She patted me on the arm and smiled. “You are very sweet, dear. I’m lucky to have a boy who worries about me like you do, but I want you to go. Have a nice night.” She looked down at Vic. “And you too honey, and we’ll have dinner next weekend. I have to catch up on my shows anyway, so this is a win-win-win scenario if you ask me.”
She had her ‘I don’t want to argue anymore’ face on, so I knew better than to push the subject. But I didn’t like the idea of her spending another evening alone, watching her shows and ordering in. I made a mental note to come see her the following morning. I’d bring coffee and bagels and offer to spend the whole day together.
She’d like that.
And so would I.
Vic and I said our goodbyes and my mom shuffled us out the door. In the car, as I drove Vic to her friend’s house, I could feel her eyes on me even though I wasn’t looking at her. “What?” I finally said. “Why are you scrutinizing me?”
She laughed. “I’m just trying to figure out why you are dreading this date so much.”
I shrugged. “I dread them all, you know that.”
“Yes, butwhy?” We came to a red light, so I turned to look at her and she went on. “I don’t know if what Grandma says is true, that you’re going to find yourself with a reputation or whatever, but I do know that if a boy in my grade didn’t call all these girls back, he would be the class jerk.” She frowned. “But I know you, Dad, and you’re not a jerk. You’re not like those guys that don’t call. So, what’s going on?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the light turned green. I put my head forward and drove. “Nothing,” I said. “It’s just that none of the women I’ve met recently have been right for me. And it’s not that I don’t call them ever. I do call… it’s just to tell them I’m not interested in going out on a second date, which if you ask anyone, is a very mature and polite way to handle that type of situation.”
She looked out the window and was quiet for a block or two. As we came around a corner, coming up on the street where her friend lived, she finally spoke. “I miss her too, you know,” she said.
I nodded. “Your mother?”
“She was the best. And if you’re waiting to find someone who is as good as her, then you’ll probably be waiting until you die.”
I stared at my daughter for a few seconds, wondering when exactly she had become so wise. Then again, Vic had always been smarter than you’d expect for her age. She was so much like her mother, in her ability to read my emotions and know exactly what was going through my mind, even when I was still trying to figure it out for myself.
“You better go in,” I said. “You don’t want them to start the movie without you.”
She smiled, told me to have a good night, then ran out of the car with just her school bag. I had a sneaking suspicion she had planned on asking me about the sleepover all along, andthatwas why her bag looked a little more overstuffed than usual. She probably threw extra clothes and a toothbrush in there, with the hope of being able to convince me to let her go.
Did she know I would say yes?
Had I become that predictable?
I waited by the curb until I saw that someone let her into the house, then I flipped my car around, left the cozy suburb and drove towards downtown to meet my date.
* * *
Nina, my date, was clearly desperate to get the waiter’s attention and ask for the check.
She and I had been sitting in that crowded restaurant, shouting over all the other diners and still not able to hear one another properly, for an hour and it was obvious her patience had run dry. Mine had as well, so I was glad when she finally put a hand out and practically smacked our waiter in the face as he went by in a rush. She said the word check and made a signing motion with her hand, just to be sure he understood. He nodded and came back a few seconds later with the check and a handful of mints. Nina tried to grab it, but I snatched it first.
I paid, helped her put on her coat, and we got out of that restaurant as fast as we could.
Outside, it was dark, and the wind was starting to pick up. She handed her ticket to the valet. “Did you use valet?” she asked, even though we had gone over this already at the beginning of the date.
“No, I parked around back,” I said. “But I’ll wait until your car is here.”
She smiled. She was a very pretty woman and the same age as me. She wore a simple black dress and black heels, which was understated in a way I would’ve found attractive back in the day.
“Listen,” she said, shifting her weight awkwardly from one foot to the other. “I’m a little embarrassed since I picked the restaurant and so I’m the reason we couldn’t have a real conversation and why our date was so terrible.”
“It wasn’t terrible—” I started to say but she laughed and talked over me.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to spare my feelings. It was bad. I was there too, remember?” I smiled. “But here’s how I see it—I think you’re cute. IknowI’m cute, and maybe we don’t have anything in common except that we can agree trendy restaurants are the worst. In my book, however, that’s enough to warrant a second date. Maybe coffee?”
I sighed and slipped my hands into my pockets. There was really no reason for me to say no. Nina was attractive, and funny, and she was into me. What single man in my position would turn down the offer to get coffee with someone like that?
“You’re hesitating,” she said a second or two later. “And I know what that means.” She smiled but looked away from me.