Dream Date of a Perfect Pairing

Denise was overcome with nervousness as she lay in the bed unable to sleep any longer. You see, this is the day she finally rejoins society! For the past nearly twenty years she has only lived for her three children. Raising them was her only concern, her only thought, but they are all grown up now. Her two daughters have mates and children of their own. The past year and the pandemic had shown her just how much she is alone. SO, she decided when people get back to joining society, she was going to start dating. This was that day.

She had not dated in eighteen years and according to her daughter’s, she was out of touch. They spent the day pampering their mother… nail salon, hair salon, shopping for new clothes and shoes. They had a wonderful lunch at an Italian restaurant and discussed the new age dating techniques to her over a bottle of Merlot. The discussion consisted of things she could and could not say. The world was definitely a different place now compared to when she had met their father. I think the children were more excited than their mother for this coming evening’s event.

She had a lovely time with the girls but, was all this hustle and bustle really necessary? It all seemed so fake. Was she just putting on a façade to mask her private despair? She wondered if her date would notice how antiquated she was. She was nervous because her children were a mixed race, mulatto and beautiful. Would this man understand if he knew? Would he still be interested? The “old” woman just kept telling herself, “we are doing this”.

After a long day she was back at home. She lived in a small but comfortable home with her two dogs. She had a few hours now before it was time to meet her date and she would need every second of that time to get her hair back to the way the salon had it along with the other preparations. After realizing she would never get her hair to look like the beautician had done it, she realized this was not her. She decided that she was going to be herself. She put on her limited makeup, did her hair the way she wanted it to be and went with an outfit she already had in her closet. She was as ready as she could be now and actually felt comfortable being herself as she walked out the door. To hell with the date if he did not like it!

On the other side of town an older gentleman, Wayne, was anxious about his date this evening. He had lost his wife many years prior and their children had moved out of state. Being cooped up in his home the past year, dealing with this horrible pandemic, had shown him how lonely he had become. He knew in his bones it was time to move on with his life. He had loved his wife so very much. She had been a different race and they had had a tough time raising the kids, but they did the best they could. Thankfully, she lived long enough to see them be successful. He wondered if his date would understand if she knew the love of his life had been a different race. Would she still be interested? He decided he was going to go as himself, no fancy clothes. He was not going to put on a façade, she either liked him or didn’t, period.

Wayne arrived at the steak house and ordered a nice bottle of Merlot. He waited, wondering if his date liked wine. He was early and enjoyed sitting and watching people. He looked over and noticed a beautiful simple woman sitting alone at a table with her own bottle of Merlot. He was drawn to her somehow and noticed her looking back at him. He gathered his nerves and walked over to her and asked if she was alone and if so, wanted company for dinner. She also was early for her date and enjoyed watching people. They had each noticed the other’s great taste in wine, as they had ordered the same bottle of Merlot, and sat talking, giving the bottle’s time to breathe to perfection. After a lovely dinner, Wayne and Denise never wondered if their respective dates showed, they just enjoyed the others company. The two paired best, just as their Merlot and medium rare steak had paired. It was a match made in heaven.