Magical Merlot

It is finally the weekend and I, Allie Carter, am beyond ready for some down time with my couch, T.V, and a bottle of wine. I have become predictable these days. If I am not spending time with my best friend, Carly, then I am usually at work or in my apartment binge watching some television show.

I step outside of my office building in New York City and make my way to my usual liquor store, which was only a few blocks away. When I get there, I head straight for the bubbly. I love any sweet and bubbly wine, but my favorite is Pink Moscato. I also grabbed a few wine coolers and made my way to the checkout counter. I come here every Friday after work and there is always the same middle-aged, middle eastern man behind the counter, but not today. This time I was greeted by an elderly woman with long silver hair and a honey complexion. Her smile was so sincere that it felt comforting to me.

“Hello, how are you?” She said with a thick accent. “I’m doing well, and you?” I reply. “I am fine. Will this be all for you?” She asks. “Yes ma’am.” I say. She started to ring my items up and then suddenly stops and looks at me as if I had just told her my dog died. “What is wrong my dear?” She asks. “Nothing is wrong, why do you ask?” She walks from behind the counter and approaches me. I am only five foot four and this woman is a good five inches shorter than me. She reaches out and grabs my hands and stands there for a moment looking me over. She started to call out my appearance like some sort of check list, “Blonde Hair, blue eyes, porcelain skin, soft pink undertones, easy on the eyes my dear.” The porcelain skin remark was just a nicer way of calling me pale. “I see, I see, I think I have what you need.” She says as she walks to the back of the store. At this point, I kind of feel like I am having an out of body experience or I am being punked. All I knew was, this was weird. She comes back with a bottle of wine. “Take this, on the house. It will make everything better.” Before she put it in the bag, I caught a glimpse of the label. What was a bottle of Merlot going to do for me, I wondered? Whatever, I for one, was not going to turn down a free bottle of wine.

I drank a glass of my pink Moscato and went to pour another when I thought of that little old lady and the free bottle of Merlot. The whole experience put me in a weird state of mind and I honestly questioned if it really happened. I cracked open the bottle and poured it to the brim of my glass. “Ok Merlot, work your magic.” I mumble to myself. After I successfully finished two seasons of my latest television obsession and finished my glass, it was time for bed. I kept wanting to feel different, but I still felt as hopeless and alone as ever. Maybe I was the crazy one for believing that a glass of Merlot could fix my life.

The next morning, the sun peaked through the crack of my bedroom curtains a little brighter than usual: It was definitely the wine talking. I get up, brush my teeth and hair and then make my way to the kitchen. “I want bacon!” I tiredly utter into the fridge. As I paw through the refrigerator, I hear a knock on my door.

My first thought is Carly, but then again, I didn’t buzz her in. I cautiously walk to the door and look through the peep hole. Standing there is a tall, warm, chocolate skinned dream of a man wearing nothing but a pair of shorts. After a few moments pass, I decide to carefully open the door. “Yes, can I help you?” I asked him. “Hey, I’m so sorry to bother you. My name is Nick and I live a few doors down the hall. This is really embarrassing, but I managed to lock myself out of my apartment without my phone. Is there any way I could borrow yours? I just need to call the landlord. I would go down and get him, but I feel a bit under dressed for that.” He said with a sideways grin. You could see the embarrassment on his face: his rather attractive face. “Yes of course you can.” I reply. He comes in and I hand him my cell phone. I finally have a half-naked man standing in my kitchen on a Saturday morning. I couldn’t help but stare at his abs and arms: He clearly works out.

“Thank you so much!” he says as he hands me my phone back. “Oh it’s no problem. So you live on this floor? For how long?” I asked curiously. “For going on two years now. I have seen you around, but you’re usually rushing out the door in the morning.” He replied. Have I really become that oblivious that I didn’t notice this man before? “Oh sorry, I am always running late and that tends to give me tunnel vision.” I reply. “It’s understandable. This is New York after all.” He said. I hear another knock on my door. This time it is the landlord. Nick said goodbye and thanked me again before leaving.

