The First Date

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Bara watched the young couple getting on the tram, they looked so happy, so in love. Bara watched them thinking of when she was their age, when she was happy, when she was in love. Would she ever feel like that again? She was more than a little jealous.

She decided to buy herself to one last ice cream of the summer. She shouldn’t really, she had put on a few kilos, but since the divorce she did things because she wanted to, not because it was expected; the tattoo, the anklet, the short skirt were all examples of Bara being Bara. Her son told her off. The tattoo was ugly, the anklet cheap, the skirt was a bit too short for a woman of her age, but she didn’t care, it made her feel sexy. She enjoyed the looks she got from men half her age. Surely she deserved a few pleasures after the unhappiness of her marriage.

She enjoyed the sun on her face and the taste of chocolate on her lips but neither could settle the butterflies in her stomach. She was nervous, this was her first date in 27 years - so of course she was nervous. She was early, she was hoping he wasn’t early too; she didn’t really want him to see her eating an ice cream. She threw the end of the cone in the bin and saw David getting off the tram. Bara blushed, he looked so young, she felt so old. Was she really doing this? What would her son say? David smiled at her, he was so cute, she felt a little weak at the knees.

She’d met David at her Salsa class. Salsa class at her age? Was she crazy? She’d had to dance with David because they were the only two single dancers. She’d been so embarrassed when she first danced with him and when he’d put his hand on her hip she’d felt herself blush. No man apart from her ex-husband had touched her like that for at least 25 years and she couldn’t remember the last time her ex-husband had touched her like that either.

She liked David, and they got on well but he was 20 years younger than her. So she never dreamed he would be interested in her. So it was a complete surprise when, after the third lesson, David had asked if she wanted to meet for coffee. She’d said yes before he’d even finished asking his question but now looking at this young man she wondered if she’d made the right decision.

‘Shall we go in here?’ David pointed to the coffee shop next to the tram stop.

Bara’s heart sank a little, it really was going to be a coffee. She could do with a gin and tonic right now or at the very least half a litre of wine. But she had to behave, so she nodded and let David open the door for her.

David was lovely, he was a listener, he asked questions and then let her speak. She tried not to talk too much about the pain of her divorce as she told her story.  When he spoke, he was funny, witty, interesting and charming.

‘Well, I don’t know about you, but I fancy a glass of wine,’ David said and smiled a lovely little smile like they were fifteen years old.

‘Oh finally,’ she said, laughing.

‘Let’s go.’ David was a perfect gentleman, he helped her into her coat, held the door open and then linked arms with her as they walked to the pub.

As she walked, she thought of that teenage couple getting on the tram, hope in their eyes, a journey into the unknown. Amazingly, she now knew exactly how they felt. In the pub they ordered wine and sat next to each other. After only about four sips, he turned to look at her; he smiled, he looked into her eyes. Their faces were as close as possible without actually touching. She hoped he would kiss her.

Their lips touched, gently at first, and warmth spread from her lips through her body like melted chocolate. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt like this, but she liked it.

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