One Night in San Francisco

Restaurants are opening up again and I am finally doing something that I haven’t done in a year; go out on a date. His name is “Dustin”. We met on a dating app and we are finally meeting in person. I am so nervous! I don’t know what to do. Do I wear my mask the whole time? Do I give him an “air hug”? Would it be weird if I brought plastic utensils to the date? Help, I need answers!

While the world is battling Covid, I am battling with social anxiety. I need to do this. Dustin is the man of my dreams and we are going out to a beautiful restaurant. Before I leave, I need to make sure I have protection: my mask and hand sanitizer. I arrived at the restaurant and it is immaculate. It faces the Bay Bridge. As the waitress checks my temperature, my nerves catch me and I don’t know what to do. I want to leave, but I want to stay.

That is until the waitress said the magic words, “The bar is open”. It was like I heard Angelic music. The only thing that can calm me down is a glass of wine. I asked the bartender what he recommended and he said “try the Bright Cellar Merlot”. As I sipped the wine, my nerves vanished and I felt as if the Merlot just took me into an oasis. I was calm and at ease. Dustin finally arrived and he seemed nervous.

“Hi, it’s great to finally meet face-to-face,” I said.

“You look beautiful!” Said Dustin. “I’m sorry, I am just so nervous. This is my first time out in a long time.”

“Oh you’re telling me. I just had to get a glass of wine to calm my nerves”

“Wine sounds really good right now”

I recommended the Merlot. As soon as he took that first sip of wine, I knew Dustin was at ease. The wine was so inviting that it can make a wall flower turn into the life of the party.

“Wow, you were not kidding. This wine tastes amazing” said Dustin.

“I know right!” I said “It took all the nervous energy I had immediately away”.

Within 10 minutes, the conversation began to flow. Our date was unlike any other; it was a dream. We were the only ones there for most of the date. It was a candlelit dinner and a few feet away, there was a pianist who played so elegantly, even the waiter moved along to the beat. If that wasn’t perfect enough, we sat near a window that showed the Bay Bridge glisten with beautiful white lights. The water was so still that it resembled glass. The food was amazing and me and Dustin couldn’t stop laughing.

It was definitely a dream. After we finished our dinner, me and Dustin took a stroll on the pier. It was a perfect date. The Bay Bridge glimmered with bright white lights, while the breeze was just right and the best part? There was a man playing the saxophone to the song “Saving All My Love For You”. Dustin and I decided to dance along to the jazz musician as he played beautifully. It was like I had died and gone to heaven. I don’t know if it was the ambiance of the restaurant, the chemistry between Dustin and I, the wine or just a night in San Francisco, but one thing that I knew was that it was a dream date that took me away from all of my worries. For someone who was so nervous and grappling with anxiety, I couldn’t believe that I was saying this after the first day, but One night in San Francisco...I fell in love.