Luckily, traffic was better than I’d expected, and I arrived at Paolo’s with a few minutes to spare. I looked in the mirror to check that nothing had smudged in my mad dash out the door. All good. Purse in hand, I stepped out of the car, adjusted myself, and made my way in.

Inside, the warm glow of the hanging antique lanterns dimly lit the wooden interior. The ocean-themed sitting area was empty, save for an older couple sitting side-by-side on the far bench. Their hands were intertwined, resting on the husband’s knee, and they whispered softly to each other, smiling every few seconds at something each had said. Their subtle affection made me smile wistfully.

The hostess greeted me with a friendly smile and requested the size of my party. Assuming I had arrived first, I told her that I was waiting on someone. She grinned knowingly and asked if I was Eve; vaguely surprised, I nodded and let her lead me back towards the dining area. I looked around, hoping that I would see my date before he saw me so I could have a moment to observe, uninterrupted.

As we walked through the tables, I took note of the décor: the dull metal anchors and ropes on the wall, the wooden beams crossing the ceiling, and the tables designed to look like the wood of a ship, all bathed in the warm lamplight.

The hostess led me past many occupied tables – it was surprisingly busy for a Thursday. I saw many couples talking quietly over dinner plates, a couple of raucous families having lively discussions over empty dishes, and one or two tables with a single patron. I looked at those, wondering if they would be my final resting spot for the night.

We kept walking further and further back, where I could see an entire wall of windows looking out onto water. I hadn’t realized it in my rush to arrive, but the restaurant sat directly on the shore of the bay, and the view of the sunset over the water was stunning.

I was so taken by the glow of the sky that I didn’t realize that the hostess had stopped at a table directly in front of the windows, and I almost bumped into her. My body flushed as I hastily stepped back, nearly tripping over my own feet in the process. Hands reached up to grab my arms, and I found myself staring into beautiful brown eyes. They aren’t really brown, though, are they? I thought to myself. There’s some blue and gray hiding in th–

“Woah, there,” a deep voice said. “You alright?”

I realized that the husky voice was coming from the person in front of me, the owner of the beautiful eyes. My cheeks went even hotter, which I didn’t think was possible, and I pulled away and cast my eyes down. “I’m so sorry,” I stammered, not sure who I was addressing. The hostess just smiled kindly and said, “Here’s your table,” before walking away and leaving me with my date.

It was then that my brain decided to compute that the man who had caught me and my date were one and the same. As my embarrassment morphed into mortification, he asked me, “Are you Eve?”

I nodded and tried to ask, “Michael?” but it came out in a whisper. He smiled at me in affirmation, then pulled out my seat and helped me get situated. I took that moment to attempt to regain some of my composure. Get it together, Evie, I thought, but was distracted by the scent of his cologne as he leaned close to push in my chair. It was spicy, with heady undertones that took my breath away.

He stepped away to return to his own seat, and I finally had a second to gather my wits. I kept my eyes focused on the table, counted to five in my head, and looked up.

Michael must have had the same idea about observing me, because when my eyes found his, he was already looking at me. I hadn’t gotten a good look at him until this point, and now that I could see him clearly, I couldn’t help but think, Grace was right. He is cute.

Those deep brown eyes were framed by thick, long lashes, and were set under dark brows; they weren’t quite bushy, but certainly weren’t fine, either. His sandy brown hair was styled long on the top and short on the sides, with the long fringe gelled back from his forehead. He had a long, proud nose set squarely in the middle of his face, the slightly raised bridge imperfectly charming. His lips were thin, his mouth wide and slightly smiling – and the smile was spreading.

I realized that I was staring, probably quite rudely, and I felt my cheeks flush again. “I’m sorry, I haven’t done this in a while.”

He chuckled, and I realized he had a dimple on his left cheek. “No worries. I haven’t either, so let’s call it even.”

I smiled and nodded, and his eyes flicked down to my lips. Do I have something in my teeth?! Panic began to set in until he looked back up into my eyes and said, “You have a lovely smile.” And there went my cheeks again.

We chatted for a few minutes, the standard introductory questions passing back and forth. At one point, a waiter came to our table asking for our beverage choices. I decided on a merlot from the local Chateau Ste. Michelle winery – my favorite red wine, which would pair well with almost any dish on the menu. Michael went with a cabernet sauvignon, and I couldn’t help but laugh, thinking of the color of my lipstick.

As the waiter left to retrieve our selections, Michael smiled, somewhat confusedly, and asked, “What’s so funny?”

“I’m sorry, I promise I’m not laughing at you,” I answered with some chagrin. “It’s just that fate works in mysterious ways.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Believer in the universe having a set path for us, are you?”

I shrugged. “Not necessarily. More like there are some things that we can’t avoid that fate has determined for us, but, overall, we still have free will. It’s up to us how we handle the things laid out in our destinies.” Looking at him a little more closely with this in mind, I asked, “What do you believe in?”

Michael leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, I suppose that it could go either way. Sometimes it feels like things happen too perfectly to be coincidence. Other times, it feels like we might be completely alone in this world, with no guidance to help us sort through all of the bad.” His eyes darkened slightly at that, and I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to make him so cynical. “Either way, the best we can do is focus on today.”

I was prevented from being able to reply by the return of the waiter with our drinks. He set our glasses down and asked for our food orders. I hadn’t really had a moment to look at the menu, but Michael was apparently ready and gave his, so I just ordered the first thing I saw. The waiter took our menus and left us to return to our conversation.

Needing a moment to collect my thoughts, I grabbed my glass and swirled it under my nose, enjoying the fragrant notes of the wine before taking a sip. I let it sit on my tongue for a second, cleansing my palate, then took another, the first true taste of the wine. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the simplicity of the moment and the complexity of the flavor. When I opened them again, Michael had his glass to his lips and was smiling at me over the rim.

Blushing yet again, I set the cup down and said, “Sorry. I just really love that wine.”

“It’s alright,” he reassured me. “I liked seeing the look on your face. Not one I see very often.”

“Do you not see many happy people?” I asked.

“Not really, no. Some pretend they are happy, but most don’t even bother. It’s refreshing to see true contentment.”

I thought this over for a moment. “Are you happy?” The question slipped out before I thought better of it, and I immediately wished I could take it back. But instead of looking at me the way I felt I deserved, he just put on a thoughtful expression before answering.

“Yes and no. On rare occasions I feel moments of joy. I try not to let life get me down, but I don’t think I have anything particularly inspiring in my life, either. Not yet, at least.” He looked down at the table for a moment. I was about to apologize, but before I could, he looked back up with a small smile.

“Did you see that elderly couple in the entrance when you first walked in?” I nodded, unsure of where this was going. “That is the kind of happy I want. Something pure and simple, and shared with someone else.”

Fate seemed to be pushing something big into my lap, so I decided to take a leap. “Is that what you’re hoping to find here? Tonight?”

He smiled crookedly and picked up his glass again. “I don’t know yet. But I’d like to find out.”