by Xyla Turner
As much as I wanted to protest he had a point. She wouldn’t do it or anything unless there were three dates.
“Fine,” I agreed. “Three.”
“Perfect,” Roger said with a clap of his hands. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter 3: Dates
Bethany Wade
Date one had not been what I had expected from Le One. It seemed that the machine started at the bottom of the pile when it chose which people I should date first. Ethan Wickers was a reclusive engineer who barely answered any question loud enough so that I could hear him. At least three times, I had to lean in and ask him to repeat what he said.
Then he had the nerve to huff, roll his eyes while blowing out an exasperated breath, like I was annoying him. It felt like I was talking to Jiminy Cricket and he was annoyed. After that little display, I said loud enough so even the waiter could here, “This isn’t going to work out but good luck.”
Quickly standing and looping my purse around my shoulders, I made my exit. Before I went home, I stopped by the ice creamery and for my troubles, I ordered two scoops of butter almond.
The second date was in two days and if that was anything like the first, I would have demanded that Roger have Trish do the questionnaire sheet again because there was no way that I’d be compatible with a recluse and surely not a mute. Life was too short for that.
The second date, David Niles, was five times better but this guy was more interested in himself than he was interested in getting to know me. He liked to hear himself talk and after the fifth, “I’ve got a story for that too,’ I tuned him completely out. At the end of his conversation, our dinner, which I ate everything since I had nothing to do not focus on his constant chattering. The man had the nerve to lean in for a kiss at my truck.
I kindly placed my hands on his chest and said, “I think a kiss would mean that I had a good time. Have a nice evening.”
Slipping my body inside my truck, I drove off with an open-mouth David staring at my retreating vehicle.
This time on my way home, I stopped by one of my favorite coffee shops and ordered an iced coffee with a warmed cinnamon bun. They were absolutely delicious and especially when they were heated. This time when I went home, I saw that my voice mail light on my home phone was blinking. The only people that had the number was Bryce, my ex-husband, and my daughter Britney.
Pressing the voice mail, I heard a somber voice that my daughter used when she really needed something.
“Mom, this is Brit. I just wanted to apologize for hanging up and let you know I’m in Denver, CO and I wanted to come home for a bit. I’m out of money though. If you need to reach me, I’ll be staying at the Westline Hostel in Bearbanks. Here’s the number. Hope you get this message in time.”
Beep
The utter irritation that she could have called my cell phone to actually speak to me was not left unnoticed. This way she knew she could say what she needed to say in a way that she wouldn’t get a response and that it’d play on my heartstrings.
What she didn’t know is that I was not Bryce and I did not make it a habit of bailing her out when I knew full-well, she had decided to do exactly what she knew not to do. It wasn’t that I was a horrible mother, I simply wanted to prepare Brittany for life outside of the four walls of our home and as long as she knew mommy and daddy would bail her out, she kept on doing stupid shit.
She was twenty-three years old, didn’t go to college, never could hold down a job, no real career aspirations and her father still gave her an allowance.
I had failed.
At marriage, rearing a productive citizen and the only thing I had done well was my job that I was retiring from in six short months. Then what the hell was I going to do?
In my conscience, I put Brittany’s message out of my mind and sat down on my oversized loveseat with the intentions of watching the Walking Dead. Rick, the main character, in the drama zoomed in and he slightly resembled my bearded friend from Le One. The man, Roger had called him Cole, had been on my mind lately. A lot to the point, more than I was willing to admit.
Cole was cute in a rugged sort of way. Hell, who was I kidding, the man was gorgeous. Even beyond all of that facial hair, which had my fingers itching to grab it to pull him down to me. That move he did, whispering in my ear. The butterflies started to rapidly flap in my stomach and all I could do was sarcastically respond. Those pale blue eyes promised wicked things that I would have gladly participated in, when the three dates were over.
Curtis, my co-worker and also a friend of Roger, met his new girlfriend of almost two years through Le One. I lost a bet, which meant, I lost a client and as retribution, he made me apply and he filled out my form. He and I had been co-workers a long time and he was there for me through my divorce, which was seven years ago. There were many a night that the wine had went to my head and he drove me home to sleep it off. He was the one to suggest that I take some time off, where I went to Paris for three months and saw the sights. A tourist for two weeks was one thing but living there for three months, that was the dream. This ignited my want to travel which also prompted me to put in for my retirement, which was six months away.
Therefore, when I was propositioned by the gorgeous man, named Cole, I tried to find my base. It wasn’t my nature to throw caution to the wind, say screw the process and just start dating the first guy I meet at the dating site. That would be something Brittany did and after bailing her out of situation after situation, I would not indulge in the same fool hardy behavior.
Quite frankly, I was too old for that.
I felt the connection but if it was really a connection, then I wholeheartedly believed the two of us would meet again. Was that casting fate to run its own plan? Maybe but I was okay with that. I also believed, even when Bryce decided to leave me that there were no accidents. He thought I was a cold fish because on that fateful day, he said he wanted a divorce during one of our many arguments, I told him - okay.
