Merlot Madness

Being a young woman in her twenties has many challenges. From investing her heart into fine arts to engaging her mind into having a fulfilling social life, dating seems to be the least important, and the most depressing aspect of Shanel’s life. Who can you trust in a world filled with sexist men who idolize abusing women as a form of humor? In exchange for intimate relationships, Shanel allows painting to be her one true love. Art has no limitations. Art is a judge-free zone where the realms of her mind can wander away from the pain of her past lovers. Painting alone doesn't pay the bills, so rooming with her best friend Natasha helps Shanel bear the load of surviving rent while chasing her dreams. Both single ladies lean on one another for support and take pride in their shared independence. True friendship has been more than a muse in both women's personal life, but let's be honest. True love consumes them more than they'd like to admit as they approach their late twenties. One afternoon Shanel sees a flyer for wine tasting at the gallery she works at and decides to drag her best friend along to avoid another boring weekend. There's only one catch, it includes speed dating. As corny as speed dating is, at least the wine is free, the night is young, so why not. It was time to explore what the city of LA has to offer. So we hit the mall and set out hearts on looking sexy and getting tipsy.

Round one begins, a bottle of full-bodied Merlot wine is set on the candle-lit table and the wine tasting begins. I don't consider either one of us to be shy, but wine definitely accentuates our upbeat personalities. Women were seated first, by the time my first date arrived I was already tipsy. I was glad I was tipsy because my first date was hideous. We dabbled in conversation on politics and science-fiction for all of five minutes and he bored me to death. Not once did he ask me a question about myself. Thankfully with Natasha to the left of me, we were able to sneak jokes in with each other to help pass the time. Round two came around and my date was handsome and sophisticated but in a Barack Obama kind of way. He was way too old for me. Natasha's date had a unibrow and reeked of musky cologne, so we decided to call it a night early. Date or no date we both agreed it was worth the night out. We called a Lyft to pick us up and went to "Harold's Chicken" to finish the night off.

We arrive at the restaurant and placed our orders. To our surprise, the Merlot representative from the mixer approached our table and expressed his interest in me. Not only did was I showered in compliments, but he also offered a complimentary bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. I offered him a seat at our table and we began a little speed dating of our own; Natasha didn't mind. He was tall, dark, and handsome. He had a southern accent that rung of politeness and integrity. He had a good job, no kids, and a home in Malibu. With respect for Natasha, I didn't drag the date out even though we could've talked for hours. We exchanged numbers halfway into dinner and he paid for both of our meals. Maybe it was the wine talking, but I was in love. It's rare you meet a guy in LA and he actually seems genuine. Even Natasha said he seemed worth keeping around. Once I got back to the apartment, we text for hours. I even sent him pictures of my paintings. He offered to purchase my "Dancing Moonlight" piece and showed me the artwork of a similar theme he owned in his home. It was clear he was well off, I was impressed. Who would've guessed that I'd end my night off with the mysterious Merlot man. Maybe speed dating isn't so bad after all.