Chapter 3
3
“After class, I can help you register on a couple dating sites. If you’re truly ready to get back out there, let’s do it before you change your mind.” Jackie grinned.
“Can’t I start by meeting someone at the gym or somewhere? You know, I hear people meet nice men at home improvement stores.”
“Oh, for the love of all things holy. Next, you’ll tell me you want to go to singles’ night at one of those organic grocery stores.”
They laughed while they waited for the traffic light to turn green. This was why they’d been friends for so many years. They could laugh with and at each other and did often.
They met ten years ago while volunteering at a football game when their boys were in high school. Jackie divorced her husband Troy Collins shortly after their son was born. She’d been single longer than Michelle had known her. After their divorce, Jackie kept her name, Michelle thought because of the reactions she got when people saw her name was Jackie Collins. That was just one of the things they joked about on a regular basis. Jackie had been in several relationships with guys, but only one that Michelle thought Jackie would consider marrying. When he popped the question, she walked away, and that was the last Michelle saw of Mr. Almost Right. Part of Michelle thought Jackie had the right idea, just date and have fun. Like Jackie, Michelle wasn’t looking to marry again either.
They finished the resistance training class and grabbed their water bottles and towels. Michelle wiped the perspiration off her face and chest as they walked down the hallway. A man she’d seen around a few times smiled and lifted his hand in a casual wave. She didn’t know if he was waving at her or Jackie, but she smiled and waved back while Jackie smiled and winked. Man, Jackie had this flirting thing down. It had been so long since Michelle flirted that she didn’t even know how anymore. Was she supposed to flirt? Has dating really changed so much?
As soon as they were outside, Michelle grabbed Jackie’s arm. “Were you flirting with that man?”
“His name is Oscar, and yes, I was flirting. He’s the manager at the credit union that recently opened on Main Street.”
“How do you know that?”
“I saw him a few weeks ago when you had your physical and missed class. I asked the girls at the front desk, and they told me.” She shrugged.
“Help me here, Jackie! I’m a fish out of water.”
Jackie took a resigned breath. “I flirt with every man, Michelle. You know this. It’s perfectly fine for you to flirt, too, if you want. If not, don’t.” She looped her arm through Michelle’s. “C’mon, let’s go fishing on a few dating sites.”
“One, Jackie. I need to start slowly.”
“Girl, we don’t have time for slow at our age.” They laughed. “We’ll start with two.”
They prepared a light lunch from the items left from the night before and went into Michelle’s small office. The walls were painted soft blue, and the built-in bookshelves were stark white. Very soothing for the mountains or the beach. Michelle felt as if she were in the clouds in this room. She sat at her desk, and Jackie told her what to type into the search bar. As soon as she did, a brightly colored page popped onto her screen. The page looked fun and busy. All the people in the pictures were laughing and smiling.
Jackie’s voice broke through Michelle’s thoughts. “We need to create an account for you.”
Her fingers froze, and she looked at Jackie. “Do you really think I’m ready for this? I could go to church with Sarah. I’m sure there are nice men there.”
Jackie shrugged. “If that’s what you want. I’m sure there are nice men there, and I’m sure you can meet someone to walk in the park with.”
“But . . .” Michelle knew one was coming.
“But you don’t have to only meet men from here. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. You may find a cyber friend and only chat via the internet, or you may meet someone in Texas who invites you for a visit. Only you can decide what you’re looking for.”
“Bill liked to travel. We liked to travel and have adventures. I want someone who wants to do that while I’m still young enough to enjoy it.”
“So, you can go to church with Sarah and have a dating account. There’s no harm in that, Michelle. None at all.”
She nodded. “You’re right.” Michelle moved the mouse and began setting up her login for the first site.
Jackie grabbed her phone. “Do you have any recent pictures on here?”
“Of me?”
“No, silly, the man on the moon.”
“Oh, him? Probably, but none of myself.”
She cut her eyes at Michelle with an I’m going to kill you look. “Go shower, put on makeup, and style your hair. Wear a flirty top. We’ll need to get a picture for your profile.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Check my accounts.” She winked and shooed Michelle off.
Thirty minutes later, Michelle walked back into her office wearing jeans and a nice knit top that accented her skin color and blond hair. With a little clear gloss on her lips, she felt pretty. “All right, let’s do this.”
