The Dating Chronicles – The Turnabout

The Dating Chronicles

The Turnabout

Hank was a guy who viewed those who were not “upfront” with the truth as weak and spineless. He didn’t approve of soft-pedaling language. To him, the truth could stand on its own and therefore should be expressed regardless of “feelings.” For Hank, the truth had a certain shock value and he enjoyed watching its impact on others. He would get excited at the prospect of blowing someone away with his unexpected bluntness.

If he was on a date with a woman and at the end of the evening nothing clicked between them, he would not be subtle or fake a future possibility of seeing her again. He would tell her “frankly” why there was no potential for romance and give explicit details as to what she did to fail his “test.”

He often bragged about giving women information that would help improve them for the next guy.

Then he met Sara and overnight he became a changed man.  On their first date, he corrected her in the middle of a sentence, when she glossed over a mispronounced word. She immediately lashed out and told him that she thought it was rude and ill-mannered to correct people while they were speaking.  Later, when he reminded her to put her napkin in her lap, she responded angrily and stated criticism was usually done by insecure people who needed to feel superior to others in order to feel equal.

Hank was outdone, but undaunted.  He had never had a woman speak to him like that before, but he didn’t stop. When he later pointed out that she was using her dessert spoon to eat her soup, her retort was quick and pointed.

She told him that a real man would be more concerned with her character than her knowledge of the proper eating utensils. She accused him of having petty values and suggested he focus on things of substance. She also warned him that if he uttered another critical remark, she would leave him sitting alone in the restaurant.

Hank was immediately smitten. He had never met a woman with so much spunk. He was spellbound by her boldness. From that moment on, he never uttered another critical remark to her, and gradually as the relationship progressed, and his fascination for her increased, he lost his zeal for bluntness. Suddenly, “the truth” for him was no longer exciting…but Sara was.