You Had Me at Merlot

It was a beautiful spring afternoon. Karen sat at her desk in her office sending off her last report for the week. She took a deep breath and sighed. “Thank god it’s Friday!” She said aloud. Her cat Morris meowed, as if responding to her statement. It felt good to be done with her work week and have the weekend ahead of her, but deep down there was some disappointment. It was going to be her typical weekend that had been on a constant repeat for the last 10 months. Karen was single and lived alone with her cat, Morris, in an apartment just outside of San Francisco. She had dabbled in online dating with no luck and was starting to feel like there were no good available men in her area. Yes, she had met people and gone on a few dates, but all terrible experiences.

There was one guy that she was truly hopeful about. He was extremely handsome, had a great job in the city and based on his bio, had many things in common with her. They had talked for a few weeks through text and over the phone, seeming to really hit it off. When they had finally decided to take it to the next level and meet, she was once again met with disappointment. He had asked her to dinner at a posh spot with a beautiful view of the Golden Gate bridge. She really thought to herself “This is it! I might have finally met my Prince Charming!” He turned out to be a total frog, looked nothing like his photo and talked only about himself the entirety of the date. He also failed to mention in all their previous conversations that he had lost his job and was living on his mother’s couch. She had been completely catfished. At the end of the date when the check came, he reached for his wallet but soon claimed he accidently left it at home. Karen ended up paying for dinner. This date was not what she had hoped for.

Karen had started conversations with other men, but they only seemed interested in hooking up. She longed for a relationship, one that was stable and spewed unconditional love. Just like her best friend Jessa and Levi had. She decided to take a break from online dating the last few months. It is not that Karen wasn’t pretty. She was far from plain. She just didn’t have another way of meeting people. Working from home does not necessarily lead to heaps of social interaction. Since the pandemic it has been even harder, along with the negative condensation surrounding her name. She just felt like it was never going to happen for her.

She stood up from her desk and walked toward the kitchen with Morris following closely behind. He knew the routine. It was most definitely dinner time. Karen set Morris up with his dinner in a dish on the floor. He wasted no time scurrying to devour his food. Karen poured herself a glass of her favorite Merlot. “Cheers!”, she said holding her glass up towards Morris. “I guess you are my Prince Charming tonight,” She took a sip of her wine and looked at her glass “and you, my bold, rich, dark love”. She spent the evening like most, drinking wine, ordering take out, eating ice cream and binge-watching Netflix with Morris by her side.

The phone rings, startling Karen awake who had dozed off while watching Grey’s Anatomy. Looking at the clock, she wonders who could be calling at this hour. It was none other than her best friend Jessa. “Hi Jessa.” she answers in a groggy voice. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Jessa asks. “No, is everything ok?” Karen replies. Jessa proceeds to tell her everything is fine and excitedly explains why she is calling so late. She tells her about Levi’s former college roommate, Blake, who just relocated to the area for work. “Blake is single, kind, well mannered, good looking and is in software sales. He doesn’t know many people in the area, so Levi and I were like, he’s perfect for Karen!” Still waking up, Karen’s not quite sure what is going on here. “We want to set you two up on a blind date!” says Jessa. Karen froze for a moment, not having it. No way, Karen thought. She was not sure if it was still being half awake, the three glasses of wine she had, or her heartfelt romantic headspace that stepped in, but before she knew what happened, she agreed to the date.

The next morning, she received a text from Jessa. “WHAT?” Karen gasped. He wanted to meet her tonight! The text included the time and location of the date. It was a restaurant she had always wanted to dine at but could never afford to. She replied to the text with “Make sure he brings his wallet.” with a laughy face emoji. Karen was excited to finally be going out on a Saturday night on a date! She was trying not to get her hopes up to high reflecting on some of her rather awful experiences. She reassured herself that she trusted Jessa as well as Levi and if they liked him, she most likely would too.

Karen arrived at the restaurant 10 minutes early. The maître d greeted her with a smile. “Reservation this evening madam?” he asks. She explains nervously, rambling, that she’s meeting someone for a 7:00 p.m. reservation for two. The only problem being that she is early, doesn’t know the last name and was unsure that he had even arrived yet . The maître d smiled and calmly said “I know exactly who you are talking about, follow me”. He leads Karen to a table with a beautiful view of the city and a handsome gentleman. He stands and says, “You must be Karen?”. She smiles nervously, “Yes, and you must be Blake?”. They shake hands and Blake pulls out her chair. Impressed with his manners Karen thinks to herself chivalry may not be dead after all. Blake takes his seat across from her. “I hope you don’t mind, I took the liberty of ordering us a bottle of Merlot?” Karen looks at the bottle and notices that it is her favorite. She replies with a smile, “Of course not, you had me at Merlot!” Blake pours them both a glass and they toast to what will hopefully be a wonderful night.