Michelle leaned against a wall, and Jackie took a picture. They looked at it and immediately discarded it. “Relax and smile. You look like someone stuck something up your butt. Your eyes are about to pop out of your head.”
It was just a picture. Why was she so nervous? Michelle walked around, trying to relax. She took a deep breath. “I’m relaxed, I’m ready,” she thought. She propped her foot on the wall and hooked her thumbs in her front pockets. A friendly smile graced her face. Jackie took the picture and handed Michelle the phone with a big grin. “I think we have a winner.” Michelle beamed.
They uploaded the picture, and Michelle filled out the pertinent information. Name: Michelle. Age: 50. Status: Widow. Location: Asheville, NC. Interests: walking outdoors, exercising, my children, reading. She looked at Jackie. “Good?”
“For this site, yeah, since they only let you use fifty characters, but why did you put Asheville?”
“I’m not ready for people to know where I actually live. I’ll meet them in Asheville, and they’ll never know the difference.”
“I can see your point.”
With everything completed, Michelle hit enter, wondering if she’d done the right thing. She never thought she’d be joining dating service apps, but then again, she didn’t expect to be a widow at forty-eight. So, here she was, listening to her friend and creating this account.
Jackie squealed with excitement. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“No.”
“Let’s do another one.”
Michelle followed her directions and did the same thing. Before she finished with this site, her phone pinged. “What’s that?”
“Someone has liked your profile.”
“What do I do?”
“Let’s look at it.”
Michelle swiped her screen, and her phone came alive. She pressed the icon with a notification bubble beside it. A picture came up with a hand. “Are they giving me a high five?” She turned toward Jackie.
“They’re waving to you.”
“Do I wave back?”
“If you want.”
“How do I know if I want to?”
“Look at their profile.”
Jackie taught her how to navigate the app. His name was Ronnie. He lived in North Carolina. Michelle’s mouth dropped open. “He’s thirty-seven, Jackie. He’s closer to Adam’s age than mine.”
“So, you aren’t interested? I mean, look at him. Not too shabby.” She held up her hands. “I know you said you weren’t looking for sex, but do you remember sex in your thirties? The stamina. He may not be the love of your life, but he looks like he could rock your world.”
Michelle slapped her arm. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“Why? I thought you were looking for fun. If you don’t have fun looking, you won’t have fun dating. Loosen up.”
She sighed. “What do I do?”
“Just wave back by clicking on the hand.”
She did. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“So, now what?”
“If he wants to talk, he’ll message you, or you can message him now.”
“No, no. I’ll wait. I’m sure there are more ladies his age that he wants to talk to.”
Before she logged off, her phone pinged again. This time, there was a message. Hi. Are you busy?
Michelle shook her hands as if trying to fling water off them. “What do I do now?”
“Message him back, silly.”
“What do I say?”
“For the love of Pete, whatever you want.”
“Okay, okay.” She shook her hands again and typed: Hi. Not really. You? Her finger hovered over the enter button.
“Do not send that. How boring!”
“It’s the truth.”
“I know you’re boring, but is that the impression you want to give people?”
“But they’ll know if I decide to meet them.”
“Yeah, but with that response, you’ll never meet them. Give me that.” Jackie took her phone. “Let me handle this.”
Michelle stood behind her as she typed: Hell-o there. I just got home from the gym and I’m a bit sweaty. I saw your wave and thought I’d take a chance before I jump into the shower.
Michelle gasped. “You can’t send that! It’s... it’s too personal.”
Jackie smiled at her. “Bet you a dozen donuts he’s grinning while he’s trying to picture you in the shower... naked.”
“You’re terrible.”
“Just trying to get you a date, my dear.”
“I’m not sleeping with him.”
“Of course, you aren’t, but he doesn’t know that.”
“Well, he needs to know that.”
“Michelle, calm down. He’ll get a laugh out of it and so will you. Then you can be your boring self.”
“If I didn’t love you so much, I’d hate you right now.”
“I know, but you’ll thank me later.”
“Doubt that.”
Another message popped on her screen: What kind of workout?
Michelle’s fingers tapped on the keys: Resistance training.
Her phone alerted her again: Weights or rubber bands?
She smiled as she typed: Some machines, some free weights, and some body weight.
Another message showed up: Impressive. Do you work out every day?
Her thumbs rested on the keys as she thought about what she wanted to say: No. Do you work out?
The little bubbles waved on her screen: To keep my body conditioned, I work out in some way, shape, or form six days a week.