There was no fight, fuss or even a bat of an eye. I’ll never forget the look on his face, it was as if everything we’d shared for twelve years came to a head and a new dawn shadowed over him. He was done because he thought I didn’t care whether he stayed or went. That was never the case at all but if he thought without any marriage counseling or even the suggestion of it, that we needed a divorce, then who was I to stop him. Everything happened for a reason and that was no different.
My phone buzzed, pulling me from my post-divorce thoughts. It was a confirmation of my third date, which was oddly enough right on time. This guy looked promising but I refused to get my hopes up after the first two guys. This was definitely looking great for Cole which was also something, I tried to not get my hopes up about either.
We were going to meet tomorrow night at the Chateau, a private club and restaurant for the elite. I’d never been because that wasn’t a place that I’d ever take my clients and I heard some interesting things could happen there. Was it first date material? Well, I’d reserve my commentary until after the date.
The next day, around noon, my personal phone rang three times, signaling it was something important.
“Hello,” I answered before looking at the caller id.
“Beth, have you heard from our daughter? She said she called you and told you she needed help but hasn’t heard from you yet? What is going on? She’s trying to come home. Isn’t that what you always wanted?” Bryce spewed all of that without greeting me.
“Hello Bryce,” I said as a reminder about greetings.
“Fuck!” He hissed. “Have you heard anything I said? I know you can be heartless but I thought that was reserved for just me. This is our daughter and she needs our help…”
Before he could continue his diatribe about the ours and we’s, I interjected. “Then you help her. I’m not stopping you from enabling a twenty-three-year-old who’s decided to follow her roadie boyfriend around as he chases some band. I told her that wasn’t practical or feasible. How would she make it? How was
she planning to survive? She stood flat-foot in my house and shared that I needed not to worry because she had everything figured out. Therefore Bryce,” I lowered my voice so it was soft and calm again. “I suggest you let our daughter do that because she’s spoiled rotten and feels that mommy and daddy will always bail her out, therefore she keeps doing these asinine things. Then she calls me on my house phone and leaves a pitiful message. Now, she’s ringing you but she has yet to call my cell phone. Do you want to know why, Bryce? That’s because she knows I see through her bullshit and yours. We’ve been divorced seven years and still I’m the heartless bitch, so let’s do it for our daughter? No, if you want to bail her out, once again, please know you’ll always be bailing her out. I love her just like I loved you but both of you are grown, capable of making your own decisions. Therefore you do NOT get to blame me for your outcomes.”
I calmly tapped my finger on the red END call button and continued doing what I was prior to the disruption. The nerve of him. The nerve of her and this is what made me take an early lunch. Then I was tapping the number of a man that I knew I’d call even when I said I wouldn’t.
“Hello,” the man’s familiar voice seemed to calm my nerves with just one word.
“Hi,” I greeted.
It wasn’t meant to be coy but he really did unnerve me with the simple Hello.
“Ms. Wade?” he said with a smile. “You used my number.”
How did he know it was me?
“It seems that I did.” Then I asked, “Do you have a minute?”
“For you Ms. Wade, I have lots of minutes.” That made my chest warm over but I didn’t let the feeling linger.
Feelings were fleeting just like the wind. One minute it swayed this way and another it was going another. This is what I tried to teach Brittany about people in general. I wanted her to be a good observer of people but she was like her father. He saw the good in everyone and maybe to his dismay, that’s why he stayed with me so long. Maybe that was why he didn’t want to fight for our marriage or my love. Those were my internal thoughts but then I figured he must have had a side thing going on and wanted to be free to pursue her or him. These days, one could never know.
“My daughter, Brittany, like I told you, left to follow the roadie…” I opened my mouth to continue but he interrupted me.
“Where are you? It’s pretty noisy in the background.” Cole asked.
“At a bistro downtown.” My head scanned the area in search of a place that was quieter.
“Which one? Mind if I join you. I can be there in ten minutes.” He offered.
With no hesitation or even a bit of reluctance, I answered. “Sure, that would be nice.”
“Good. Now, keep telling me the story until I get there.” He chuckled.
“Uh, okay.” I smiled and told him the rest of the story including the part when my ex-husband called me to guilt me into helping her.
He asked a few basic questions and as I was about to go into why Bryce called me heartless, a shadow loomed over me and I smelled the familiar aroma glide up my nose. My head jerked up and I nearly dropped the phone.
“Oh,” I laughed at myself. “You’re here already.”
“I’m here.” Cole was smiling brightly when he leaned down and lightly kissed me on the cheek.
It was almost as if we’d met so many times at a restaurant and that was our normal greeting. I wasn’t turned off or even remotely shocked that he greeted me in that manner. Technically, I should have been but it was so familiar. Like us. I’m telling the man about my daughter and ex-husband and he comes to see me. Who does that?
“So, why does he think you’re heartless?” Cole sat down across from me and picked right back up with the conversation.
He was dressed in jeans, a plaid shirt, but instead of running shoes, he had on brown loafers that were probably more expensive than his whole outfit. Cole reminded me of many of my clients. They were very wealthy but it wasn’t flashy or even noticeable unless you counted the tens of thousands dollar watches or thousand-dollar shoes, the way they walked, carried themselves or even the grade of their clothes. It was usually subtle and not intentional.
