Business or Pleasure?

They waved at each other from opposite ends of the bar.

“I wasn’t sure you were really coming”, said Kelly. “Are you kidding? Turn down an invitation for a drink?” said Patrick. “Who else is coming?” “I’m not sure”, replied Kelly, “I invited the whole team but Angie had to get home to her kids, Maya had to get home to her dogs, Roberto takes a class on Thursday nights and I’m not sure about Alex, he never comes to things like this. So, yeah, it might just be the two of us”. “That’s fine,” said Patrick, “I’m new in town and I wanted to check out the wine list here. I’m a bit of an oenophile.” She looked at him quizzically … “A wine lover” he said. “It’s an expensive hobby, but I enjoy it.”

And they moseyed over to a table. Patrick ordered a Pinot Noir for himself and asked Kelly what she’d like. She shrugged, and said “uh, something … white?” so he ordered her a Pinot Grigio (“It’s very refreshing”, he assured her) and they toasted and chatted … talked about their day, their jobs (they were co-workers but had only been working together for a few weeks), their backgrounds (Patrick had just moved here from North Carolina), and the wine. Patrick really knew his wine, and told Kelly things she’d never known … and strangely, she found interesting. Or maybe she simply found Patrick interesting.

After several glasses of wine and an appropriate amount of pretzels, the waiter asked if they wanted another round. Patrick deferred to Kelly, who said she didn’t want to drink any more without having something to eat. “Great” said Patrick, “Bring us two menus. And your wine list”.

And so they had dinner, with the most exquisite wine she’d ever tasted – the number 26 Reserve Merlot that Patrick assured her would go exceptionally well with her Coq au Vin (which she never knew was simply chicken and wine). In the past, she’d never much cared for the wine here, or the food, for that matter … but tonight, well, tonight was different. They chatted about all the usual things, family, pets, favorite movies, and Kelly suddenly wondered -- Is this … a date? Kelly had made the first overture but it was just co-workers meeting for a drink; Patrick had suggested things continue with dinner. So was it a date? She giggled to herself and thought the question would answer itself when the check arrived.

They had dessert … and an after-dinner drink (no, she’d never had “port” before) … and Kelly realized this was the first time in her life she had ever had three kinds of wine at the same meal; each one was very different from the others and each one perfect for its moment: a light Pinot Grigio before dinner, the excellent number 26 Reserve Merlot with dinner, and an after-dinner port. If the truth be told, she didn’t care for the port as much as the other two, but she was proud of herself that she noticed the differences between them, and wanted to do this again. Or was it Patrick? Did she simply want to spend time with Patrick again?

They chatted at the table for what seemed like a few minutes but must have been hours – about the dinner and the wines, about their co-workers who missed out on a really great evening, and each of them muttered that they were glad no one else showed up.

Eventually the waiter came back holding a leather portfolio and quietly said “Uh, can I leave this with you now? We closed at 11:00 and it’s 11:45”. Kelly looked around and realized that she and Patrick were the only two customers left. The waiter slowly put the check down.

It sat there on the table in front of them.

No one spoke for a few seconds.

Finally, Kelly reached for her purse and was a little surprised that Patrick didn’t budge. As she picked up the portfolio, her mind was reeling – this would not be an inexpensive evening, with dinner and … it must have been at least ten glasses of wine. She’d intended on taking her team out for a drink but wasn’t really prepared for an evening of this magnitude. She slowly opened the portfolio and was shocked to see the total -- $16.35. She blinked and looked again – it should have been at least a hundred dollars more than that. She looked up at Patrick, who was smiling.

“Oh, I paid the check about an hour ago, but we ordered the espresso after that. I … I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about me taking you out, so this is my way of letting us split the check." He paused and shyly added, "Actually, I’ve wanted to ask you out for a few weeks now.”

Kelly smiled as she pulled out a $20 bill and left it on the table.

END OF STORY. OR IS IT THE BEGINNING?

********

I hope you enjoyed my story. I’m a big fan of serendipity on first dates, and I think this fits the bill. Click 'LIKE' if you agree!