CLASSIC MOVE

Just swipe left they said, or up and down or sideways, whatever, it never worked. Beth had been divorced for five years now. She had been married for 8 years and listened to everyone tell her that after seven years, it’s all good. Well, it wasn’t, and it didn’t end well. Beth had finally decided it was time to step out again, for real this time. She missed having that daily touch, and companionship she looked forward to sharing her home with. Her friends had tried over and over to set her up with their friends, relatives and of course, those older people at weddings who felt they had the perfect setup for her. She denied all of them and after many days and nights at home alone with her nightly glass of Merlot, she knew no matter how fancy the glass, it could not take the place of a man.

She had a monthly membership with a wine company, so she was by now an expert on the many different wines that were available to her and in the last five years, she had sampled them all. But no matter how great the taste, the glass of Merlot couldn’t replace the laughter, the conversation and the time spent watching the classics on Turner Classics Movies every night, especially the weekends.

While browsing through the channels before her favorite movie was in commercials, she stopped on the shopping network and there it was; the exact gold trench coat she had been looking for. She hurriedly dialed the number. Hello, the voice on the other end. Yes, I would like the gold coat in a size 10. “Would you like fries with that”, the voice on the other end of the phone asked? “Excuse me”, she said, looking at her phone as if it she would jump through it. “Is that To Sir With Love playing in the background”, he asked? “What, could you please just take my order”, she said in disgust! He continued to ask questions as if he knew her. “I am trying to order a coat. I have no idea why you are trying to have a conversation with me” Beth said now yelling!!! Sorry ma’am but this is Jeffrey, Jeffrey Williams, and you have called my number, and no I do not have a gold coat in any size”. Beth began to laugh. Jeffrey started laughing too. “Beth, Beth is my name and I do apologize. I am so embarrassed. I am certain now that I dialed the wrong number”. “Ms Beth, is that To Sir With Love you are watching”, Jeffrey asked again. “Yes, it is. Like I said, I do apologize. You have a great evening”, Beth said trying to hang up the phone.

“Please do not hang up until you tell me what station you are watching. You can at least give me that. It’s one of my favorite movies”. Now tell me what station you are watching so that I can catch that movie before it gets to the good parts”. “It’s the Turner Classic Movies station. I probably have watched it at least 50 times, Beth said.

“Well could you hold on until I find the station. If you hang up, I am sure I will never find it”, Jeffrey said, as he began to flip through the stations. “Got it”, he said. They both began to say the lines word for word. He stopped and laughed and asked if she would stay on the line at least until a commercial comes on. Beth laughed and said, “ah, yeah, okay”. They sat there watching the entire movie and didn’t realize until they both sang the ending song that they had spent two hours on the phone together. “To Sir with love”, Jeffrey sang again as the movie ran into credits. Beth laughed. “You have a very nice voice”, she said. “Thanks, I used to sing in a band in high school”, he said. “Wow, I did too”, Beth said. “I was the only girl in the band”. “You must be really good if you were the only girl”, he said. They continued to talk for hours.

Jeffrey looked at the clock and then said, “wow, this is the cheapest date I have ever had”. They both laughed. “I guess this was a date”, Beth said. “It’s nice to hear someone enjoy the classics as much as I do”. “So, if I am not being too forward, will you go out on a real date with me” he asked. She agreed and they planned to meet that Saturday evening. She asked his taste in wine and he said enjoyed a nice Merlot each night before bed. Beth laughed. “What’s funny,” he asked. “Oh, nothing”, she said, “see you next week”. They ended the call and Beth felt good being able to talk so easily to someone. It was also a plus that he was interested in some of the same things she was interested in. The date night promised to be a great one.

Saturday had arrived and Beth had spent hours trying to find the right outfit for the date. She was startled by the phone ringing. It was Jeffrey. Her heart skipped a beat; thinking now that maybe he decided to cancel the date.

“Hey Jeffrey”, what’s up? Did you change your mind about the date”? “Of course not”, he said. “I was just wondering”. “What is it”, she asked? “Well, Lilies of the Field comes on tonight, and I was wondering if you would like to watch it with me instead”. “Wait, is that tonight”, she asked. “That’s another favorite. I would love to watch it with you. Would you like to come here, or should I come there?” “I would feel much better driving myself back home as opposed to wondering whether or not you made it back to your place safely. So, if you don’t mind”. They agreed. Beth hung up the phone a little nervous about the date but excited to have someone to share the movie with.

They didn’t really decide on a menu, so she decided to make her famous lasagna, a salad, and cheesecake for dessert. Jeffrey arrived on time and came in and handed her a bottle. It was her favorite Merlot. Beth smiled and invited him in. They spent the entire evening watching movies. Beth fell asleep on his shoulder and when she awakened the next morning, he had cleaned the kitchen and put all the food away. He had placed one of the throws from the sofa over her and allowed her to sleep peacefully the entire night. The television was still on and he sat there still watching Turner Classic Movies. It was the beginning of many dates to come.