Blind Date

“Come on dude, you haven’t left your pit of despair in weeks”. John sighed reluctantly at his roommate.
David dropped the blanket down from his head, turning towards John. “What are you talking about? I go to work 5 times a week, I go shopping, I wash regularly, I…”
John put up a hand to stop him. “I mean that’s literally all you’re doing. I’m not saying you’re a bad roommate, I’m saying as a man you have needs, and you’re not tending to those needs”.
David’s brow perked up. “Are you saying you want me to masturbate more often, I mean I can do that, in fact if you want I can…” David threw off his blanket fort and pulled at the elastic waistband of his trakkies.
Before he could reach inside John dragged his arm away laughing. “Nope, nope, nope, nope, none of that thank you”. He pulled the blanket away before David could recover it and tossed it aside.
“Aww come on dude”. David whined, refusing to leave the comforts of the well worn groove in the sofa.
“Don’t aww come on dude me. You owe me after hooking me up with that crazy girl the other month. Do you realise how long it took for me to finally shift her, if it weren’t for that car hitting me and her believing I was bad luck, she’d still be knocking at our door right now”.
David stood up defensively. “Now that wasn’t my fault, even you thought she was great till…well you know, the whole thing with that girl you work with”.
“Damn yeah, I forgot about that, good thing she didn’t sue or anything, I’d have definitely thrown you down the river straight away, no questions asked”.
The pair laughed for a while before David sighed dramatically dramatically.
“Well seeing as you’re up now, get dressed and make yourself look pretty because you’re coming with me”. David was about to protest but John gave him the look that meant no matter how much he whined there was no way he was going back to his games that night.

After reluctantly getting dressed, David joined John in the living room looking much more presentable.
“Ah now, there’s my handsome boy, mother would be proud”. John teased him.
“Oh god, don’t bring my mother into this, isn’t it bad enough that I have to go out with you on this mystery date in the first place”. David complained, grabbing his phone and keys as he exited their apartment.
John followed behind, grabbing his own keys as they made their way to the car.

The car journey took almost no time at all, the restaurant was only a short journey into town in the midst of the bustling nightlife of London. The pair climbed out of the car and proceeded towards the restaurant. It was recently refurbished to fit in with the ‘new and improved’ downtown scene with flashing lights, deep vibrant colours and 2 burley bouncers guarding the door. Considering this was supposed to be a restaurant, it could easily be mistaken for a night club to the drunken masses as they stumbled towards it.
“Oh crap”. John uttered as he pulled out his phone.
“What?” David asked while looking at the refurbished building in disgust.
“They’re early, like really early, 30 minutes early”. John narrowed his eyes trying to peer into the building.
“Who the hell goes to a date 30 minutes early?” David spread his hands wide as he spoke.
“You mean other than us?” John smirked.
“Well yeah, but isn’t that expected from guys? Never leave a lady waiting”. David smirked back.
“Well, if that’s the case we have some explaining to do”. John pulled at David’s arm. “Come along Oh Great Knight, our princesses await us in yonder building”.
David took a bow. “Quite right Sir Knight, let us leave our noble steed and make haste!”
The car bleeped loudly as the locking mechanism engaged and the laughing pair imitated riding imaginary horses into the restaurant.

