by Teneka Woods
Nate noticed Tora still standing at the counter chatting with the cashier. He couldn’t take his eyes off her honey brown complexion, flat stomach, and long legs. She pulled something out of her purse and handed it to the clerk before walking out the door as sexily as she’d walked in.
His mother was probably right. There goes my wife.
TWO
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” Tora sat next to her coworker at a table in the mall food court. Candace was on her phone, completing a dating profile with Tora’s information.
“This is how it is now. People are so busy these days, so online dating is the way to go if you really want to meet someone.”
“How does that make sense? If they’re so busy, how would they have time for dating?”
“It just makes the process easier,” Candace said. “Between traveling to work and home, and other obligations, people don’t have the chance to get out like they used to.”
Tora rolled her eyes. “It’s just giving people an excuse to be lazy. That’s the problem… people don’t talk anymore. Everyone wants to hide behind a screen.”
Candace sighed and popped her gum. “Well… at least this way you have the control over the man you choose. Since you’re always complaining about the type of men that approach you. Look, see—” Candace held the phone up so Tora could see the screen “—they have a field where you can enter your height requirements. It will automatically rule out the short guys.”
Tora sucked her teeth. “I’m sure a lot of guys exaggerate their height on there.”
Candace laughed. “I don’t think so. This is a dating site you have to pay for, so I believe the people on here are more serious than those free sites. And a driver license is required, so maybe the site checks the information against the ID.”
Tora shrugged. “All of it just seems so desperate to me. What happened to the days when men and women weren’t afraid to talk to each other?”
“It hasn’t changed. People just talk online and by text now.” Candace handed the phone to Tora. “Here, now upload a couple of pictures.”
“I’d rather not. Just leave it blank.”
“Tora, you have to upload a picture! This will increase the chances your profile gets views.”
“How about I upload a picture of Mink? At least they’d know up front that I’m a cat lover, and only cat lovers need apply.”
Candace’s eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips. “Seriously?”
Tora laughed. “Alright. But only one.” Tora scrolled through her phone to find a black and white photo she’d recently taken.
“This is perfect,” Candace said when Tora gave the phone back to her. “Now you will be able to meet your own Ruki.”
“Is this the site where you met him? Soul Meet?” Ruki was Candace’s fiancé, a sexy Nigerian orthodontist. They had been dating for a year when he asked her to marry him. Her family loved him, but his family despised his choosing an American for a wife.
She grinned. “Yep.”
“Well, I guess I’ll give it a chance if they have more guys on here that look like him.”
Candace laughed, shaking her head. “I don’t know if there’s anybody else out there as handsome as he is, so don’t get your hopes up.”
“Oh, please!” Tora rolled her eyes and gathered her trash from the table. “We need to get back so we can finish setting up for the sale.”
Tora pulled a pair of gray slacks onto a mannequin. She loved her job as Visual Merchandiser at Driskell & Co.—a chain of clothing stores dedicated to the stylish and sophisticated young adult. The workload kept her busy and required travel to a different location around the city every other week, so she felt like she was not stuck in the same place every day. Candace was the floor manager of the Willowbrook Mall store—the location where Tora spent most of her time.
Tora said, “So, tell me exactly how this online dating thing works.”
“I can’t believe you’ve never tried online dating. Where have you been?”
“Existing in the real world.”
Candace laughed as she started to work on the four-way display in front of her, sizing the shirts from smallest to largest. “Online dating is the real world. It’s just another avenue to meet somebody.”
“I imagine it’s full of loony people hiding behind a screen to play out their sick fantasies.”
“Tora, you can’t go in with a negative attitude already. It’s true there are a bunch of crazy people out there, but I feel more comfortable with the paid sites. I don’t think any sane person would spend their money just to harass folks.”
“Those are the ones that have the money to burn. Because they have nothing else going on in their lives, they spend their extra funds on sick and twisted pastimes.”
Candace rolled her eyes heavenward. “Do you really think I would recommend something I’m not sure of? Ruki is the best thing that’s happened to me and I’m pretty confident you will find someone who’s good for you, too, but you have to have an open mind and put yourself out there. What do you have to lose?”
Tora sighed and buttoned the black and white checkered shirt on the mannequin. “I’ll try it,” she answered, “but it better be worth my money. I can’t believe I’m even spending money just to meet a guy! It’s crazy to me!”
“All you have to do is find a profile you like and send him a message. Exchange numbers to get to know each other over the phone, see if y’all click, and then schedule a date.”
“No way,” Tora shook her head. “I’m not giving out my phone number. I prefer we meet up first… that way, I’m not wasting my time on a bad candidate.”
Candace shrugged. “That could work, too. However you want to do it. But I preferred to spend a few weeks talking to gauge how we vibe together before I determined he was worth moving to the next step in the process.”
“Well, I disagree. If I don’t like him, I don’t want him calling me.”
Laughing, Candace said, “You are a trip.”
“I’m just being honest about it. It doesn’t make sense to give out my number to someone I’m not interested in.”
