Blackbird

We locked eyes from across the table. Steely gray, and cold. If I hadn’t known the body staring back at me was full of life-giving blood his eyes would have been right at home in a cadaver. I tried to find my smile but it had been misplaced in an alternate timeline.

He was older, about 10 years. His hair was graying and looked as though it had never known the touch of a brush. He cleared his throat. I jumped. First dates were not my thing. Especially not blind dates!

“Bruce...” his name was another language on my tongue. “I’m glad we could make this work.” I grimaced awkwardly at the painfully overused first date jargon. He was an astrophysicist, a well-known one. I, a struggling artist of the unknown variety. If you could even really call me that. By daylight, I was still working retail... at 30. We didn’t belong to the same social circles let alone ‘league.’

His eyes narrowed. “It’s Andrea isn’t it?”

I swallowed. “Yes!" I sighed, that wasn't quite right... "Actually I prefer Andy." Bruce appeared to be questioning his choice to meet me at all. My cousin was a mutual friend of one of his, and in a strange twist, fate somehow thought the pair of us would be a match.

Finally, the pandemic was under control and after missing out on what was turning into close to 2 years of dating I knew I had to get back out there if I had any hope of catching my ‘white whale,’ ‘the one,’ ‘my Prince Charming...’ but surely it wasn’t Bruce.

Thankfully the waiter interrupted the silence that seemed now to have existed since the beginning of time. “Can I get some drinks started?”

Somehow in a panic, I ended up speaking at the same time as Bruce. “A glass of merlot!” We both said. The waiter nodded and smiled before turning away with a knowing wink.

“I...” I tried to think of something to turn the odd interaction into a joke. Please God let me be funny I pleaded. A tumbleweed might as well have blown across the desert of my mind.

Bruce beat me to it. “A wine drinker eh?” It was effortless. Light.

“Well... yes.” I smiled sheepishly.

“You would have struck me as a rosé or a prosecco kind of girl...” he said around a wolffish grin. He was teasing me. It was a joke. He thought simply because I was a redhead in a tight black dress with red lipstick that I couldn’t possibly have the taste for a deep red wine.

“I see. The first of many surprises I’m sure Bruce.” I got a bit cocky. All these science guys tended to be the same. Dorky in school and now that they had money they wanted to make the pretty girls feel like out-of-place decorative ornaments. Let’s see if I can’t teach him something. “And do you happen to know why it is called merlot?” I challenged.

His interest was apparent but he steeled his reaction. “Do share Miss Andy.”

“The French word for blackbird is merle. It’s thought to be a reference to the dark blue color of the grapes.”

“My my. Not a causal drinker are we? An enthusiast.” He half-heartedly checked his cufflinks.

“For a time I thought rather arrogantly that I had the palate to become a Somalia. However, it is a very tedious process... and I am better suited to being an enthusiastic causal drinker.” I chuckled bitterly.

The waiter had returned with our glasses. Sparkling deep garnet in the candlelight as he set them in front of us.

Bruce nodded to show he had heard my response. He took the stem of the glass softly between his fingers and spun it gently. “Beautiful color... shall we see how it hits the nose?” His eyebrow quirked upwards and the smallest hint of a smile lingered at the corner of his lips.

I followed his lead and delicately lifted the glass to hover below my nose slowly circling the wine by the stim. “Red fruit...hints of plum...” I pushed the glass to my lips and took a sip savoring the mouthfeel. It was velvety and rich. I detected notes of laurel and coffee. I sighed blissfully.

“That good huh?” Taking his own delicate sip Bruce used his long fingers to bring the rim to his mouth. He hummed in appreciation. “Hopefully I am not overstepping Miss Andy but I do think the salmon on the menu will pair best with this. Shall I order for both of us?”

“Please.” A grin spread on my face still hidden behind my glass. Perhaps we had a thing or two in common after all? A taste for the finer things? A sophistication that was lost on men my own age.

“What other surprises do you have for me?” Though he was smug his interest has truly been earned now.

“Bruce...” I tutted my teeth hitting my lips. “It is your turn to surprise me I think.”

He nodded slowly. “Then I have a confession...”

I felt my stomach drop. This was it. He was going to say that I was a perfectly nice girl but that the spark just wasn’t there... or some hoarded version of that. I did my best to keep my face a pleasant mask but felt my hands going cold all the same. It was bound to happen. He was older, already established in his career and I was floundering still paying bills month to month. I would just be an anchor to him, dragging him down.

After what seemed like an intentional dramatic paused Bruce finally continued, “I am a fan of your artwork...”

I blinked. Stunned into silence. “You-you’ve seen my work?”

“Yes. I’ve been following your Instagram for some time now. It was at my pestering that my friend arranged this meeting through your cousin.” He studied me with his cold eyes.

My mind was a wash of color and sound and yet I couldn’t utter a sound. I felt heat licking my cheeks as a blush covered them. That can’t be right. He likes my work?!

“Why on earth are you still wasting your time at that retail job you hate so much? You’ve got the talent... you simply need to reach out and grab for more...” his fingers brushed my own and I jumped lowering my gaze. His hand opened waiting for me to clasp it.