“I thought we might exchange the salad for steamed vegetables around Labor Day.”
“We can talk about it. Are you going to eat?”
“Yes, mine’s coming. Oh, here it is.” A waitress placed an identical plate in front of Cathy. The steam from the pie drifted toward the cafe’s rafters.
The Honeysuckle Café was quiet at that time of day. It was mid-afternoon, and the perfect time for meetings. She was as shocked as anyone at how well Cathy had adapted to the café’s routine, structure, and pace. She’d never seen her cousin work a paid job a day in her life, but since her divorce had been finalised, she’d become a different woman. Much more patient, kind, and easy to get along with. Besides that, she’d taken on more responsibility at the café, which was a godsend for Rita, who had slowed down a lot after her cancer diagnosis.
Rita ate in silence for a few minutes. Cathy always indulged in a steady stream of one-way conversation, and Rita had come to enjoy it. She liked that she could sit quietly and listen to her cousin. It was soothing, in a way.
“You said you were going to get back into dating. Have you done that yet?” Rita asked.
Cathy chewed and swallowed a bite of pie, then took a gulp of sweet tea before responding. “Have I ever! I’m on the apps. Do you know about the apps?”
Rita sipped her tea. “You mentioned you might do that.”
Cathy nodded. “It’s the Wild West out there, Rita. And I’m not exaggerating.”
“I can’t even imagine.”
“You don’t want to. Honestly, the stories I could tell you.”
“I’m listening…”
“Well, to start with, my first match was with Gareth.”
“Your ex-husband, Gareth?” Rita laughed. “Lord have mercy!”
Cathy laughed along with Rita. “I know, right? I was so nervous and excited about matching with someone, and then his profile picture came on the screen, and I about had a heart attack.”
“I hope you blocked him or whatever you do on those apps.”
“I did something. I can’t remember exactly what. I’m still figuring it all out. Anyhow, the next man I matched with wanted to get together in person. So, we set up a date. He said we should meet outside my apartment so he could take me somewhere special.”
“That sounds nice,” Rita said hesitantly.
“Yeah, it sounded real nice. But then, when it came time to meet him in the parking lot, he stood there in a pair of shorts and a stained T-shirt with flip-flops. His hair looked as though it hadn’t been combed in a year, and I don’t know how long he’d gone without shaving. He definitely didn’t match his profile picture.”
“Oh, yikes.” Rita took a bite of pie, enthralled by Cathy’s story. She’d considered getting back into dating herself years ago, but she’d never wanted to badly enough for the effort it would take. And besides, she’d always been too busy.
“Then we introduced ourselves, and he looked around like he was searching for something. He said, ‘Sorry, my car is in the shop. Do you mind driving?’”
“Oh wow,” Rita said.
“I didn’t mind, really. It was no big deal, and my car was right there. I asked where we were going, and he said he thought it would be romantic to go the store, buy some wine, cheese, and crackers, and we could lay on a picnic blanket under the stars.”
“That does sound romantic. Maybe a little too… much for a first date with a stranger, though.”
“You’re already better at this than I was. Naively, I said, ‘Wonderful. Let’s do it.’ And I drove us to the store. When we were standing in the checkout line, he patted his pockets and then announced that actually, he’d forgotten his wallet. So, I paid for the wine and snacks. Then I drove us to the middle of nowhere in the complete and utter darkness, and he waited while I pulled my picnic blanket from the back of my car, carried everything to a picturesque spot by the lake, and set it all up. Then he plonked himself down to eat and drink, and he talked about his job for the next two hours.”
“I’m sorry, honey.”
Cathy sighed. “When we got back to my parking lot, he was tipsy and asked if he could come in. Then he tried to kiss me.”
“Heaven’s sakes!”
“Of course, I told him no and said he should call an Uber. Before he could ask for cash for the Uber, I shut the door in his face and had blocked him on the app before I made it into my apartment.”
Rita stifled a laugh. Picturing her cousin slamming the door in the man’s face was more than she could take. She covered her mouth with her hand before gathering her wits to speak again. “I hope things got better for you after that.”
