The Butterfly Effect

The Butterfly Effect

We were patiently waiting to be seated. He was about 2 inches taller than me (not my usual type). I still hadn’t taken a full long glance at his face but from the few glimpses i had and the current view from the side of my eye, I’d give him a 6; A solid 6 out of 10. I don’t want to toot my own horn but I am often referred to with terms such as “dime piece”, “baddie”, and “beauty without a beast”. I don’t even usually do these kind of things (dating and boyfriends) because I just don’t believe in love or soul mates. I just keep it casual.

The waiter leads us to our seats. He pulls my chair out for me which is nice I guess.

“Sorry, how do you pronounce your name again?”

‘Dailen...like Sarah Pailen but with a D... Dailen.’ he said.

What an odd name. He is about 5’8, a 5.5 out of 10 at this point and now his name is Dailen.... Dailen? We make small talk for about 10 minutes as we finish our appetizers.

He talked as I zoned out...

Another dead end, just as I thought. What is love anyways? Some chemicals firing in the brain that make you addicted like a drug to a person? I’m not buying it. I don’t have time for dates, random men asking me about my family and what I do for work. Oh sh*t, i should be listening...I’m on a date… dammit pay attention.

I snapped back to the reality outside of my personal thoughts.

By now the waiter was making his way to our table to take the empty appetizer plates and hopefully to take our drink order. I need it to make it through this… i thought to myself. The waiter arrived...

“And what will you be having to drink?” the waiter asked.

Now, we all have that moment in life that changes everything. The Butterfly Effect; one small moment spirals into a series of events that lead to a much larger effect. Ladies and Gents, this was mine.

“Do you like Merlot?” he asked.

This one statement spiraled into 3 kids...into 2 dogs...3 cats...into 2 houses... into me sitting here typing out this whole story so i can submit it into a fictional short story competition but it is the story of my life.

“Did you just say Merlot?” I asked.

“Yes…” he said.

“I love merlot… so much i named my dog after it” I replied.

He stared at me with a confused look… and then simply said,

“I named my dog merlot too…”

This man doesn’t realize that he just discovered my little secret. He found the key. It’s just as part of me as my zodiac sign. He might as well have guessed my whole natal chart. He might as well have said he was a fan of Michelle Obama. He got me. I think he saw it in my face too. I named my little schnauzer pup “Merlot” because I just love how the word slips off the tongue. I drink it every night with my girls. I drink it when I go out to party….when I’m taking baths; my guilty pleasure but not so guilty.

Maybe I was overthinking it or being dramatic, but something clicked. In that moment I felt like I knew him on a whole different level. Maybe it was all in my head and that was just what it took to open me up. I felt like he knew about my 12 am bathes, and my movie nights on wednesdays with my girlfriends. He was always there. Looking back I probably overreacted but I’m happy I did. This was my type of man.

“Yes… I would love to split a bottle with you.”