Michelle rolled her eyes. She wasn’t sure about this guy, but before she could respond, he sent another message: I’m kidding. I do work out a lot, but more because I enjoy it. I do weight training, like you, but I also play basketball. I’m on a softball team at our local rec center. You should come check us out sometime. It’s in Waynesville. It’s about thirty minutes from Asheville. Your profile said within thirty minutes.
Her hand covered her mouth and she looked at Jackie. “Shit. He’s here. Like in town. What if I run into him at the grocery store? He’ll know I lied.”
Jackie burst out laughing. “Only you would meet someone from your own town. Every guy I spoke to for the first six months lived hours away, usually in a different state.”
“What do I say?”
Jackie shrugged. Big help she was.
Michelle’s phone vibrated with a different sound just as she typed: When are your games?
She watched the dots wave until a message arrived: Saturday mornings. We have one this week.
She dropped her phone. “He wants to meet already. I thought we were supposed to chat for days, weeks before meeting.”
“Just tell him you aren’t ready to meet yet.”
Michelle thought about all the advice she’d given her children over the years—be honest and polite. She typed: I think I’d like to chat more before I agree to meet you. Tell me about you, your family. Oops, someone is at my door. I’ll get back to you in a bit. She thought about not being completely honest as she glanced at Jackie with a sly smile on her face.
“You want to see the other notification, don’t you?”
“Guilty as charged.” She grinned.
Michelle switched to the other dating app. And much like the first site, this guy was waving. When she looked at his profile, he seemed familiar. She looked at his name... Oscar. She glanced at Jackie who was staring at the profile on Michelle’s phone.
“I won’t respond to him. How do I delete him?”
“No, I don’t have any ties to him, sweetie. I didn’t even know he was on this app.”
“You probably need to check your notifications then. I’m sure he’s sent you a message or something.”
“Yeah, I’ll wait until I get home.” The look on Jackie’s face told Michelle she was lying.
Michelle stood and stretched. “I’ve had enough fun for one day.” She sat her phone on the desk. “Do you want to take any of this food home for dinner? I’m staying in tonight.”
“Do you mind if I make myself a to-go box? Staying in tonight sounds good.”
Jackie moved through Michelle’s kitchen like a Texas whirlwind. Before she knew it, Jackie kissed her cheek at the back door. “See you tomorrow.”
“What time?”
“Ten. Let’s go walk the lake.”
“Perfect.”
Michelle locked the door, headed toward her bedroom, and straight for the bathroom. She turned on the water at the sink while she brushed her hair. When steam billowed from the faucet, she grabbed a washcloth to remove the makeup from her face. Afterward, she stepped inside her closet, dressed in comfortable clothes, and then sat down at her computer to get a little work done.
While the whole dating thing intrigued her—it had been forever since she’d been on one—it could be fun. She found herself continually looking at her phone. She needed to get rid of Oscar. Jackie seemed really interested in him, and that was one headache she didn’t need. What’s that old saying? The one the boys used to say, “Bros before hos.” She hated it then and still did. But Belynda had one too. She snapped her fingers. It was on the tip of her tongue. Sisters before... before misters! That was it. Sisters before misters, and Jackie was as close as a sister.
She pulled up the app where Oscar’s profile popped up and swiped the screen. His picture disappeared. She didn’t know what happened now, but hopefully, she won’t be bothered by him again. She found Ronnie’s picture on the other app and stared at his face. What would people say about her going out with a man thirteen years her junior? Cougar! She’d be a cougar. The kids would be so embarrassed. But it was just to watch a softball game. No one would know she was there to see him , would they? What would be so wrong? Her picture was fun and flirty. She could be fun and flirty, damn it!
She inhaled and typed: What time is your game on Saturday?
When she saw the waving bubbles, she exhaled. The bubbles stopped, then started again: Nine.
Her heart raced: Are you sure you want me to show up? I can sit on the opponent’s side of the field so no one knows I came to see you.
His reply was immediate: I invited you. I want everyone to know you came to see me.
She blinked. Wow, he was decisive. She smiled and immediately responded: I’ll see you a little before nine. I drive a red Jeep.
Before she put her phone away, she noticed there were three more waves from new men. She waved to all of them and then set down her phone. She silently stared at her computer screen, absorbing the activities of the afternoon. In forty-eight hours, she was going on her first date in over thirty years.