“I still don’t understand why you wanted to get here so early, isn’t the saying ‘fashionably late’, not scare the crap out of your dates by getting here so stupidly early?” Rachelle put her head in her hands in embarrassment.
“You wouldn’t have come if I’d let you sit there any longer, you’d have chickened out and missed out on the potential love of your life”. Jennifer beamed brightly as she swirled the wine around her glass and bit into another breadstick.
“Love of my life? You haven’t told me a thing about him…well I assume him, could be an alien for all I know, you know some weird people”. Rachelle looked up from her hands. “You’re not going to be able to eat anything else if your keep munching on those you know”.
Jennifer took another 2 sticks, snapped them into smaller pieces and shoved them all in her mouth, her cheeks ballooned as she struggled to chew with her mouth full. Rachelle snorted in laughter as Jennifer almost spat the breadsticks across the table.
“Are you okay ma’am”. A young waitress asked as Jennifer attempted to swallow, unable to create enough saliva due to the dryness of the breadsticks.
“She’s fine, thank you”. Rachelle managed say, breathless with laughter.
The waitress smiled and nodded before leaving to attend another table.
The front door suddenly burst open as two guys stumbled into the restaurant laughing loudly, attempting to shush each other.
“John?” Jennifer mumbled, her mouth still partially full.
Rachelle turned towards the front door where the pair had come in, then quickly back to Jennifer in a panic. “I thought you said we were early? Why are they here?”
Jennifer chewed quickly before swallowing painfully, quenching her thirst as she finished her glass. “They must have had the same idea”

John hushed David, apologising profusely as the entire restaurant stared at them. “Shh, sorry, sorry”.
David shushed him back, then apologized to the waitress who attended them. “We have a table under John?” He gestured to his friend.
John intervened. “I believe we have two lovely ladies already waiting for us, do you recall when they arrived?”
The waitress scanned through the book until her finger fell upon John’s name, then glanced over at the table where the girls sat before giggling. “Oh yes, they’ve been here for about 10 minutes already, which one of you is meeting the lovely red head?” She gestured to Rachelle.
John nudged David smirking. “This lucky guy!”
The waitress smiled sweetly at him. “Well she seemed really nervous when they arrived so you’d better be nice”. She turned her attention back to John. “You’d best be on your A game, your date seems pretty confident and doesn’t look like she’ll take any prisoners”.
John laughed heartily. “You’re not wrong there, this is our tenth date, and she was just as confident on the first!” He waved towards the pair, Jennifer returning the gesture.

Jennifer began waving wildly, a beaming smile on her face.
“Jennifer!” Rachelle tried to grab her hand, giggling.
“What?” Jennifer sat back in her chair, the huge smile still printed onto her face.
“You’re like an excited school girl, I’ve never seen you like this”. Rachelle teased her.
Jennifer shrugged. “What can I say, sometimes you meet the person you need in the strangest way. Here they come, remember his name is David”.
Rachelle nodded. “Yeah, David, David, David”.
Jennifer giggled. “Just be yourself and everything will…Hey John, and this must be David?”
“You are correct in your assumption m’lady, your gallant knight brings with him what appears to be a lowly peasant, but do not be fooled, for he is truly a knight of great fortitude”. He stepped aside and presented David. “Lady Rachelle, allow me to introduce Sir David”.
Rachelle and David stared at John in awe, both of them stunned by the drama taking place.
“Bravo, Bravo, encore, encore”. Jennifer began clapping excitedly. The waitress departed giggling while everyone else remained silent.
“Well?” John looked back and forth, waiting for one of them to speak.
Jennifer nudged Rachelle.
“Wha…sorry, I mean…” Rachelle stuttered.
“That was dramatic, if I didn’t know better, I’d have thought I was an actually knight”. David added giving Rachelle a chance to reform her thoughts.
Rachelle giggled. “I can’t help but agree, I felt as though I was a royal overseeing a grand tournament”.
David took a bow. “Well, Your Majesty I am grateful that you would give me your blessing on this day”.
John and Jennifer exchanged a smug look of accomplishment.
“Would our gracious knights like to take a seat so we can attend the feast?” Jennifer gestured to the chairs in front of them.
John pulled out his chair and took another bow. “Why thank you m’lady, I shall humbly accept this offer, as will my fellow knight”.
They took their seats while the waitress returned with menu’s and handed them round “Can I get the royal couples anything before you look at the menus?”
The four of them giggled as they took a menu each
“Could I get another bottle of wine please, my royal mind is still capable of thinking clearly”. Jennifer poured another glass of wine leaving the bottle barely a third full.
“Of course”. The waitress smiled making a note on her device. “Anything else?”
David and John requested beers, while Rachelle remained content with her water.
“So, David”. Jennifer began. “John told me you were reluctant to come tonight?”
John’s eyes widened at the mention of his name, his head slowly turning to David as he grinned widely.
“Don’t worry, you’re not the only one, I practically had to kidnap Rachelle to get her here”.
Rachelle nearly spat her drink across the table, her face growing a deeper shade of red.
“I thought I was going to have to call the royal guard to drag her out into the sunlight for a change of scenery, I mean the pale skin look is sexy and all but sunlight’s good for you as well”.
Rachelle flicked her fiery red hair over her face to cover herself. David instinctively stepped in as the shining knight he had apparently become. “To be fair, considering it’s 8pm I think we missed the prime serotonin boost, we’re more in the melatonin stage”.
Rachelle brushed a small section of hair away from her face allowing her to peek out and see David’s brilliant smile radiating under the light above. She smiled widely to herself and looked down as she could hear the cogs of Jennifer’s mind whirring to think of a response to David’s reply.
“He’s right you know”. John added smugly.
“Yeah okay, fair point”. Jennifer nudged Rachelle again. “Maybe you should allow your gallant knight to at least see the face of the fair damsel”.
Rachelle shook her hair away from her face revealing her bright smile. She mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ to David as they shared a brief moment and giggled at each other.

