Blind Date by Lu Huskey
The phone rings at 3:00 Monday afternoon and it is
your best girlfriend Jenny, inviting you to dinner next
weekend. What a nice thought, until she tells you there
is “this guy she just knows you’ll like”.
Do these “arranged situations” ever work
out; these blind dates that well meaning friends and
families attempt to arrange for all of us at some point
in our lives? What do we have to lose anyway? Well,
let’s just look at what happened when Jenny tried
to do this favor for her friend Lisa!
It had been a long Monday for Lisa, and she was ready
for a friendly voice on the telephone. When she heard
from Jenny, it was the bright spot in her day. Little
did Lisa know what an impact this call would have on
her life for the next few weeks. Jenny invited her to
a restaurant they had both been anxious to try out;
a new little Italian place with red checked tablecloths,
a real live violinist, and a tempting selection of wonderful
foods and wines. This was just what she was needed to
plan for to help her get through her week!
But wait, there’s a catch, and he has a name.
Jenny knows this fellow named Bob who just moved to
town and is a really nice guy. She thought it would
be “fun” to do a double date Saturday night
with Bob and his friend from work. It sounded harmless
since they’ve both wanted to try out the new place,
so Lisa accepted Jenny’s invitation and they both
made plans to meet at Berelli’s Saturday night.
So far, these girls are doing the right thing by meeting
these guys at the restaurant and not being picked up.
They don’t know them very well and if for some
reason, one (or both) need to duck out, neither will
be stuck without wheels.
The weekend rolled around soon enough and Jenny and
Lisa had taken a little trip the mall to shop for a
couple of cute dresses and matching shoes. They helped
each other with their hair that Saturday afternoon,
and almost felt like young schoolgirls going out on
their first date. In a way it was, for Lisa, since it
was her first blind date. She had never done anything
like this before, and although she was looking forward
to being with her friend, she was a little hesitant
about meeting this guy Bob. Anyway, it was just a dinner
and that would be it.
They jumped into the car and drove over to Berelli’s,
making sure they were “fashionably” late
(but just 10 minutes), not to appear over anxious to
their gentleman waiting. Bob and William had already
gotten a nice table and ordered a bottle of wine, so
the scene was set for a lovely evening. What a cute
place this new little restaurant was! It looked like
a page right out of Italy, with the tables set so beautifully,
music filling the room, and Jenny even noticed a quaint
little dance floor near the violinist for those who
wished to become a little romantic. This was just what
she needed, and Bob looked pretty good too. He had a
nice smile, good looking suit, and pulled out her chair
for her when she sat down. This man is right out of
a storybook! Who ever said blind dates are a mistake
anyway?
As the evening progressed, the couples seemed to enjoy
each other’s company and all four were convinced
Berelli’s was a dining experience that they would
recommend to their other friends. Lisa was so glad that
she decided to take Jenny up on her offer. Actually
she had never tried blind dating until that night because
of all the horror stories told in the past. She had
heard tales of all sorts, and although they were true,
perhaps they were exaggerated a bit. They planned another
date the next weekend and Jenny hoped that her first
blind date would be her last. Bob very well just may
be the “Mr. Right” she had been waiting
for.
Now that is the way a story should always go, with
a happy ending; however, girls (and guys) beware of
the blind date. Make sure you handle yourself in a manner
that doesn’t allow yourself to be taken advantage
of in any way, especially with wine flowing freely all
night long. Many times if you have “let your guard
down” you can find yourself in a situation you
may not be able to handle. For example, if you are really
attracted to someone and let him know it, he can sometimes
get the wrong impression. It just is always a good idea
not to be too friendly on first dates (and sometimes
second and third dates) until you really get to know
the person and you are certain he respects your wishes.
When employers hire new people, they many times do
reference checks, and sometimes even background checks
before they hire. You can do the same type of thing
by making sure someone knows this person you plan to
go out with and hopefully knows something about his
past. The last thing you want is to fall in love with
some guy or gal who ends up with the reputation of violence
or some other seedy problem. These kinds of situations
happen all the time. “But they would never happen
to me…” we all believe; but they can, so
we much be smart about where we go and with whom we
go out with.
Lisa got lucky and met the man of her dreams, but unfortunately,
that isn’t always the way it works. Thinking back
to her story, she originally just planned to have a
nice evening and things just happened to work out much
better than she expected. Meeting new people is fun;
just be sure and use good common sense and keep a safe
distance until you know exactly what you are getting
into.
Lu Huskey is an aspiring writer, liturgical musician,
and owner of her own consulting company. Her experience
in relationships is reflected in a successful 20 years
marriage and being a mother of three.
Lu writes for DrDating – a web site for anyone
looking for love online. We have hundreds of articles,
E-Books and links to some great dating and love sites
all over the world. DrDating also offers reviews of
some of the most popular dating sites and books.
http://www.DrDating.com
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