That had been her age when her mother had died. Rae rubbed her throat against the sudden lump there. What would happen if she developed a brain tumor too and died at the same age? Who would take care of her children?
She couldn’t imagine her father wanting to take them, and she definitely didn’t want him responsible for meeting their emotional needs. He was too cold and aloof, too fixated on the law of justice and not enough on the law of mercy. Mike’s parents were wonderful people, but they were always traveling.
After parking, Rae approached the restaurant where she and Tim Gallo had agreed to meet. She recognized him right away where he stood at the entrance, scanning the parking lot. He was tall and lanky, something not obvious from his online photo, but the receding hairline was the same. It might have been a temptation to alter his photo, but he hadn’t. That was a good sign.
As soon as Tim noticed her, he grinned and waved. He strode toward her. “You must be Rae. I’m Tim. It’s nice to finally meet you in person.” He extended his hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you too.” She shook it.
“You’re even prettier than your picture.” His ears went pink, like he hadn’t meant to say that, and he glanced back at the restaurant. “I thought I’d made a reservation, but I guess I forgot.”
“They look busy,” Rae said, at first wary. When he nodded and shuffled his feet, she decided he must have really forgotten, and his embarrassment was genuine. “Don’t worry about it. With all the studying you’re doing for your bar exam, I’m not surprised you’d forget something.”
“They’ll have an opening, but it’ll be at least an hour. We can try somewhere else, if you’d like.” Tim shoved his hands in his pockets. “It's totally my bad. If you want to reschedule for another day, I'll understand.”
“We can go somewhere else,” Rae said. “It doesn’t have to be anything fancy.”
“All right. Do you mind if we ride together? Or do you want to follow me?” Tim indicated a well-maintained but older model Toyota Corolla.
Rae hesitated. Of all the guys she’d talked to online, she’d felt the best about him. She decided to ride with him but took a picture of his license plate which included the color and model of the car. After texting it to Dylan, she glanced up to find Tim watching her with a bemused grin.
“You’re the first date I’ve agreed to ride with,” she said with a shrug, refusing to feel guilty. “It’s just a safety precaution.”
“It’s a smart thing to do.” Tim opened the passenger door for her. “I should have thought of it myself when my sister was meeting guys on eRapport.”
Rae liked that he hadn’t taken offense and felt better about riding with him. They ended up checking out several different restaurants before they settled on the Golden Arches.
The dry and self-deprecating sense of humor Tim had shown in their online chats came through even stronger in person when his facial expressions and animated tone of voice made her laugh. He’d have made a fun stand-up comedian.
She ordered a salad, and he got a big burger and some fries. They chatted while they ate, and it struck her that it was the most normal and natural date she’d been on since starting the crazy journey into online dating. For the first time, she felt a little hope that maybe the world wasn’t populated by men who were completely lacking in social skills. She’d heard of an emotional IQ. Was there a social one?
“Have you ever heard of a social IQ?” she asked.
Tim hurried to finish chewing and took a sip of his drink.
“Yeah. It’s a big deal for lawyers.” He shot her a puzzled glance. “I hope you’re not asking because you think mine is low.”
“No, not at all.” Rae explained what she’d been thinking.
“I’ve had a somewhat similar experience, so it’s not limited to men only, believe me.” Tim chuckled. “To be honest there are studies that seem to indicate women, on average, tend to test higher with the social IQ tests than men. Statistically speaking, you’re more likely to meet a socially awkward man because there are more of us.”
“Except you’re not awkward. It does make me wonder if schools should put more emphasis on developing interpersonal skills,” she said. “So many kids have their faces stuck in their phones they’re not learning how to interact with people in person.”
“Considering some of the clueless people I’ve messaged, I think it’d be a good idea if they didsomething.” Tim pointed to her empty container. “Do you want me to take you back to your car, or would you like to do something else?”
“It’s a little late for a movie.” Rae put her packaging on the tray, and he stood. “Did you have something else in mind?”
“Well, it’s a beautiful night.” He picked up the trash, and they headed toward the garbage can near the door. “Have you ever seen the Sacramento Historic Rose Garden at the cemetery?”
“A rose garden at the cemetery?” Rae asked, intrigued.
“It’s pretty amazing. It was started about twenty years ago by a couple of rosarians. Those are people who cultivate roses, of course.” Tim grinned as he opened his car’s passenger door. “Like my grandmother. That’s how I found out about it.”
Once they were in the car again, she said, “Tell me more about these cemetery roses.”
“Well, the city’s historic cemetery had been neglected for a long time. You can check online and find pictures of how crumbling and bare it was. Anyway, these two rosarians were looking for a haven for their collection of antique heritage roses.”
“Oh, I love the sound of this already,” Rae said. “I’ve heard antique roses have so much more fragrance.”
