The Romantic Misadventures of a Modern Woman (3 page)

The four women planned to meet after the event to dish about the men they had met. As each woman handed back their dating lists, Nita excused herself so she could go to the bathroom before they left for the restaurant. Locking herself in the stall, she pulled out the envelope she had hidden inside her scarf. She opened it carefully as if she was going to reseal it to look as though it had never been opened.

Unfolding the paper, she noticed the unusual pale teal-gray colored stationary with carefully penned words in neat handwriting that conveyed a brief message.

"Hi Beautiful!

I'm your secret admirer.

I really want to get to know you better.

Please don't say "no".

(I want to be) yours, truly."

An e-mail address was scribbled at the bottom.

Nita felt a warm excitement. "Aw, how sweet!" she thought. "Some guy anticipated being here and brought stationary with him to leave note for someone he liked." Whoever he was, he had also broken the rules. No one at the event was supposed to exchange contact information with anyone else, unless it was arranged by someone from KISS-LOVE 91. Nita surmised that this mystery man had found a moment, when the organizers were not paying full attention, during that last break, and slipped his note onto her chair.

Folding the note and inserting it back into its envelope, Nita hid it in the bottom of her bag and rejoined her friends. She had only selected a few names from the dozens on her list. Could it possibly have been one of them? How likely is it that anyone she picked, also chose her? She had reconciled herself to the possibility that none of the men she met that night, would want a second date that would last longer than those first few seconds.

The Baggins girls suggested a 24-hour diner for the four-some to grab a late snack and compare notes. It was after 11 p.m., so it was easy to find a seat. The waitress took the orders for appetizers and coffee. Gina was very excited to start talking about all the men she liked. Speed-dating had really brought her out of her shell.

"How many names did you pick? I picked 7! Oh, I hope none of us picked any of the same names!" Hannah and Nita were sure that the cousins had already compared notes. They were the only ones who rode in the same car that night. It would have been impossible for them not to share.

"I picked five, but two, I think, have real potential." Hannah admitted.

"Names, Hannah, NAMES!" Gina prodded.

"Damon and Marlon... did you pick either of them?"

"No, you're safe." Gina said, in a joking way. "I really liked Steve."

Elle confided, "I liked Steve too, but Trent may be my winner."

Nita confronted the cousins, "I bet you two fought over Steve in the car and Gina won, didn't she?"

After a slightly uncomfortable silence, Elle spoke, "I narrowed my selections from two to one. If KISS-LOVE says that he picked me, I may go out with him, but, I am not really interested in dating a lot of men. What about you, Nita?"

"I think I have two, maybe three who might be interesting."

"Who?" Gina demanded.

"Caleb, Wes ,and maybe, Nathaniel."

"NATHANIEL?" The other three women exclaimed in disbelief.

"What!? He was nice!"

"I thought he was, well, awkward." Elle said.

"Yeah, he gave me a real creepy vibe" Gina added.

"I am not sure he's the one for you Nita." Hannah said, diplomatically.

"Oh... Kay..., duly noted, ladies." Nita scribbled with the tip of her finger on the table as if she was writing Nathaniel's name, but she never said a word about the envelope. She kept daydreaming about who could have left such a sweet surprise for her. As she thought about the letter, she began to feel a renewed, hopeful optimism about relationships. She hadn't felt this way since before she met Henry. In her mind, she warned herself not to go overboard. After all, it was just a letter. "Calm down, Nita..." she thought to herself "you don't know who this is!"

The group spent the rest of the evening talking and laughing about some of the men that none of them picked. As Nita drove herself home, she considered the pros and cons of e-mailing her secret admirer. Would doing so put her in violation of the speed-dating rules? Would it matter? She decided she would take the time to think, before she chose to respond.

Gina sat in the middle of the studio, dressed perfectly for an exercise class, but she was made-up like she was not planning to sweat. After the speed-dating experience, she became very excited about the prospect of meeting new men. When she found a co-ed workout for singles scheduled at her gym, she begged Hannah and Nita to join her and Elle.

Hannah was self-conscious about doing a work-out in a mixed setting, especially where people may attend because they are more motivated by something other than health or fitness. Once again, Nita was just tagging along. Her resolve was only to finish the work-out to the best of her ability. She did not see this as a social opportunity.

Elle decided to not to exercise next to her cousin; she would watch Gina from a distance. She found her cousins new, intense enthusiasm for dating a bit alarming. She started stretching in an empty space next to Nita. "I'm worried about Gina. I think she has gone 'man-crazy'."

"I think it's cute. I bet she finds someone first" Nita replied.

"Did you hear anything from KISS-LOVE 91?" Elle asked.

"You mean about the speed-dating? No. But, it has only been a few days." Nita didn't let on that she already had a prospect from that night, whether or not the radio station contacted her with a match.

"I got a 'regrets' e-mail from them yesterday. None of the men I picked chose me." Elle revealed.

"Oh, I'm sorry... wait! I thought you were interested in just one!"

"Yeah, I picked two or three, I told Gina she could have Steve, since we both picked him. I ruled out the second one after turning in my list, so there was really only one left. Now, the number goes to zero. Trust me, I am OK with it."

