The First Date

It has been five years since Lana has gone on a date, such a familiar concept; yet the experience incredibly foreign to her. Now in her spacious room, sitting in her favorite tattered blue couch looking into space twirling a strand of her long brown hair contemplating what her make-up would look like, what type of hairstyle to do and last, but not least what outfit to wear. The only thing that she knew for sure in this beautiful mix day of Spring with a hint of Summer was that she was wearing the black leather Tory Burch sandals that her sister, Sienna, gave her for her graduation. This important choice is because she had gotten a red gel pedicure and the color complimented her fair complexion; it goes without saying that her toes were looking extremely cute. After twenty minutes of her considering what she would look like tonight, she got up and went rummaging through her closet to see what outfit would look nice for this first encounter. As this was happening Lana began to ponder about how Sienna and her friends got her to say “yes” to the date.

A week ago, Friday, Lana was coming home from picking up her PhD diploma, as she was searching her purse for the key to her building Sienna and her friends; Dani and Leah were waiting outside for her. Lana looked confused and said, “Why didn’t you call me sis? I would have come home sooner.” Sienna replied, “I tried, but you never pick up your phone, as usual.” Lana shook her head replying, “I’m sorry, oh rude one. Hey girls, how are you?” Sienna rolled her eyes, while Dani and Leah greeted Lana. Once inside Lana’s apartment, the girls informed her of the reason why they showed up randomly at her doorstep, Lana assumed it was because they wanted to hang out and binge on shows as they usually do. Apparently, this was not the case when Sienna spoke, “So you know how you haven’t dated in five years, well we sort of set you up with a good friend of ours from college.” Lana shook her head and said, “You’re kidding right? Leah, Dani please tell me that you had nothing to do with this.” Dani and Leah looked sheepishly and answered in unison, “Keep in mind we just wanted to help.” Lana could not believe what she was hearing; but since when did people feel the need to meddle in her personal life without her knowledge? “Now Lana, I know that you think we are interfering in your personal life and we are. The fact is that you have not dated in a while. You’ve devoted yourself to earning your Forensic Psychology degree and all the responsibilities that came with it, but you never carved out some time for yourself. Think of this as merely a little push towards finding that special person and not as an invasion of privacy,” quip Sienna. Lana was taken back by her sister’s retort. Who was she kidding? The girls were right! She hadn’t had any time for a boyfriend or even to date.

If she was being honest with herself, she was traumatized. After her harrowing breakup with Pablo entertaining the idea of a special someone just seemed like too much work. The hardest part of it all was putting the broken pieces of her shattered heart back together. It was such debilitating experience that the idea of making an effort to date again just to be disrespected and rejected was something that Lana did not look forward to. It was why she devoted her time to finishing her doctorate. That perfect linear path had no zigzags for her to go astray. Nevertheless, it was a lonely path and she realized that now that Sienna, Dani and Leah pointed out what she was missing, a connection to someone that she shared her everyday experiences with. In the past that person was Pablo. He was her confidante and partner. She still had her family and friends to speak to, but it was not the same.

Lana looked straight at them and conceded, “Fine. But I am only agreeing to this absurdity of a blind date because you raise an interesting point. However, I do have some questions concerning this date and the gentleman in question.” They all huddled together around her with anticipation and excitement and replied, “Okay, shoot.” Lana did not hesitate for a second, “What’s his name? How old is he? How do you know him? What does he do for a living?” Dani held up her finger in front of Lana and said, “Before you continue with the third degree, let’s answer your first batch of questions. His name is Michael; we’ve known him since college. He was two years ahead of us, but left the liberal arts classes for last, which is how we met him and then he became part of our study group. So, he is in his early thirties like you, give or take. And he is a contract software engineer whose work has brought him to New York for a month.” Sienna then spoked up and said, “More questions, please.” Lana replied, “Okay, Okay. How do you know he’s single? Did he asked you girls to hook him up or did you volunteer me? Is he handsome?” She knew she shouldn’t have asked that last question, but she couldn’t help herself. Looks weren’t everything, however, last time she checked being an eye candy wasn’t a crime. Leah gave her an impish smile and replied “Is he handsome? Are you kidding us? What’s with the modesty? Obviously, he’s hot! A 6’4 chiseled Adonis with a dimpled smile, coffee eyes, brown hair and a big heart. Well, he recently changed his status on Facebook to single, so it couldn’t be clearer that he’s available. Plus, to push this agenda we have been speaking to him about you and it piqued his interest. So, he told us to set something up and we are doing it right now.” Lana was impressed, “You girls are fast and good.” Then, Sienna said, “Of course! And you love us for it.” Lana could not deny that and she showed it by smiling kindly and nodding.

