Geo's Big Date(John Filkins) Geo (Joe) printed out the profile of the woman he was supposed to meet later and spent a few minutes looking it over. It would be nice if she was everything the profile made her out to be. He had been on so many dates lately, but hadn't hit it off with anyone. Dianne was supposed to be a divorced 40-year-old, who was successful and college-educated, with average looks. Her picture attested to the average looks, and Geo was very happy with that. So many profiles had pictures that just didn't add up or added up way too much when compared with the written description. A nice average looking lady would be less likely to hold him to some impossible standard.

He walked into the bathroom and undressed to get a shower. The full length mirror gave him a chance to do a quick assessment of himself, and it, admittedly, wasn't all good. He wasn't as tall as he wished he could be and his midsection showed his middle age spread had 'spread' a little more while he wasn't paying attention. His 'business' was average, except when standing naked in a cold bathroom. He joked to himself that he would 'suggest management install a carnival mirror to make him feel better about that'. He did have a full head of hair though, and wasn't ugly by any measure. At least not his measure. He was between homes and hoped that his living in a hotel temporarily wouldn't put the woman off. He would try being honest and see where the night took them.

Geo was wearing pretty nice jeans and a clean, collared shirt as he sat at his table and doodled work-related things onto a few napkins the waiter had brought him. While waiting for his 'blind' date to arrive, he ordered the most expensive bottle of wine he had ever bought. He had the guy chill it to perfect temperature in a bucket thingy next to their table. Geo was no connoisseur of fine wine, and a nice white or red in the $20 range, or even a beer, would be good enough for him. The waiter assured him that his money was well spent, and this was a very good bottle.

Dianne was already 20 minutes late and he just knew that he had been stood up again. Not showing up was rude and it kind of pissed him off. A person could, at least, sit down with him for a few minutes, then go climb out of the bathroom window, or fake a heart attack. It was just common courtesy! He was almost ready to give the wine to the wait staff, and cut his losses, when he recognized a woman who walked through the door, and spoke briefly to the maître de'. She looked good, walking across the room behind the gentleman. He hoped she wouldn't see him, and then turn around and run. As she closed in on her nervous date, she had a semi-satisfied look on her face. 'I passed the first test!', he thought to himself as he stood to greet her. "Hi, I'm Geo, and you're Dianne". He mentally slapped himself for sounding like a moron with the first words that came out of his mouth. "Yes", she replied and let him help her with her coat. She wasn't a movie star, but Geo thought Dianne was very pleasant to look at and presented herself well. She wore a nice skirt and blouse that was a little dressier than they had agreed to over the computer, but Geo liked what he saw very much.

The small talk began and he felt like he wasn't making a great impression. She immediately set the stage by telling him about being burned by several guys who used the dating service to get laid, and had "no interest in any kind of relationship or even friendship". "Well, I'm not like that...I like to get to know a woman before I use her and throw her away", he joked, and then cringed at her reaction. His sense of humor was strictly middle-class and a little low brow, and she obviously wasn't impressed. After she finished every one of the horror stories she had about the long line of 'frogs' she'd had to sort through, Geo gave her a rundown of who he was, and a brief overview of his modest early life in the mid west. He also mentioned briefly that he did 'computer stuff' for a living. Everything seemed to be going fine until he told her that he was currently between homes; forcing him to live "week to week in a hotel". She got a look on her face, like she just heard that he was some kind of transient who lived in an alley. As he finished the 'this is Geo' presentation, he wondered if she was writing his loser story in her head, so she would have it straight for the entertainment of her next victim.

Although the date seemed to be going a little south, she did stay and eat dinner with him, and drank a few glasses of wine. She was actually a bit of a wine connoisseur and appreciated his good (very lucky) choice for their date. They continued the small talk and she appeared to be getting a little buzzed. When she began to slightly slur her words, he thought about asking her back to his room to show off his circus mirror. He could, at least, show her where he would have it installed... 'that wouldn't be too creepy', he thought. He knew better than to display his 'crass' sense of humor about such things from the reaction he had gotten earlier. Just for a fleeting moment, he thought his chances of making out with a lady he had met only a bit ago were rising. Then, she looked him in the eye and delivered a bombshell that would make even the most desperate of men think twice about spending any more time with her; unless, of course, it resulted in her spending some quality, naked time with him later.

"I'm sorry to be so abrupt, but I have been burned a few times by men I've met on line, who don't turn out to be who they said they were. I don't want to sound crass or materialistic, but what kind of car do you drive?". Geo was gob smacked at the idea that the car he drove could have anything to do with his being a good guy or being date worthy. It sounded like a question a model would ask a guy she just met to see if he was 'good enough' to date. He was pretty sure he had seen that in a movie (Swingers). As unhappy as he was about the question, he thought he would humor her and see where things went after that. "I've been driving a 2005 Ford, but I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. I've been looking to get into something more practical, comfortable and dependable, but I haven't had time to get out and look. I actually just got it back from the shop earlier today." As he answered her inappropriate question he decided he 'would NOT spend the night with her unless, of course, she said he could'. He had his pride, but he wasn't stupid.

When she shook her head up and down, he thought maybe she would change the subject now. The waiter brought out their dessert and the two sat in awkward silence eating it, until she asked, "What hotel are you staying at Geo?". Geo was a man, but even a man gets the hint eventually. The idea now crossed his mind that this was a woman who had been left with the check a time or two during her internet dating career. "The Hilton, down by the river", he replied as he decided right then and there that a second date was never going to take place...by his choice. He knew what would be coming as soon as she put the last bite of expensive, waiter-suggested dessert into her mouth.

As she finished, Dianne looked over at Geo and said, "I'm really sorry, but this isn't going to work out. I appreciate the nice dinner and really loved the wine, but I'm looking for something else in my life. I hope there aren't any hard feelings, because you seem to be a great guy; just not the right one for me." Geo looked at her and tried not to show his contempt and disappointment at her obviously materialistic view of life. He couldn't blame her for desiring something more in a guy than what he seemed to have to offer. "Can I get you a cab?", he asked, as she stood up and put her own coat on. "I suppose so...I appreciate your being a gentleman about this."

When they got outside, Geo gave a valet his ticket and asked another one to hail a cab for Dianne. The two internet daters stood there without exchanging a single word. He could tell she was embarrassed about the whole thing and in a big hurry to make her 'get away'. As her cab came up, Geo waved off the doorman and moved to open the door for her. He was still a gentleman and wanted things to end in a gentlemanly fashion. Geo's hand was about to touch the cab's back door handle, when, suddenly, both of their attentions turned toward the spectacle of an excited, young valet pulling up in a three hundred thousand dollar, bright red Ford GT. He couldn't help himself as he revved the engine a couple of times before getting out. As the roaring engine went quiet, Dianne gave Geo a surprised look. After she got into the taxi and he went to push the door closed, she held it back and asked, "2005 Ford?...what hotel did you say you were staying at?", she added. "The Hilton down by the river...the 13th floor", he added with a grin. "The entire thirteenth floor??", she asked, as all blood seemed to drain out of her face. "It was really nice to meet you", Geo said while closing the taxi's door. He handed two one hundred dollar bills into the passenger front window for the cabbie, and then stepped back. He was still smiling as he waved good bye to the 'dejected', sullen-faced woman, looking out the back window of the departing cab.

As he sat in the 'cockpit' of his 2005 Ford, that he really did intend to replace soon, he pulled out his cell phone and pushed the speed dial for the escort service. Maybe this night wouldn't be a total loss.

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