Tora relaxed in bed later that night, stroking Silk’s fine coat as he lay at her side. Silk was one of her Blue Point Siamese cats; Mink was the other—a female. Whereas Silk was calm and laidback, and preferred to be coddled, Mink was her adventurous and talkative one. She liked to roam the apartment out of Tora’s sight most of the time. And she slept in the den in her cat bed.
It was nearing midnight on the east coast, but Tora picked up her phone to call her mother before she called her father as she did every night before bed. Her parents—Sharon and Myles—lived in her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and both were night owls with mid-day and third-shift jobs. When she announced to them seven years ago she was moving down south for a change of atmosphere and warmer weather year-round, they were in complete disbelief. Her father cried for two days and her mother didn’t talk to her for a week. They did not understand why their child—their only child—would want to be so far away from them, breaking up the family. But Tora’s mind was made up. She’d already applied for a job, secured an apartment, and had the movers scheduled. On that day, as she hugged her parents tightly and her tears mixed with theirs, she promised to come back home around the holidays and to call them every day.
And since then she’s upheld the promise.
“Hi, Mommy,” Tora said when her mother answered. “What are you doing?”
“The same thing I’m always doing when you call me around this hour, sweetheart.”
Tora knew she had just made it home from her job at the call center and was probably getting ready to eat dinner. “How was your day?”
“Busy as usual. We had two people call in sick, so I had to step in and answer some calls myself.”
“Mom, as long as you’ve been at that job, you should be the last person to have to work the phones. You’ve put in more than your share of customer service.”
She laughed softly. “That’s what I’m paid to do, sweetheart. I have to be willing to step down and assist wherever there’s a need.”
And it was that type of attitude that made Sharon a favorite in the workplace and, although it took nearly fifteen years for her work ethic to be fully recognized and rewarded, she became Call Center Manager at the 24-hour security answering service.
“You won’t believe what I did today,” Tora said.
Sharon remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
“I let my coworker convince me to sign up for a dating service.”
“So now you’re turning into your Aunt Kit.”
Tora laughed. Aunt Kit was her dad’s sister, a serial dater who lived for all types of matchmaking services and speed dating. She had a new “gentleman friend” every few months. Her motto was ‘Keep trying until you get Mr. Right’.
“I’m not going to go that far,” Tora said. “I’m only doing it because it’s the site where she met her fiancé. And he’s a handsome guy. And tall.”
Sharon chuckled. “Your poor father cursed you with all that beautiful height, didn’t he?”
It was true she inherited her stature from her father: tall and naturally lean, with long feet. Tora wished she’d gotten at least some of her mother’s curviness. However, her height is what she believed contributed to her lack of success in the dating arena, not her lack of curves. Even as a teen she was always taller than most of her classmates and teachers. And the few tall guys in her school were already taken. It was the same in her adult life.
A ping sounded in Tora’s ear and she pulled the phone away to check the message. It was an email notification from the dating site alerting her of a new private message. “It’s a blessing and a curse at the same time. I just want to finally meet someone I can look up to,” she said.
“And you will meet him,” Sharon assured her. “It takes time to meet somebody special. But are you sure you’re making yourself available? Not being too picky? We discussed this before if I remember correctly.”
Tora talked to her mother about everything. Almost everything. She informed her all about the woes of dating and her desire to be in a serious relationship. “We did. But I still say having standards is not being picky.”
“It sounds pretty picky to me if your main concern is whether or not he’s tall enough for you to look up at him.”
“It’s not the main thing, just an important thing. What woman wants to look down at her man?”
“Well… I’m not going to say I understand your frustration because clearly I don’t. I just think you need to come down off your high horse and give somebody a chance. Pun intended.”
They laughed together.
“I’m going to give this dating service a try and see what happens,” Tora said.
“You may get lucky like Aunt Kit… you never know.”
“Can we really consider Aunt Kit lucky if she’s still looking?”
Sharon’s easy laugh made Tora smile.
“I guess it depends on what you’re looking for. In her case, anytime she has a new boyfriend she’s struck gold.”
Silk nudged Tora’s arm and she made room for him to settle across her lap. “I just thought I’d be in a long-term, committed relationship by now… on my way to marriage. I haven’t even had a date for two years now.” She sighed.
“Sweetheart, you’re still young. You’ve got plenty of time. Just forget about it, have fun, and let the universe send him to you.”
“Thirty-two is not so young. Plus, you and daddy were already married and had me by the time you were my age.”
“Yeah, but you see it didn’t last long at all. And I want you to tell that knucklehead when you call him tonight to return my weed eater he borrowed and promised to bring right back. It’s been a whole month.”
Tora shook her head at the craziness of her parents. They divorced when she was five years old, both went on to marry other people, divorced again, but somehow the two remained close friends. And they bickered and fought as if they were still married. She teased them all the time that they should just put the other out of their misery and get back together. But Sharon claimed Myles was stuck in his ways, and Myles claimed Sharon was stuck in the past.
