Member-only story
Say no to “scraping the bottom of the barrel”
I think I’m still recovering from my date with Jake. And it’s not that I had grandiose expectations or even unrealistic ones. It’s more that he lied about what he called his “lifestyle” and in the end, about what he’s truly capable of emotionally.
So, after connecting with Jake and chatting through text for a week, it felt like I was walking into a date with a man who wanted a life partner. He said all the right things. “I just want to make my wife happy.” Check. “I’m tired of dating, I’m ready to settle down.” Check. All the things a woman looking for a life partner wants to hear. Except, little comments would creep into our text exchanges that made me question his sincerity. Words like “day drinking” “video games with a friend at midnight” and “in-between careers”. I had my reservations about dating a man who bartended for 20 years, but everyone in my life said, “Stay open! Give it chance.” So, I did. If he was building a new life as he said in his text message, perhaps this meant he was able and capable of leaving “the party” behind him.
And then came Sunday. My first date in many, many moons. I wore a very whimsical summer dress with fluttery capped sleeves. It had just the right amount of pale blue flowers set behind a soft white background and complimented by hints of brown and purple. “I’d better get this white summer dress thing out…