(this is a spin-off from "My Daughter's Beautiful Friend")
A year passed since my brief affair with my daughter's friend Kelli, a gorgeous college freshman. That summer, she asked me to take her virginity, as she wanted to have experience before school started. I was reluctant at first, knowing that would jeopardize the relationship with my daughter if she ever found out. Eventually I gave in, and Kelli and I hooked up a couple times.
After our second tryst, Kelli told me I need to find a lady in my own generation. It wasn't an admonishment, rather a very polite recommendation. Over the past year, I made such an effort, dating five women, all of whom in their forties. Unfortunately, my first date with each lady also was the last date. It was either me not wanting to continue or vice-versa. The common character trait in all of them is they were kind of boring. Sure, when you're in your forties, you typically aren't as fun-loving as someone two decades younger--myself included. Still, there was just no spark at all.
After the last date, I began to wonder if maybe they are too old for me. When Kelli and I were together, I felt a surge of confidence and vigor that was missing since my wife died ten years earlier. I felt like a college kid again. So maybe I do need to find a younger woman, but who?
I immediately ruled out pursuing Kelli. We swore nothing else would ever happen, and in fact, she just got engaged to one of the men's basketball team members at her school. Those two are going to some very tall children.
Next I thought of this hot bartender at a pub where I occasionally stop by. Very friendly, but she isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, so she's out. I once went out with a ditzy gal before meeting my wife and don't want to do that again.
I was mulling over other ladies I knew when one of my female customers walked into the hardware store I own. Her name is Pam and is 25. Friendly and smart? Yes. Long dirty-blonde hair, about 5' 7", and lovely toned legs. Okay, I thought, let's go for it.
I strolled up to her in the grill and grilling accessories aisle. "Hi Pam, what are you looking for today?"
"Hi Matt! I'm getting a grill for my dad for his birthday. Any suggestions?"
"Certainly; gas-fired or charcoal?"
"Gas for sure. He's always had propane grills."
I started talking about a mid-priced unit. With other customers, I would typically point out the higher end models, but I knew Pam wasn't earning that much as a manager trainee only a couple years out of college.
"That looks pretty good," she said. "How about this one?" She motioned to a grill that I actually own.
"Well, as luck would have it, I have one of these in my backyard, so I know quite a bit about it." I advised her of the features, and then took a figurative shot across the bow. "Hey if you'd like to try it out, why don't you come over and we'll grill a couple steaks?"
I didn't think she'd really go for it; that was just a signal that I liked her. Then to my surprise, she agreed. "Sure, that sounds fun!"
I was caught a little off guard, not expecting that answer. Trying to hide my astonishment, I asked her if she was free that Saturday after 6 PM when we closed the store. "Sounds great," she said. "It's a date!" I think Pam was pleased at my proposal because she clearly was not planning to impress any guys that day; she was dressed very plainly in an old t-shirt and jeans, hair pulled back with a ponytail sticking through a baseball hat.
She said she'll make a decision on the grill after trying out mine. Seriously, I think she was ready to make the purchase that day, but was playing along with my dinner offer. I gave Pam my cell phone number in case she needed to cancel.
The rest of the week, I had a nagging feeling my phone would buzz with a message from her saying she needed to cancel. I mean, how many times has she dated a man twice her age? I'm guessing it's a very small number. Saturday arrived and I indeed got a text from her. I saw her caller i.d. and thought: Shoot, she's going to call it off. I tapped the screen and she was asking if she should bring anything in particular.
Okay, good; she's still coming over. I advised her that I had beer, so if she wanted something else, then bring that.
"See you at 6:30!" she replied.
I was getting excited as dinnertime approached. Although I dated other women after Kelli, Pam has this mischievous quality that is very appealing. As said about those other women, they were pretty boring, and Pam has a personality that I really like--in fact Kelli was the only lady I've been with (not even my wife when she was in her 20s) who has a similar persona.
At 6:30 on the dot, Pam rang the doorbell, holding a bottle of red wine. "Hi Matt! Let's get cooking!"
Pam was looking quite attractive, hair loose, wearing a short sundress with sandals under her bare legs. We went in the kitchen, depositing the wine in the refrigerator, then to the backyard. I ignited the grill and put the steaks on. Pam and I chatted while I was watching the steaks.
"So how is work going? Is your training going well?" I asked.
Pam rolled her eyes a bit and sighed. "It's harder than I thought. I know I can do the job but sometimes I want to tell a complaining customer to just shut the hell up. The customer is NOT always right, you know?"
"Oh yeah, I've had that conversation more than I care to. Last week, someone brought in a 19-year-old lawnmower that broke down. They pushed it into the store, demanding a full refund. I had to remind them that the warranty expired eighteen years earlier, so sorry, you're out of luck. And they would NOT take 'no' for answer, so finally I just laughed in their faces and told them to sell crazy somewhere else."
Pam laughed. "I'm sorry to say this--some people are just idiots. I should be a nicer person, but good grief there are stupid people in this world. The worst ones are people who insist they're right, and in reality they're dead wrong." Pam then looked perturbed. "Honestly I don't know if I can do this job. I can manage my employees, but taking idiotic complaints? That's been hard."
"Don't worry" I told her. "Once you stop worrying about people caring about you, life gets a hell of a lot easier."
Pam laughed again. "I never thought about that before. Thanks for the advice, Matt." She put her hand on my knee.
Things are going good, I thought, as I went to the grill to turn over the steaks. "So Pam, do you want to give this a try? You said you wanted to test out the grill before buying it."
Pam got up. "Sure Matt. But to be honest, I already decided to buy it before you invited me over. I've had a thing for you for a long time and when you asked me, I couldn't believe my luck."
Are you freaking kidding me? I thought. She's attracted to me, yet I never caught on to it? Then again, how would Morgan (my daughter) have thought about me dating a lady only a few years older than her? I played it light: "So you're telling me I bought two fairly expensive steaks for nothing?" I joked.