“Wow Allie, you had a beautiful, shirtless man in your apartment, and you couldn’t even try to flirt a little? You really are beyond hope.” I say out loud to myself. I continued with breakfast and not even thirty minutes later I hear another knock at my door. I haven’t had this many visitors in one day since Halloween. I look to see who it is and, to my surprise, it’s a fully dressed Nick. “Well hello again.” I said. Wow he is gorgeous, even with clothes on. “I’m really sorry to bother you again, but I really wanted to ask you something.” He said. “Ok, I am all ears.” I reply. He looked down and smiled like he was working up the nerve to ask me out or something. “I was wondering if you would like to go out with me tonight.” Ok hold up! I need a time out or something because this is not real life. There is no way this is actually happening right now. “I know we just met, but like I said, I have seen you around and I have been wanting to ask before, just never seemed to have a chance until now.” He continued.

Now would be the time for words, but I was still in shock. An awkward few seconds pass before I could stutter out a yes. “Y-yes, I wo-would like that. To do the-to go out tonight wi-with you.” Wow that was worse that I expected it to be. “Ok great, I can stop by here and pick you up. How does seven sound?” He replied. “That sounds great!” Try not to sound too excited, Allie, make him work for it. This is going to be hopeless.

Ok so truth be told, I have never dated anyone before. I was self-conscious, awkward, and I had so many body issues due to my heavier size all throughout middle and high school and even through college. After I lost the weight, I was so behind the times that I am bad in the romance department. I don’t think I even know how to flirt.

I ravaged through my closet for something to wear. What does one wear to an impromptu date with a man they have just met and to a destination unknown? Nick didn’t strike me as an upscale kind of guy, but I didn’t want to take any chances. I decided to go with the simple knee length, spaghetti strap black dress, otherwise known as an LBD: little black dress.

I’m all dressed with my short blonde hair curled in loose spirals. I went with a subtle smokey eye and winged eyeliner. I’m also wearing my grandmother’s ruby earrings and matching necklace. I finished the look off with a nice pair of black platform sandals. My stomach is in complete knots as seven o’clock nears.

It’s only a few minutes away when I hear a knock on my door. I peep out and see Nick in a very nice pair of black slacks and a light blue button up that looks so good with his complexion. I opened the door to greet him and his face lit up like he was delighted to see me. “You look,”- He paused for a moment and looked me up and down. “You look amazing.” He continued. He said it so calmly yet assertively. I loved how easy it was for him to say and how good it felt to hear. “Thank you, you clean up nicely as well.” I reply.

“I hope I am not over or under dressed.” I say as we walk to the elevator. “No, you look perfect.” Nick responds. “So where exactly are we going?” I asked. Nick grinned and it is honestly one of the most attractive smiles I’ve ever seen on a man’s face. “It’s a surprise.” He says cheekily.

We get downstairs and make our way outside to a taxi already waiting for us. “You came prepared, I see.” I say as Nick opens the car door for me. We drive through lower Manhattan and make our way up to midtown. The taxi stops in front of a small bar and grill and I am relieved to see it is a moderate, down to earth place. We go in and are seated at a small table at the corner of the dining room. I scour the menu and come across the drinks. The wine list, in particular, jumps out at me and then It hits me. What if all of this is some sort of lucid dream brought on by the Merlot. Or maybe it’s not a dream, but some sort of magical interference? I don’t know, but I do know that I don’t want whatever this is to end.

The night was honestly perfect. I felt so comfortable and Nick made me feel like the only woman alive. His attention never left me and for the first time in my life, I felt seen. We talked about life, work, aspirations and pretty much anything we could think of. After dinner, Nick called a cab and we got off a few blocks shy of our apartment building so we could enjoy Manhattan at night. “I can’t believe someone who is a fellow star gazing enthusiast, who loves dogs, who thinks the Golden Girls is a comedy classic, and who also has great taste in fashion, music, and food has lived just a few doors down from me and I didn’t even realize.” I say as we get near our building. “Yeah and I can’t believe it took me this long to ask you out.” He replied. “Things happen on their own time, but I will say I’m glad we did this tonight.” He added.

We got to our floor and Nick walks me to my door. “I had an amazing evening and I hope we do it again soon.” Nick said while lingering close. “Yeah, I would like that, too.” I replied. Nick leaned in and kissed me, and that really did feel like magic. Ok, so maybe the wine had nothing to do with it. After all, life is just a series of choices and timing. Who really knows why anything happens? All I know is, I had the best time with Nick tonight, and it was something I wanted to do again.