Dream Date? Dream on!

Dishes were piled up in the sink, utensils and empty food cartons were strewn across every surface. The rank oily odour that spilled from her kitchen barely registered however.

Her heart was beating so hard... her life had narrowed to a tiny pin prick of light. This HAD to go well, ...ok, she’d take “not a disaster” at this point.

She peered into her grimy bathroom mirror... her strawberry blonde ringlets were artfully piled on top of her head and her makeup was immaculate, however her pretty eyes barely concealed her desperation. As she picked at her teeth making sure there was no lippy on them. There was a loud bang at her door. She felt her heart hammer at 100 miles an hour.

READY

Okay, here we go... she said to herself. She fixed a welcoming smile on her face, grabbed her coat and bag and headed to the front door.

It was her neighbour... her face fell. Cora was a nosy judgemental bitch, in her opinion.. and furthermore her timing was lousy.

“Yes?” She hissed through gritted teeth, “what’s up?”

“I found this on your doorstep... I thought maybe you didn’t know it was there..”

Cora handed her a huge bottle of Long Flat Cabernet Merlot, wrapped in a mound of cellophane and tagged with a handmade card..

THAT’S ODD

“Uh .. oh ok thanks!!!” The door was slammed in Cora’s face.

Her heart rate had barely returned to normal, she slumped by the front door and opened the card... she read..

“Please come to 2085 Flack Street, it’s a wine bar, tonight... I don’t think it’s wise to meet at your address... one should always meet strangers in a crowded place I’ll be there all night.. I’ll be wearing a green headband.

THINK STRAIGHT

Look he was right... she’d been becoming a little reckless recently... safety wasn’t even on her radar, which given past events was actually crazy ... she reckoned that her low opinion of herself led to that dismissiveness. But ..yeah he WAS right ... but a green headband what the? Was he Robin Hood? What was wrong with a green shirt? . Ok ... she saw from google maps the bar wasn’t too far away... she felt that she was aware of it.. so she headed out .. shutting the door on her turmoil ...externalised. She was glad he wasn’t coming over there actually, even though he wouldn’t have got over the threshold .

She found the building easily, it was a short tram ride away. Woah, it was actually a classy place, with stunning stained glass windows, carved oak doors with brass handles. She steeled herself to go inside.

Taking a deep breath she entered ...wow what WAS this place ... ? She had never been here before although she had been dimly aware of its existence.. it’s not a place her late husband would have brought her that’s for sure.

DECADENT

Rich velvet drapes, polished marble, leather, weirdly shaped brass sconces and very dim lighting gave a feeling of luxury ..the forbidden...

Then she spotted him.

What a very incongruent sight, wearing jeans at T shirt leather jacket and a woman’s bottle green headband .. he smiled broadly .. his teeth were overcrowded and yellowing but his smile was very engaging.. she took in his appearance quickly .. he was tall she could tell, even though he was seated.. and he had the saddest brown eyes she had ever seen.

“Eliza... did you get my gift?”

“I er,um Hello... yes the Merlot yes I did I did um thank you!”

His voice was deep resonant and not typically Australian... it was she wasn’t sure a little bit posh English?

UNSURE

When she had swiped right on the dating app... she hadn’t actually liked the first picture.. it didn’t really show who he was ... he seemed to be in some kind of costume and wearing dark glasses... she reckoned that many would have simply swiped left at that point.. but she persisted and there was a great picture of him with ....well she didn’t know who it was, his Granddad maybe and he looked warm friendly open and frankly a bit “hot”. After everything that had happened she had to nurture the shoots of hope... tiny though they were. She couldn’t get rid of the nagging feeling that he was somehow familiar too. The fact that he’d taken the time to head to Bright Cellars to buy her an expensive wine, before even meeting her in person was very touching.

“I’ve taken the liberty of choosing some wine for us to share here too, as if reading her thoughts...two glasses of a rich burgundy hue sat on the table in front of him... “Irvine Grand Merlot, he said enthusiastically. “I hope you enjoy!”

Eliza bustled into her seat and clasped the stem of her glass... she raised it to her lips.. all the time keeping her eyes locked with those of her date.. the uneasy or was it easy feeling that she actually knew him somehow would not leave her.

The evening passed in a pleasant blur, the age difference did not come up at all in the conversation...they seemed to agree on a love of food and good wine and the date seemed to pass by quickly, which she took as a good sign.

THAT NAGGING FEELING

She was she realised keen to see Josh again... she was even able to ignore the hairband... she could see he was planning to grow his hair. Unable to shake the feeling of familiarity... she put the question to him, feeling ridiculous even as she said it. “Don’t I know you?

Josh smiled his reassuring toothy smile again. “Yes, I think that you do. I’m a nurse..”

Realisation hit her like a thunderbolt.

The hospice, it was 5 years ago now and she had never fully got over it. Her husband had been randomly attacked one night walking home from work. It was clear he wasn’t going to recover.

Tears pricked her eyes.. happy or sad tears, she didn’t really know which, she realised it was the first night in forever her husband hadn’t been in the front of her mind... his last days swirling in her brain like and endless nightmare. She had spent the whole evening present with this strange young man.

“Josh, did you know who I was?”

“I did .... I was glad you picked me, I hoped I could make you smile again.

Eliza did smile, tears on her cheeks .. but feeling ... as she took another sip of the chocolatety wine, that it might not be perfect... or really for her... but that a corner had been turned, and she was finally healing.