The First Date

John was sitting back, relaxed.  He had made this flight from RDU to JFK many times, sometimes for work, sometimes for pleasure.  He liked sitting by the window, looking out at the marvel of a nature that had created such an unbelievable view.  Today, the flight was smooth, perhaps a good omen.  He looked at his watch.  The plane was about half way there.  He began to think about what may happen.  Should he have expectations or would it be better to just relax and take what comes?  It was the first Saturday in June.  The weather was supposed to cooperate.  That was no guarantee, but you can hope.

John had “met” Joanna on one of those Internet dating sites late last year, just before Christmas.  He had tried several sites, but she was the first one he felt could be the one.  He had a good life.  He had a good job at the University doing the kind of research he had dreamed of when he went to graduate school for his PhD in Biology.  He earned more than enough money.  He had a one bedroom apartment in a nice part of Chapel Hill.  He could buy a new car about every three years or so.  He had a few friends in the area he could hang out with when he was free, which sometimes wasn’t a lot because of the demands of his work.  But something was missing from his life and he was eager to find it.  Maybe today was the day.

Something about Joanna’s picture struck him.  She was not what he would call beautiful, but there was something there that he could describe as attractive.  He was forty years-old and not exactly a Cary Grant.  He couldn’t expect a Sophia Loren.  He was lonely.  He wanted to meet someone to fill the void in his life.  He hadn’t been able to find the right someone in central North Carolina so he decided to expand his search area.  New York was a good option, with an endless pool of possibilities.  He liked New York a lot.  It was an exciting destination full of many things to see and do.  Joanna was five years his junior.  She designed bottles for a beverage company and lived alone in a tiny apartment in Greenwich Village. 

John and Joanna had many things in common, especially a love of classic movies.  They were both avid viewers of TCM.  They were also subscribers of Netflix.  He preferred DVDs, she streaming.  John was a big fan of the Duke, John Wayne, his namesake.  Joanna adored Bette Davis.  As a result, they both envied Henry Fonda, who appeared with John Wayne in the 1948 Western classic, Fort Apache, and with Bette Davis ten years ealier in Jezebel, an ante-bellum drama.

After several months of exchanging emails, John and Joanna had recently had a few phone conversations.  He loved the sound of her voice.  She was just what he expected from the tone of the emails.  Joanna seemed a little shy at first, but once the conversation got rolling, she became an active participant.  John himself wasn’t a big extrovert, but he liked talking about things he liked to talk about.  The way she responded gave him the confidence he needed. 

John’s JetBlue flight touched down safely at JFK airport almost exactly on time.  As the plane taxied to the gate, he started getting a little nervous, but he had plenty of time to relax before they would meet at the restaurant he had chosen for their first date, Pastis, an iconic French bistro on Ninth Avenue near Little West 12th Street.  He’d gone there last year with some Department of Biology associates from New York University.  John loved the steak and french fries he had ordered.  He thought it would be a good choice for their first date.  The food was great, the ambiance was second to none, and the tables were not so big that they couldn’t have a nice conversation.

John walked off the plane pulling his one suitcase with wheels and entered Terminal 5.  Just like his previous times there, it was full of people arriving and departing New York.  He briskly walked through the building heading for the AirTrain which would take him to Jamaica Station.  From there, John would take the LIRR to Penn Station in Manhattan.  That would put him directly across Seventh Avenue from the Hotel Pennsylvania, where he liked to stay when in New York. 

After checking in and dropping his suitcase off in his relatively small room, John stepped out onto the streets on Manhattan.  He felt invigorated.  He wanted to enjoy the sights and smells of the city.  He walked all the way to Third Avenue and 50th Street to have a hearty lunch at Essa Bagel, which offered the best in the world.  They couldn’t be duplicated in Chapel Hill.  Maybe it was the water.  He ordered a hot plain bagel with cream cheese, Nova Scotia smoked salmon, and a slice of tomato.  Couldn’t top that!

