Story Of The Week – A Date To Remember

Story Of The Week

A Date To Remember

by Jovan Tahale

I was divorced almost a year and missing the warmth of a relationship when my phone rang at work one day and this melodious voice inquired about the cost of a computer system.  His voice was so magnetic that I intentionally prolonged the conversation. 

When he became a regular client, we talked regularly, but it was always in relation to business.  I would often make up an excuse to call and flirt with him, but he blocked all my passes by skillfully changing the subject. 

One day, out of curiosity, I arranged to finally meet him by tagging along with the company rep.  My insides were quivering with excitement.  When he walked through the door to greet us, I almost dropped my briefcase.  He was what I expected and more.  I couldn’t stop staring.  However, he didn’t appear even slightly impressed with me in person.  He spoke cordially without smiling and glanced at me briefly.  The rapport we established on the phone seemed to vanish upon our meeting.

I was disappointed.  I hoped that upon finally meeting me he would be impressed, but it was obvious that he was not.  My ego was shattered, as I walked back to my car in silence.  After that meeting, I exchanged his account with a fellow co-worker, and I never spoke to him on the phone again.

Four months later, I ran into him at the airport on my way home from a business trip.  He was standing in the customs line, and I looked up and there he was staring at me.  This time he smiled, but I didn’t.  He looked good and my stomach fluttered at the sight of him, but I looked away without meeting his eyes.  When I looked up again, he was gone.  The sight of him was unsettling, as I walked hurriedly to catch a cab.

Later, when I climbed into the taxi, I leaned back and closed my eyes.  Suddenly, the cab lurched and there he stood in the open door shouting, “May I ride into the city with you?”  “Of course,” I whispered, as I stared out of the opposite window.  As he settled in the cab, I suddenly felt caught up in the arms of Fate, when he turned to me and smiled admiringly, as if he was seeing me for the first time.

I had lost about 30 pounds since I’d last seen him and gotten my hair cut.  As we rode along, he kept commenting on how good I looked and different.  Then he invited me to stop and have drinks with him at a popular bar, and I accepted.

We ended up spending the entire evening together, with him later taking me to dinner at a very nice restaurant.  He talked to me the whole night as if he’d never met me before, and I was shocked that he suddenly found me so appealing.  I was in seventh heaven, and certain that Fate was at play.

However, when we left the restaurant, after exchanging numbers, he hailed a cab and got in it, while leaving me standing on the curb with the promise of a phone call,  I knew immediately that he was not what Fate had in store for me.  I threw his number in a nearby trash can, as I stood alone in the cold waiting for another cab.