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Maggie didn’t know what she was doing here. A blind date. Online dating. How had our world got to this point? Where people no longer meet in ‘normal’ places like community events or church gatherings? Well, I guess that this was the new ‘normal place’. MatchDate.com. Maybe there weren’t many community events anymore and who really went to church, anyway?
She had met Nick on the site about a month ago. They had both starred each other and that led to the opportunity to exchange messages. He seemed like a nice guy. Divorced, no kids, a rescue dog. He owned his own home and had a decent job in the IT industry. Some form of stability was important for her. The messages they had exchanged were light and fun, no sexual overtones, just two people trying to figure out if they had something in common. This was the next step.
The door to the coffee shop opened. Maggie looked up to see a young child and what looked like her mother coming in. Nope, that wasn’t him. His photos were pleasant to look at, and when she talked with him on the phone, his voice matched the pictures. Though they had not video-chatted, she was ok with this. A bit nervous, but ok. She just hoped he was a person of integrity and would, soon, come through that door. Being stood up was not fun.
The door opened again. This time, a ‘normal-looking’ man entered. He looked around, and this time she was sure it was him. Their eyes connected, and he smiled briefly. She smiled and waved back. This was him.
As he made his way around the tables, she examined his appearance. Nice jeans, no rips. Nice lace-up shoes, black leather. A T-shirt and a casual jacket. His hair was light with small flashes of silver on his temples, and a small scruff of facial hair. And glasses. He looked up as he came closer. Their eyes locked.
Maggie was not sure if there was anything to the expression ‘love at first sight’, for it had never happened to her before. But this time, to look into those chocolate brown eyes, a jolt of something new surged through her. Never before had she seen eyes with that depth. To get ‘lost in his eyes’ was no longer a colloquial expression but a real experience. The world stopped.
“Maggie?” He asked. His voice was almost as rich as his eyes. Why had she not noticed that before?
She stuttered for a second. “Yes, I’m Maggie,” she managed to get out. “Nick, I presume?”
“That’s me! Nice to finally meet you,” he smiled and reached his hand across the table to shake hers.
She stood and took his hand. Firm and warm. She noticed that his teeth were white and his smile was warm and encouraging. As she sat down, she closed her eyes. Needing to get a bearing on the situation, no use getting all twitter-pated over this first meeting. After all, she wasn’t a schoolgirl anymore.
She looked up and their eyes met again. There is something about looking into the eyes of another human being that always caused her to pause. Behind those eyes was always a real person - with dreams and goals, with stories and experiences. Therein was humanity at its core, its essence.
“Thank you for meeting me today,” Maggie said softly. “It’s nice to meet you, too, after this last month. I hope this place is ok?”
“It’s great. I often stop here for a coffee and sometimes even get through a few more chapters of whatever book I’m currently reading. Those chairs over there are my go-to,” he said, pointing to two over-stuffed chairs by a fake fire.
“Oh? You enjoy reading?”
“A favourite pastime of mine!”
“If you want, we could relocate there? They do look comfy!” She smiled with a pleasant rush of excitement.
With that, they left the table and claimed the chairs that seemed to be made for first meetings and fell into an easy conversation on books, movies, and other topics of common interest. The time flew and coffee flowed with a comfortable rhythm.
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