The guys flicked up their menu’s hiding behind them as they conversed quietly. The girls huddled close together sharing one menu still giggling uncontrollably as they attempted to choose something.
The waitress returned not long after and took their orders. John chose a large steak, medium rare, David, a thick beef burger topped with bacon, Jennifer, a huge helping of ribs with a side of nachos and Rachelle, a stone baked pizza brimmed with meat.

The waitress returned a short time later with the lady’s food first, Jennifer dug into the ribs immediately, the sauce dripping down her fingers. Rachelle giggled at her as she cut her food into small triangles.
“What?” Jennifer turned to her, licking her fingers clean.
Rachelle continued giggling as she bit into a slice of her pizza eagerly.
Jennifer turned back to see David giggling alongside Rachelle as the waitress placed his food down, it wasn’t until John’s food was served that she realized what the laughter was about. John was gazing at her, his eyes bright and his smile wide. She wiped her mouth as she met his gaze. He broke his stare, dropping his head down as they both blushed.
“Sorry”. John almost whispered as he cut into his steak.
Jennifer took a small bite of nachos and smiled to herself as she whispered back. “It’s okay”.
The rest of the meal was relatively uneventful, David and Rachelle sharing glances as they ate, the awkwardness from the beginning now a distant memory as they noticed each others smiles grow wider each time. John and Jennifer were sharing their food, Jennifer getting caught in a fit of laughter as John attempted to take a bite out of a rib, smothering sauce all over his face.

The waitress placed her tray down on the bar as she cast her gaze across the room. The main rush was over and it was slowly moving into the quieter period of the night. The last of the booked tables were eating or otherwise occupied, those coming in from the cold night air included last minute diners looking for a place still open or young couples, giggly and excited from the late night screenings at the cinema.
She watched as they laughed and smiled at each other, happiness and love filling the air. She looked over into the corner of the restaurant at an elderly couple leaving for the evening, the older gent pulling his wife’s chair out and helping her into a thick cozy jacket before kissing her gently on the lips. At another table two women, full of the vibrancy of young love, were teasing each other as they fought to pay for the meal, they flipped a coin in the end and the taller of the two girls cheered loudly as she handed her card over to one of the other servers. They kissed passionately, then cuddled close together sharing the warmth of each other’s bodies as they skipped out into the cold mist of the evening.
“Hey Tanya”. The young guy at the bar called her back into reality. She turned back to see her tray was full of drinks again. He mouthed a question of concern to her as he filled another glass. She smiled and nodded at him as she collected her tray and proceeded to serve the rest of the room.