As the music started, the four ladies faced front, as did the rest of the class, mirroring the trainers as they demonstrated the warm-up routine. Soon muffled giggles rippled throughout the room. The playlist consisted of inappropriate, raunchy love songs. Many in the class began to blush at the suggestive lyrics. The exercises were uncomfortably suggestive. A few people walked out of the class before the first routine ended. Others stayed to see just how much more hilarious this
 
hook-up work-out
 
would get.

The class was a joke. The trainers were in a committed relationship of their own and it was very obvious they were together. Apparently, they had a poorly conceived notion that it was their mission to combine exercise class with matchmaking. They convinced the gym, where they worked, to let them give their idea a try. Gina fell for it and dragged her friends along for what was becoming an embarrassingly bizarre experience. While Gina remained fully committed to the class, the other three women exchanged smirks, muffled laughter and winks when the trainers weren't looking. They sat out the raunchier circuits. At one particularly uncomfortable moment, the trainers tried to pair-off the ever-dwindling crowd of same-sex strangers, now mostly female, with no concern for their actual sexual orientation.

After 45 minutes of trying to keep a straight face, the class ended, mercifully. The women stepped out onto a sunny street and Hannah burst out laughing. "I can't believe they wanted us to do all of 
those
 
exercises! I think those moves better suited for people who are already in a relationship. I would probably just do them with my husband, behind closed doors... after I get a husband, maybe not even then."

Nita turned to Gina, "What did you think of the guy you were paired with?"
"He has my number." Gina said in a musically high-pitched, confident tone.

Nita sat in her reading spot, waiting for the clock to tell her it was time for the Telephone Book Club. She had read ahead in the book and taken notes. While she waited, she re-read the note from her secret admirer and began composing a draft e-mail that she would send, maybe.

She ripped a page from her notebook and began to write.

"Dear Secret Admirer..." Nita shook her head.

"Hi, there..." She scribbled over it and scratched it out.

What's up, dude?" Balling up the paper, she tossed it into the trash.

None of the greetings worked for her. She thought to herself, "I don't even know his name or what he looks like."

She finally came up with something:

"Hello,

Thanks for the note you left for me at speed-dating.

May I know your name?"

It was short and sweet and was enough to get the conversation started.
 She typed the words into her phone, re-reading the text to be sure that auto-correct hadn't mangled her message (making her sound completely stupid), then clicked "send".

Suddenly, she found herself cloaked with a feeling of dread. "What if the envelope wasn't meant for me? What if he put it on someone else's chair and it accidentally fell on the floor next to my chair, and someone walked by, and picked it up, thinking it was mine?"

It was too late. The e-mail was sent. Nita would have to wait and see if the secret admirer replied.

She tried to calm herself as she dialed Hannah's number.

"Can I call you back?" Hannah spoke in a hurried tone. It sounded as though she was in her car with the window open.

"Sure."

"OK, I'm almost home. I need, maybe half an hour, at least to get settled. I'll call you."

"OK, talk to you later."

Nita put her paperback and her notebook aside and looked at her phone. A new e-mail had arrived while she was talking to Hannah.

She fumbled with the phone, then tapped on the e-mail icon.

The subject header read, "Your Speed-Dating Match Message from KISS-LOVE 91".

Nita slid her finger across her phone to reveal the body of the e-mail message.

"Dear Dater 45, 

Thanks for participating in the KISS-LOVE 91 speed-dating event.

Congratulations! We are excited to inform you that you were chosen by the dater(s) listed below.

If you are still interested in meeting any of them, we have arranged a mixer for those, like you, who made connections. The details are below. Please reply if you plan to attend...."

Nita looked at the names. All three men, Wes, Caleb and Nathaniel, requested to meet her. She was so excited, she couldn't stop smiling. She thought, if only one of the men picked her, she would be more confident that he was her secret admirer. Either way, she figured she would learn his identity sooner or later.

E-mail addresses for each of the men were listed next to their names. Nita compared them to what was at the bottom of the mysterious note ...no match found. Next, she thought about how she might discover who he was or get him to reveal his identity at the mixer. She was not going to miss this.

Hannah seemed to be taking too long to call back. While she continued to wait, Nita got out her notebook again and looked through her notes.

"Men are on a hunt. Let them come to you." She had written this in large letters on one of the pages. The advice in the book seemed a bit old-fashioned. But, this author also referenced the Bible, and that made the advice ancient. She wondered "Why do people still listen to advice from so long ago. So much has changed since back then" she thought.

"When you understand how valuable you are, others will see it and treat you accordingly." She copied this sentence, almost verbatim, from the book, which was becoming a bit worn and dog-eared. She transcribed questions in that section of the chapter into her notes, asking herself: "How valuable do I think I am?" and "What makes me valuable?" Although she wrote the chapter and verse for supporting scripture references, she hadn't answered those questions yet. The author insisted, "If you are valuable enough for God to send His Son to die for you, you're pretty valuable. Treat yourself with value and others will understand that they must do the same."