“Why don’t you just call him yourself, Mom?”
“I’m not calling him. He’ll have me on the phone for hours.”
Tora understood. Her father was definitely a talker—another trait she inherited from him, although hers was not as extreme. “That’s because he’s still in love with you.” Sharon made a sound and Tora imagined she was sitting at the dining table rolling her eyes.
“He is a mess. Always has been,” her mother chuckled.
“I’m going to let you go now so you can eat your dinner and relax. Talk to you tomorrow. I love you.”
“I love you,” Sharon said.
There were eleven private messages when Tora signed onto the dating site. Of the eleven, only two interested her enough to view their profiles. One was a very good-looking man who, according to his profile, was tired of racing through life alone and was ready to meet his sidekick. A scroll through his photos revealed he was part of a motorcycle club. She’d been on the back of a motorcycle only once in her life and she remembered it being both a hair-raising and exciting experience. She left a reply.
The other was a music recording artist and producer. He was not as striking as the first, but his photos caught her attention. Although dark and brooding, they showed the artist hard at work in the studio. His message to her said: Every day I’m always looking for inspiration for a new song. Sometimes it comes, but many times it don’t. Inspiration came to me today.
She replied back, signed off, and then pressed the button on the phone to call her dad.
“WMYL… this is your voice of the night, coming to you live from P.A.,” Myles answered in his baritone voice. “Anything you need, I got it, just hit me up on the phone lines and I’ll make it happen for you.”
Tora laughed out loud. Her father never picked up the phone with a simple ‘hello.’ He always had something outlandish to say. “Hey, Daddy. I need three—”
“Uh-oh… there’s static in the line. I think we’re losing the call. Please hang up and try us again in a few minutes.”
Tora wished she was there with him to give him a playful smack. “How are you doing? Are you on your way to work?”
“Just making it in. What’s going on, baby girl?”
“Nothing. Mommy said you better bring back her weed eater.”
“What? That old raggedy thing?”
“Hey, I’m just the messenger.” Tora scratched Silk’s chin and he tilted his head back, closing his eyes in satisfaction as her fingertips worked their magic.
“I ended up having to buy one, so I went ahead and replaced hers too. I just haven’t had the time to take it to her.”
And there was that, too. Myles still looked out for Sharon, doing nice things for her here and there.
“But I have to go now, baby girl. I tell the guys no personal calls on the shop floor, so it’s only right that I do the same. I’ll call you back when I go on break.”
“No worries. I’ll just talk to you tomorrow. Love you, Daddy.”
“Alright. I love you, too.”
She noticed the musician had replied to her message when she logged back onto Soul Meet. He wanted to have a live chat.
xoTakeTwo: Hello.
music_man85: how are you this evening?
xoTakeTwo: I’m fine. How about you?
music_man85: i’m well… just got back from the studio
xoTakeTwo: Recording my song?
music_man85: lol
music_man85: yeah
xoTakeTwo: What’s the name of it?
music_man85: Rapture
xoTakeTwo: Interesting title.
music_man85: thx… it’s the first thing that came to mind as soon as i saw your pic
xoTakeTwo: OK
> music_man85: so tell me about yourself…
xoTakeTwo: Where would you like to meet?
music_man85: h
music_man85: you move fast? lol…
xoTakeTwo: I have no time to waste.
music_man85: interesting…
music_man85: what part of town are you on?
xoTakeTwo: It doesn’t matter. I can meet you anywhere.
music_man85: wow
xoTakeTwo: Do you drink tea? We can meet at True Tea on Memorial.
music_man85: when?
xoTakeTwo: Is Saturday OK? At 12?
music_man85: yeah. that’s cool.
xoTakeTwo: OK. I will see you Saturday at noon.
music_man85: what’s your phone number so i can call you?
xoTakeTwo: I prefer not to exchange numbers just yet.
music_man85: then how will i know who you are?
xoTakeTwo: I will be wearing a turquoise shirt.
music_man85: ok
xoTakeTwo: See you Saturday at noon.
music_man85: you’re signing off now?
music_man85: you really don’t waste any time.
xoTakeTwo: Yes. Off to bed.
music_man85: OK. Can I get your name at least?
xoTakeTwo: Tora
music_man85: so you’re a tiger?
xoTakeTwo: I’m impressed. Not too many people know that.
music_man85: i lived in Japan for a while.
xoTakeTwo: Oh wow. I can’t wait to hear about that on Saturday.
music_man85: i look forward to meeting you.
music_man85: good night
THREE
Nate had a half-hour before his next client was scheduled to arrive. He took a seat at his desk and pulled his smartphone out of the drawer to make a quick call.
She giggled as soon as she answered.
“You must be guilty of something,” he smiled. “Send me a picture right now. No excuses.”
“How do you know?” she laughed again. “How do you just know?”
“Because I know you. We’ve been working at this for almost three months now, so… I know your habits. You take your lunch every day at twelve-thirty.”
“Alright, but I promise it’s not as bad as you think.”
