to go to prom, I want to belong.” She sounds so defeated.
I pull Charley close to my side and tell her, “Whatever your experience, there will always be things you wished were different. That’s just life. The only thing you can control is your attitude. With a good attitude, you increase your resilience and change your perspective.”
She tilts her head back and forth while rolling her eyes. “Okay, Mom.”
We spend the rest of the day researching why our app isn’t proving effective for me. According to Charley, it’s tweaked to the point of perfection. Yet, since my last failed blind date, I’ve received messages from three other men, all of whom come across as total losers. One of them has been unemployed, by choice, for four years and claims that, while he can’t afford to take me to dinner, he’d be happy to go out and let me pay.
The next one was a high school biology teacher who shared that he has a soap allergy. It’s been twenty years since he’s used an actual cleaning agent on his body. When he confessed to really enjoying the organic smell of the human body, I was out. I really love the smell of clean.
The third guy was a stockbroker and claimed that the stock market is his life so I should expect a crash course in the best yielding hedge funds. Yawn and pass.
It’s not that I’m actually looking to date anyone now that things have changed between me and Ben, but I still need to figure out why my app isn’t working. I can’t go public with it until I know I can stand behind the matches it makes, and the only way to do that is to pretend that I’m looking.
When Charley leaves for the day, I hurry to take a quick shower and then I pore over takeout menus. Ben and I are eating in tonight, which means romance is definitely a possibility. Therefore I want to make sure my food selection is a romantic one. I settle on sushi from a Japanese restaurant down the street with appetizers from an Italian restaurant. Then I order dessert from the Sunshine Bakery.
Twenty minutes before Ben is due to arrive, I slip into a pair of super soft capri pants and a sleeveless cotton blouse that ties in the front. Then I put on some big silver hoop earrings, a delicate bracelet, and my mood ring.
When I look myself over in the mirror, my stomach starts to jump around like it’s hosting a Mexican jumping bean tournament. I make a kissy face just for practice, then go into the living room to light some candles.
I’m full of excitement and trepidation. I really, really want tonight to go well. It’s one thing to connect with someone while you’re away — I mean, that saying “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” is a saying for a reason. Getting back to your own space is the true test, though.
Having said that, I already knew Ben was an exceptional man before we went to Florida (even though I did find him inordinately irritating). But all that head butting is behind us. From here on out, our path should be smooth sailing.
Thirty-Two
Ben
“Hi! How was the big trip?” Gwen asks.
My stomach tightens as I think about all the things I’m not going to tell her. Not because I was cheating on her or anything. We’ve only had one date, but I still need to let her know we aren’t going to have anymore. “Good, yeah. How’ve you been?”
“A bit stressed, to be honest,” she says. “I had to pull five teeth from a nine-year-old sugar-addict. Five. Can you imagine? Poor little guy has a condition that makes him high risk for anesthetic, so he had to be awake for it. It was not fun. Also, two of my sister’s bridesmaids got into a huge fight yesterday when we were at my parents’ house working on guest favors.”
“Really?” I ask, my heart sinking a little. How am I going to tell her I’m not able to make it on Saturday?
“Oh, yes, it was delightful. There were even some clumps of hair on the kitchen floor by the time we got them separated. And I ended up with a black eye out of it, so that’s lovely.”
“That’s terrible. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Honestly, the only thought that’s kept me going is that I’ll have you with me at the party. Thanks for that, by the way. You’re my