My right leg crossed over my left as I smiled politely and answered, “He calls me heartless because he wanted a divorce and I gave him one. I think he wanted me to fight it or try to figure out why he wanted it in the first place. It’s been seven years and I still don’t think I really know.”
Cole nodded his head as if mulling over his next thoughts.
“Why didn’t you fight it?” He asked me as he picked up the menu with a squint of his eyes.
“Why didn’t he?” I replied with a question to his question. “Why am I the one that should keep everything together? He wanted to divorce, then so be it. He didn’t think our marriage of twelve years was worth fighting for, then who was I to stop the inevitable?”
He placed his menu down and those pale blue eyes pierced into mine causing all sorts of atomic matter to course through my body.
“What do you do for a living?” He lifted his hand and shifted it down signaling what I was wearing. “This is my second time seeing you in a tailored suit.”
“I’m a lawyer,” I replied wondering why he was asking me the question when we were talking about my divorce.
Cole’s head nodded up and down before he said, “You fight for a living. Take it that’s something you’d rather not do at home. Even with you daughter.”
This time, it was my eyes that pierced into him. That was an acute assessment, which was also very true. The sides of my mouth turned up as I acknowledged his move, “Good eye, Jetti.”
That caused him to laugh out loud, which sent me into another place of wanting. He was already beautiful but the hearty laugh from his belly. That was gold.
“You’re cute,” Cole commented. “I like you. A lot.”
“I like you too but it hasn’t been three dates. Have you been on your three already?” I asked.
Cole gave me the side eye as he picked his menu back up, squinting again. I could gather that he had not enjoyed his dates or did not even go on the dates with that look.
“This Le One.” He shook his head. “My first date had to be around your daughters age and I swear she needed to star on Sweet Valley High’s Lifetime Special. She probably did star on the show and I had to call it a loss. The second one, well, she was older than twenty-three but she wasn’t my type. I think I scared her. Shit, maybe she even scared herself. I don’t know but at this point in my life, I’m too old trying to figure out other people’s issues.”
Those words sounded like a breath of fresh air. My arm extended to him as my index finger pointed, when I exclaimed, “Exactly. That’s exactly how I feel.”
He gave me an easy smile, then his eyes narrowed before he asked, “What’s good here? This font is too small.”
The laughter burst out of me as I snatched the menu away from him.
“Cole, I hope I’m not the first person to tell you this. You need glasses.” I continued to laugh. “This font is almost at a fourteen.”
His face paled then he put his hand on his chest, “No shit?”
“No shit,” I was laughing and shaking my head at the same time. “At least fourteen pixels.”
“Damn, I’m getting old.” He squeezed his eyes shut and blinked a few times. “Should I get round ones like Roger and perch them on my nose.”
I nearly screamed, “Oh, God no!”
At that point, I was hitting the table and laughing so hard my side began to cramp.
“Ohhh,” I exhaled as I started to die down. “I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.”
“Then, let’s skip these third dates,” Cole leaned in with a mischievous smile. “Let’s have this be our third date.”
My head shook.
“Oh no, Mister.” I held up my finger. “That won’t work. We must see the process through.”
“I forgot you were a lawyer, by the book.” His head nodded.<
br />
“Yup. By the way, what do you do?” I asked.
“Now, a few things. I work at a charity over on the east side, crowd-funding for new entrepreneurs and sit on the board of directors for a couple of non-profits.” One side of his mouth and shoulder raised at the same time, then he sat back.
“So, then you should be by the book as well?” I pointed out.
“For business, definitely. Personal, I’m usually by the book. You, well that’s something different.” He corrected me which sent frilly chills down my spine and I almost picked up the phone to cancel the damn date.
A flash of Brittany’s face kept my hand still and my voice even.
“Cole, you’re tempting. I’ll give you that but we’re both one date away. When is yours? Mine is tonight.” I asked.
“Same. I wanted to get it over with.” He chuckled. “Okay, I’m hungry Wade. Are you going to tell me your first name?”
That comment caused me to laugh as I answered, “Bethany. It’s Bethany. I suggest the tuna sandwich or melt or my favorite, the Turkey Club.”
Cole lifted his arm, signaling for the hostess to take his order.
“Yes, sir,” the woman smiled and appreciatively looked him up and down disregarding the fact that I was at the table.
“Honey, is this our waitress?” Cole held out his hand across the table and his eyes turned to me.
The corner of my mouth lifted as I instinctively reached back and grasped his outstretched hand.
“Uh, no dear. Ma’am, do you know where Richard is?” I asked her, forcing her eyes off of him so she could look at me.
“Oh, yes. I’ll get him for you now.” She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes, then she tettered away.
“Well played,” I nodded with an admiring smirk.
I went to pull my hand back but Cole kept a hold of it before he said, “You’re really going to make me sit through another date?”
It was hard not to laugh at the man, he was beyond witty and very charming.
