The phone rings at 3:00 Monday afternoon and it is your best girlfriend
Jenny, inviting you to dinner next weekend. What a nice thought, until she tells
you there is “this guy she just knows you’ll like”.
Do these “arranged situations” ever work out; these blind dates that well
meaning friends and families attempt to arrange for all of us at some point in
our lives? What do we have to lose anyway? Well, let’s just look at what
happened when Jenny tried to do this favor for her friend Lisa!
It had been a long Monday for Lisa, and she was ready for a friendly voice on
the telephone. When she heard from Jenny, it was the bright spot in her day.
Little did Lisa know what an impact this call would have on her life for the
next few weeks. Jenny invited her to a restaurant they had both been anxious to
try out; a new little Italian place with red checked tablecloths, a real live
violinist, and a tempting selection of wonderful foods and wines. This was just
what she was needed to plan for to help her get through her week!
But wait, there’s a catch, and he has a name. Jenny knows this fellow named
Bob who just moved to town and is a really nice guy. She thought it would be
“fun” to do a double date Saturday night with Bob and his friend from work.
It sounded harmless since they’ve both wanted to try out the new place, so
Lisa accepted Jenny’s invitation and they both made plans to meet at
Berelli’s Saturday night.
So far, these girls are doing the right thing by meeting these guys at the
restaurant and not being picked up. They don’t know them very well and if for
some reason, one (or both) need to duck out, neither will be stuck without
wheels.
The weekend rolled around soon enough and Jenny and Lisa had taken a little trip
the mall to shop for a couple of cute dresses and matching shoes. They helped
each other with their hair that Saturday afternoon, and almost felt like young
schoolgirls going out on their first date. In a way it was, for Lisa, since it
was her first blind date. She had never done anything like this before, and
although she was looking forward to being with her friend, she was a little
hesitant about meeting this guy Bob. Anyway, it was just a dinner and that would
be it.
They jumped into the car and drove over to Berelli’s, making sure they were
“fashionably” late (but just 10 minutes), not to appear over anxious to
their gentleman waiting. Bob and William had already gotten a nice table and
ordered a bottle of wine, so the scene was set for a lovely evening. What a cute
place this new little restaurant was! It looked like a page right out of Italy,
with the tables set so beautifully, music filling the room, and Jenny even
noticed a quaint little dance floor near the violinist for those who wished to
become a little romantic. This was just what she needed, and Bob looked pretty
good too. He had a nice smile, good looking suit, and pulled out her chair for
her when she sat down. This man is right out of a storybook! Who ever said blind
dates are a mistake anyway?
As the evening progressed, the couples seemed to enjoy each other’s company
and all four were convinced Berelli’s was a dining experience that they would
recommend to their other friends. Lisa was so glad that she decided to take
Jenny up on her offer. Actually she had never tried blind dating until that
night because of all the horror stories told in the past. She had heard tales of
all sorts, and although they were true, perhaps they were exaggerated a bit.
They planned another date the next weekend and Jenny hoped that her first blind
date would be her last. Bob very well just may be the “Mr. Right” she had
been waiting for.
Now that is the way a story should always go, with a happy ending; however,
girls (and guys) beware of the blind date. Make sure you handle yourself in a
manner that doesn’t allow yourself to be taken advantage of in any way,
especially with wine flowing freely all night long. Many times if you have
“let your guard down” you can find yourself in a situation you may not be
able to handle. For example, if you are really attracted to someone and let him
know it, he can sometimes get the wrong impression. It just is always a good
idea not to be too friendly on first dates (and sometimes second and third
dates) until you really get to know the person and you are certain he respects
your wishes.
When employers hire new people, they many times do reference checks, and
sometimes even background checks before they hire. You can do the same type of
thing by making sure someone knows this person you plan to go out with and
hopefully knows something about his past. The last thing you want is to fall in
love with some guy or gal who ends up with the reputation of violence or some
other seedy problem. These kinds of situations happen all the time. “But they
would never happen to me…” we all believe; but they can, so we much be smart
about where we go and with whom we go out with.
Lisa got lucky and met the man of her dreams, but unfortunately, that isn’t
always the way it works. Thinking back to her story, she originally just planned
to have a nice evening and things just happened to work out much better than she
expected. Meeting new people is fun; just be sure and use good common sense and
keep a safe distance until you know exactly what you are getting into.
Lu Huskey is an aspiring writer,
liturgical musician, and owner of her own consulting company. Her experience in
relationships is reflected in a successful 20 years marriage and being a mother
of three.
Lu writes for DrDating – a web site for
anyone looking for love online. We have hundreds of articles, E-Books and links
to some great dating and love sites all over the world. DrDating also offers
reviews of some of the most popular dating sites and books.
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