No Red Flags, Just Red Wine

Jill matched with Paul last week and they bonded over the fact that they both considered themselves oenophiles, although Paul certainly didn’t know the word. She chose this bar after checking out the wine list online, so when she walked in she already knew what bottle she wanted to share; it was a 2017 Merlot called Meet Cute. How adorable would that be? They could serve the wine at the wedding and tell the story about how they shared it the night they met. The Meet Cute name would certainly distract from the fact that they met online, while Jill was ¾ the way through a bottle, scrolling and watching Grey’s Anatomy alone on a Friday night.

The dating app, and let’s be honest, the entire scene, had been a minefield of red flags for Jill. She had observed some patterns and started judging men based on what drink they ordered on their first date. There was Owen, who ordered an Old Fashioned. She thought he was sophisticated, but it turned out he was also sleeping with his secretary. There was Gary, who drank light beer. He would scream obscenities at the TV during games, and eventually at Jill too. There was Tom, who ordered a round of Tequila shots. He was a lot of fun, until he left her office Christmas party with the coat check girl. At least he had invited her to come along with them.

She could feel that tonight was going to be different. Paul seemed attentive and easy to talk to. She got there just a minute before him and made eye contact with the handsome bartender as she scoped out two seats near the front door. He asked if he could get her anything and she said she was waiting for someone. Paul then walked in and she stood up to greet him. She noticed that he was two inches shorter than her. This wouldn't be a problem at all, except she remembered that his profile specifically said differently.

The bartender came over and tried introducing himself, but Paul blurted out that he was ready with their drink order. “You gotta try the White Peach Sangria! We’ll have a pitcher of that”. Jill said “I was thinking we’d share a bottle of Merlot” but Paul shook his head emphatically and insisted. The bartender looked at her for confirmation, “You sure?”. She nodded in defeat. So much for their wedding wine, and their honeymoon touring vineyards in California.

The bartender proceeded to get the bagged white wine from the mini fridge under the bar, and then filled the pitcher with canned slimy peaches like the ones her mom used to pack for lunch, and a few maraschino cherries. He looked at Jill as he stirred it with a stained plastic spoon, wrinkled his nose and cringed dramatically, then smiled. When he put the pitcher on the bar he included a sly wink when Paul wasn’t looking.

She nursed her one glass of the dreadfully sweet Sangria as Paul finished the other three. She couldn’t get a word in edgewise. She could tell that the bartender knew how uncomfortable she was because he kept checking on her and asking if he could get her anything else, but she wanted the whole thing to be over as quickly as possible. Luckily, since they came late and didn’t order food, Paul was getting pretty tipsy, pretty quickly. Jill pointed out that the staff was cleaning up and offered to put him in a cab. She breathed a sigh of both relief and disappointment as she waved goodbye. She had learned a lot in the last few years and knew the fact that Paul drank bad wine wasn’t the problem, but she was certainly going to make fun of his Peach Sangria with her girlfriends later. She had hoped for red wine tonight, but all she got were red flags.

When she walked back in, the place was totally empty. Most of the chairs were stacked on top of the bar, but hers was still sitting with her coat on the back. She looked around for the check book, but instead saw two wine glasses. Then, she heard the bartender coming up from the cellar with a bottle. It was just the two of them now, and he yelled up “That was a pretty rough one. I thought you could use a nightcap”. He began to open the wine quickly, but not carelessly, and poured her glass first. As he handed it to her, he finally introduced himself:

“Hi, I’m Matteo. I heard you mention Merlot earlier. I’m a Merlot guy myself. I picked this one cause it’s called Meet Cute. Cool name, huh?”