One thing though nagged at her, and she voiced her concern, “If he’s such of an alluring man, then why isn’t he dating anyone?” Sienna took it upon herself to answer, “Well, he wasn’t single when we met him in college. He confessed that he caught his long term girlfriend, Liz, with his best friend, Sean, in a compromising position. Needless to say that they called it quits right after that fiasco.” By looking at Lana’s expression the girls could tell that that was not the answer she expected. “Wow! I guess we have something in common betrayal and heartbreak,” said Lana. In turn, Dani retorted, “Okay, don’t be such a Debbie Downer. Pablo was a dreadful person who cheated on you with a duplicitous co-worker that took advantage of the situation and now thinks she’s going to make far in life with him. She’s more oblivious than he is. On the other hand, this just a date between two people who are testing the waters, let’s not go straight to a drowning point.” “You’re right this date is not about our past, but our present” Lana said a low voice, more to herself than to the girls. Finally, they all nodded enthusiastically and told her when and where to meet Michael.

Back in the present, Lana smirked at her memories as she found what to wear for her date. It was label less black floral print tie-in-the back self-belted halter dress that would look amazing with her sandals. After showering and brushing her teeth, Lana put on deodorant and lotion her skin; nothing like smooth skin to feel good. She donned the dress and sandals, and then she put her hair in a messy bun. Lana wanted her make-up to look as natural as possible, so she decided to only do a light touch-up, but the lips were to be done in a nice shiny cherry red lip gloss. Once she finished she looked in the mirror and couldn’t believe how beautiful she was. For the last step in getting ready, she sprayed one of her favorite perfumes, Heiress, by Paris Hilton; grabbed her jewelry and headed towards the door to pick up her phone and black clutch with all the essentials in it. Michael sent her a text saying that he had sent her an Uber to pick her up. “Nice!” she thought aloud because she was not that familiar with the borough of Brooklyn. Once, the Uber arrived at its destination Lana was taking in the urban scenery when a gorgeous man dressed in a black dress jacket, fitted white shirt, semi-slim distressed jeans, and Zara black shoes waved at her and said “Lana?” All she thought about was that the girls were not wrong in their description. She approached him and replied, “Yes, Michael?” “Yes. You are prettier than the girls said” he answered. She gave him a shy smile and replied, “Thank you, you’re not so bad yourself.” His dimpled smile pierced her eyes with how genuine and beautiful it was as he held the door to the restaurant open and ushered her inside. Once seated, they were perusing the menu that were set in the table when the waiter came back with a Merlot in hand he proceeded to pour it in the glasses that were at the table for a taste; he watched us closely to see our reaction. As Lana tasted the Merlot it reminded her of one of the Bright Cellars that Sienna gets every month. The waiter asked if they liked it and they nodded animatedly, he lightly laughed and left them the bottle.

After they finished their dinner and then ordered dessert, Michael and Lana talked about everything and nothing. She noted that he was a great conversationalist and could switch to any topic without faltering. And when it came to the upsetting topics they did not shied away from them. He confirmed what the girls had shared with her about his girlfriend, Liz and she shared about Pablo and how it all went awry. After, they realized that they were the last people seated in the restaurant. Michael took care of the bill without any complaint. Lana found this intriguing; she was ready to split the bill in half. She looked at him and realized that chivalry wasn’t dead after all. Michael gave her a knowing smirk as they headed out the door. He looked at her and said “I wished this blind date wouldn’t end, but I have a meeting early in the morning.” Lana replied “I was just thinking the same thing minus the meeting.” He laughed and asked “Can we get together this weekend again?” Lana didn’t waver and answered, “Yes, you have my number contact me when you get the chance to let me know where to meet you.” After, ordering an Uber once again he hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. Lana waved at him as the car was leaving and took her cellphone out to begin conference call and letting the girls know how the blind date went. Lana couldn’t believe how auspicious the day and the date were. Finally, things were taking a happier turn in her romantic life.