Not So Happy Hour

Daphne sat curled up on the sofa, hot cocoa bomb melting in her warmed milk, next to the man who saved her from a miserable date months before. He, Logan, told her that he had recently watched a film that reminded him of her.

Sideways (2004).

She had never seen the movie before, and she laughed when she saw Paul Giamatti’s character’s distaste of merlot and understood why he thought of her. As the film went on, she thought of the night that had started off horribly, but somehow ended wonderfully.

“I thought my mother knew my taste, but I guess not,” her date muttered to himself. Daphne wasn’t sure if he intended for her to hear him, so, while offended, she chose to ignore it for the time being. His mother, Jo, was a favorite yoga classmate of hers and a total sweetheart, so when she suggested a blind date with her son, Andrew, Daphne was excited to oblige. Jo had told her that Andrew was 35 and never had a relationship last long, and she couldn’t understand why. Daphne didn’t understand either. If the woman who raised him was such a wonderful person, Andrew must be at least decent, right?

She agreed to meet him at a local Italian restaurant for what she hoped would be a night of good food and great conversation. Wearing her favorite little black dress, a pair of strapped chunky heels, and her hair in loose curls cascading down her back, Daphne was feeling unusually confident in her appearance. That is, until she had heard Andrew’s rude remark.

“Daisy, was it?”

“Daphne.”

“Fine.”

She had barely sat down and was very quickly understanding why he was 35 and unsuccessful in relationships.

Andrew removed his cell phone from the pocket of his pale blue button-down shirt and began texting. As he typed and growled in irritation, Daphne looked around the restaurant to observe her fellow diners. The dining room was fairly empty, only five tables of couples and two tables of small families, so it wasn’t a very long sweep. Just as she got to the lone man sitting at the bar, the server appeared.

“Hi! I’m Alex and I’ll be taking care of you this evening. Can I get you started with something to drink, other than water? It is currently Happy Hour, so we have some draught specials, and all of our house wines are half off.”

“Hi Alice,” Andrew started, “we’ll both take a glass of pinot noir.”

“Actually,” Daphne interjected, “Alex, I would like a glass of merlot, please.”

Andrew looked at her in disgust. “Merlot? You’re joking, right?”

“I’m sorry?” Daphne asked in surprise.

“Merlot is swill. If you’re ordering merlot, we clearly have nothing in common, and I’m leaving.” He tried to laugh lightly, pretending to make a joke. Daphne wasn’t having any of it.

“Be my guest,” she responded. “I’ve been here less than five minutes and you’ve already insulted me and made an ass of yourself. I’m not going to enjoy my evening with you, and I’m sure the feeling is mutual. You are more than welcome to leave.”

Andrew stared in surprise. “Well, I can see that my first impression was correct,” he said as he stood up and walked out. After apologizing to Alex, Daphne got up from the table and walked over to the bar. The man that she had noticed before was still sat there, sipping on a glass of wine and chatting with the bartender. As she sat down a couple of barstools away, the stranger turned to her.

“That was a quick date,” he teased. Daphne was not in a joking mood and stared at him unimpressed. He quickly apologized. “I’m sorry. The guy was very rude and demanding from the moment he walked in the door and I made it a point to silently feel sorry for whoever he was meeting.” He extended a hand to Daphne and smiled. “Hi, I’m Logan.”

Daphne smiled back and accepted his hand. “Daphne.”

“Daphne,” Logan started, “can I buy you a glass of wine?”

“Of course,” Daphne answered.

“Wonderful,” he replied. “How about some pinot noir?”

He smirked. She laughed.