Nita wrote another question to herself, "How do I treat myself with value?" That was something she would have to give much thought.

As the afternoon progressed toward evening, the temperature began to drop. Nita took her over-sized cape to go over her sweater, and walked outside as sunset ushered in the cool night. She found herself enjoying her long walks more than ever with the changing leaves falling around her.

Her path took her past the Foster house. Mrs. Foster was a retired widow who did photography and worked in her garden during the day. At night, she would edit her photos and post them on-line. Since Nita lived in an apartment, she couldn't have a garden. She admired those who did.

After complimenting Mrs. Foster on her hydrangea plants, one spring, she invited Nita in to see her whole garden, up close. At the end of the tour, Nita asked if she could come garden with her sometime and a friendship was born. Nita would stop by a few times each month to pull weeds, make flower arrangements or harvest vegetables. Often Mrs. Foster would send her home with everything she picked.

When Henry and Nita started dating, he picked her up from the Foster house so she could keep her real address private. When Henry brought her back, Mrs. Foster would put on some tea and they would chat about her evening before Nita walked up the block to her apartment. Of course, this arrangement lasted only until Nita and Henry became serious and their dates lasted into the night, ending at her apartment or his. After the last time she saw Henry, Mrs. Foster didn't see her as often. Intuitively, she knew something had happened and that Nita's boyfriend was no longer in the picture.

Mrs. Foster noticed Nita walking slowly past her fence, appreciating her mums and marigolds. She called out to her. "Hi, sweetie!"

"Hi, Mrs. Foster. What are you doing today?"

"Spring bulbs have to go in!
Wanna get your hands dirty?" Mrs. Foster kept a spare pair of gardening gloves for whenever Nita helped her in the garden.

"Sure!" Nita felt a bit guilty that she hadn't visited Mrs. Foster as much as she used to, but she also missed working in the garden with her.

"You remember what to do, don't you?" Mrs. Foster asked as she handed her a basked of tulip bulbs

"Yes, but I am going to watch you to make sure I don't mess up."

The two women buried their bulbs, one-by-one, carefully placing each at the prescribed depth, spacing them the correct distance apart. Mrs. Foster was hands-off as a supervisor. She trusted Nita.

"I have missed you, dear." Mrs. Foster offered. "How have you been?"

"OK" Nita was not uncomfortable with her questions; she knew they were coming, but wanted to avoid talking about Henry. "I've been spending time with some great women friends. We've been going to singles events around town."

Nita told her neighbor about her speed-dating experience and the hilarious, sexy work-out debacle. Their conversation, as they planted, carried them across the front of the house and almost down one side before they ran out of bulbs.

"I knew I didn't have enough. The nursery has the rest on back-order. I should receive everything before next weekend. How about we clean up here and go inside? Would you like some hot apple cider?"

Street lamps began to glow as the last bits of daylight slipped below the edge of the horizon. As the apple cider warmed on Mrs. Foster's modern stove, she placed a tray with honey and cinnamon sticks in the center the kitchen table and sat down. "Thanks for helping me today. I really enjoyed your company."

"Oh, you're welcome, Mrs. Foster. I am sorry I haven't been around in a while."

"That's OK. We can't always do things the way we've always done them. I understand. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I think so." Nita took a quiet deep breath. "You know, Mrs. Foster, Henry and I are not together anymore."

"Yes, sweetie, I thought so. Do you
wanna talk about it?"

"I don't think I am ready yet." Nita explained. "What I can tell you is that I just discovered that I have to forgive him."

"What did he do?" Mrs. Foster got up to cut off the burner and remove the apple cider.

"All I know is he had someone else." Nita felt a little better for sharing what had been at the root of her private pain for so long.

The older woman poured steaming cider into cups and slid one in front of Nita. "Infidelity. That's serious."

"It's a deal-breaker, as far as I'm concerned." Nita replied.

"It often is. But, I know a thing or two about infidelity."

"What? Mr. Foster cheated on you?" Nita was astonished.

"No. I was the one who was unfaithful."

Nita's jaw dropped. The Fosters seemed to have a wonderful relationship. They were always in their yard or when out shopping, or on their date nights, looking so happy together. They seemed to be one of the most loving couples in Karberry. Mrs. Foster was the last person Nita would have suspected to have had an affair. Nita lifted her cup in front of her face as if to take a drink, but it was really just a feeble attempt to hide her shock.

"Forgiveness saved our marriage." the widow insisted. "I didn't want to destroy my relationship and I didn't want my marriage to end, neither did Howard."

"He must have been furious."

"Yes, I'm sure he was. And either one of us could have called it quits in a heartbeat, but both of us still considered the commitment we made to each other in our marriage as more important than anything else... even if one of us was acting, for a moment, as if it wasn't. And because we survived, we were better for it."

While finishing their cider, they continued to chat. Mrs. Foster offered one last piece of encouragement. "Dating is a lot of fun. Enjoy it, sweetie. But there will come a time when you won't want to do that anymore. If you're as blessed as I was, you'll meet the person you will spend the rest of your life with. That is my prayer for you, Nita."