Closing time slowly crept up, the restaurant now empty bar a few couples. Tanya made her usual circuit of the evening, cleaning tables and collecting glasses, she always made sure never to disturb those who were still eating or appeared to be engaged in an important conversation. The final couples said their goodbyes, leaving only the double dates she had been watching most of the evening. Their night appeared to have gone perfectly, they had ordered deserts, further drinks, and appeared to be nursing every second they could to prevent the night from ending. The bar was wiped down and the kitchen staff had begun the final clean before leaving. This was the part of the night Tanya dreaded the most, she could see the couples had finished the last of their drinks and were chatting pleasantly, she printed their bill and approached the table.
“Was everything okay for you all this evening?” She asked, genuinely interested.
John was clasping Jennifer’s hands in his own, his smile wider than ever. “Absolutely perfect thank you, this beautiful damsel has done me the greatest honor of accepting my proposal!”
“Whoah now, I said girlfriend, I don’t see a ring on my finger yet”. Jennifer teased him. “You’ll have to work a lot harder for that honour”. She smiled, squeezing his hands tightly in her own.
“Couldn’t have asked for a more perfect night”. Rachelle spoke, her voice filled with joy as returned David’s own charming smile.
“Couldn’t have said it any better myself”. David added taking one of Rachelle’s hands in his own and squeezing it tightly.
Tanya beamed “I’m so glad to hear it”. She placed the bill down on the table. “If there’s anything else you need please don’t hesitate to ask”. With that she left them to it as the two guys hastily reached for their wallets waving off the women’s own attempts.
Tanya watched as John wrapped his arm around Jennifer, holding her close as the guy from the bar held the door open for them to leave. Not far behind, David and Rachelle were holding hands tentatively, Rachelle’s face was flushed, while David’s smile remained permanently plastered to his face.
Tanya went to collect the bill and found a small hand written note with her name on it. She tucked it away and finished cashing up before leaving for the evening.

As she said her goodbyes to the remaining staff she threw on her thick woolen coat and exited into the cold. She only lived a short way down the street and her route was floodlit from the lights above, she pulled the small note from her pocket and opened it up, £50 worth of notes slipped out and fell to the floor, she quickly picked it up and put it back in her pocket, overjoyed at the couple’s generosity. She was about to put the note in her pocket till she realised there was further writing inside. As she read a single tear fell down her cheek, she hugged it close before putting it back in her pocket and continuing home.
One of the things Tanya had wished for a long time was to have someone to come home to after a hard days work, someone to go on dates with and to look at her in the same way the couples she served did with each other, someone that she could grow old with and live out their days together, the spark forever there and forever burning.
She slid the key into the lock of her front door and swung it open.
She often felt jealous, she often felt sad, but mostly she felt happiness. Happiness for those who had found the one they love, and hope, that one day she’d find her own.
She closed the door behind her and dropped her bags to the floor, the thunderous sound of paws came rushing into the room as an avalanche of dogs jumped upon her licking her face and hands as she laughed and struggled against them.
She often felt as a child that as the odd one out she’d never find someone to love her the same way she could love them back.
The meows and purrs of cats suddenly surrounded her, their soft fur brushing against her legs as she staggered through the waves of fluff.
It didn’t matter to her though, because as much as she wanted to find someone, as much as she desperately wanted to find her happily ever after, she knew she could wait.
She opened the cages to a flock of colourful birds as they squawked and chirped around her, landing on her shoulders, hands and perches around the room.
She knew she could wait because there were those who loved her unconditionally no matter what, they didn’t care what she looked like, they didn’t judge her for the things she was passionate about, they were there for her, as much as she was there for them. She could wait because there were some whose happily ever after would never be found without her.

*Tanya,
Thank you for being our server this evening, I was extremely nervous when I arrived but your attitude made me feel so much more relaxed and at ease. Rachelle (the girl with red hair) told me she recognized you from Instagram and that you take care of animals that people don’t want or can’t look after and I just wanted to give you this because I would have probably walked out the first chance I got if you hadn’t greeted us, and if I had I would have missed out on meeting my potential soul mate.

Thank you,
David.