Afterwards, John took a leisurely stroll to Central Park and found a bench to sit on and rest.  In spite of the hub-bub that surrounded him, his mind could finally focus again on the point of his visit to the Big Apple, Joanna.  Who was she and what did he know about her?  What did he want of her?  Did he think she would want him as well?  It was exhilarating and confusing at the same time.  John knew he looked forward to her emails and now to their telephone calls.  When he wasn’t busy at work, he missed the time they shared.  Did they have a relationship or was that something that could begin tonight?  What if things didn’t work out as he hoped?  What if she looked different in person, so different that he couldn’t stand looking at her?  What if she thought him a fool?  He guessed that’s what first dates are all about.

John strolled over to the zoo.  It was full of people, especially mothers and small children.  It made him think about having children of his own some day.  He would like at least one, maybe two if the first one worked out okay.  He wondered if Joanna wanted kids.  They never discussed children.  Whatever it was they had had not advanced to the having children stage. 

John made eye contact with a Snow Leopard.  It looked so peaceful and majestic, laying on its belly, surveying its world.  He wondered what it was thinking.  John hoped it wasn’t eyeing him for its next meal.  He also hoped there was more than one Snow Leopard living in the Central Park Zoo so he or she wouldn’t be lonely.

Eventually, John started walking, at a leisurely pace, back to the hotel.  He could feel his nervous energy aroused inside both his body and mind.  His wished the clock would speed-up and slow down.  When he got back to his room, he tried killing time by watching a classic movie on TV.  TCM was showing Love is a Many Splendored Thing with Jennifer Jones and William Holden, one of John’s favorite romantic films.  He adored both stars.  When he turned on the TV, Holden’s character had just returned by plane from visiting his estranged wife who refused to give him a divorce so he could marry Jones’s character.  Holden and Jones were both so very disappointed.

After the movie, John took his second shower of the day.  Then he shaved, which he had not done before he left home in the morning.  An hour before his reservation for two at Pastis he got dressed.  John decided to wear his navy blue sports jacket over a pink shirt.  He had on a pair of khaki pants and black shoes.  Thirty minutes later he jumped into a taxi for the trip downtown.  John arrived with ten minutes to spare.  A few couples waiting in line without reservations gave him a dirty look when he walked past them directly to the host.  He mentioned his reservation and asked if Joanna had already arrived.  She hadn’t.  He ordered a beer on tap at the bar as he waited to be seated.

As John sipped his beer, he was again filled with nervous energy.  Any second now, he would be face to face with Joanna for the first time.  He wasn’t sure how tall she was.  John hoped she wouldn’t be taller than he or very short.  Somewhere in the middle would be good.  How would she wear her hair which had been long in the one photo he had?  How would she be dressed?  Conservative or sexy?  Should they shake hands or kiss on the cheek?  What should he say?  So many thoughts!

Finally, one of the hostesses found him at the bar and escorted him to a table for two at the far end of the restaurant.  She advised him they would be on the look out for Joanna and would bring her to the table as soon as she arrived.  He took a gulp of beer from the mug he had brought with him from the bar.

As the minutes passed, John started getting nervous.  Was she being fashionably late or was she the type of person who was never on time?  Perhaps she was caught in traffic.  Perhaps she got lost.  He looked at the other tables near him and saw all the couples enjoying eating and talking.  John hoped that would be him and Joanna very soon.  Thirty minutes later, he ordered another beer and was truly worried about where she was.  She had called him at his home number a few times.  They never exchanged cell phone numbers.  He couldn’t be sure she even had one.  It never occurred to him he would need hers tonight.

As the minutes ticked by, John started worrying that she was standing him up.  It had never dawned on him that she would do this.  She seemed so excited about his decision to come to New York and have dinner together.  She had bubbled.  He was confident she was sincere.  But, now?

John felt a tap on his shoulder.  He turned hoping it would be Joanna.  Instead, it was the hostess saying he had a phone call and to follow him.  Since Joanna was the only person who knew where he was at this moment, he was sure it was her.  He didn’t know what to think.  He put the phone to his ear.

“Joanna?”

“Yes, it’s me, John.  Please listen and don’t say anything.  I’m not who you think I am.  I can never come.”

She hung up.  After a few seconds, so did John.  He was numb.  He paid for his two beers and left.