Blind Date Reconnection

***All characters are over 18 and are fictional. Any resemblance to any real-life persons or situations is purely coincidental.

.....

Grant sat in his car for a few extra minutes, contemplating his situation. He was a little nervous about the idea of coming to this particular restaurant. He felt there was something sacrilege about coming here of all places. But his blind date was very persistent in the text messages about wanting to come here because she was a big fan of their lasagna. He thought that dish was alright, but it was too basic. But he wanted to make a good impression, so he agreed to come here.

He finally convinced himself that it was no big deal, got out of his car and walked inside the restaurant. He spoke to the hostess, Emily, who recognized him immediately. They exchanged their usual pleasantries and asked about how each other's' kids were doing. He used to be a regular here and was very friendly with the staff, which sometimes came to his advantage when he used to come here.

"I'm a little early, but I have a reservation for two," he told her. "My date will arrive shortly."

"No, she's here already," said Emily.

"She is?"

"She's at the bar getting a drink waiting for you. Why don't you go wait with her until your table is ready?"

"Sure, thank you."

Grant assumed his date must've come early and told Emily she was waiting for him. He walked over to the bar and began looking for her. The area wasn't that crowded, but he was having a hard time trying to find her. She sent him a picture of herself, so he knew what she looked like. But it shouldn't have been that hard because she was a blonde and there were no other short-haired blonde women in sight. He figured she must've gone off to the bathroom and decided to wait at the bar until she showed up again.

"I'll have a negroni," he told the bartender, and he went off to get it for him.

"That's a step up from the old-fashioned you usually enjoy," said a female voice beside him.

He looked over to see who said that and was surprised to see who it was.

"Mandy!"

"Hey Grant."

He was looking at his ex-wife, Amanada, or Mandy, as he usually called her, sitting just five feet away from him with a martini in her hand. He didn't recognize her at the beginning because her back was turned and he was looking for a short-haired blonde woman, and Mandy was a long-haired brunette. He was surprised to see her here wearing a very elegant black dress; it must be new because he had never seen it before. What was really surprising about that dress was that it showed a good amount of cleavage on top, something she never did before when they went out. Her reasoning was that unless she was going to the beach, she didn't like to put her breasts on display in public. Now here she was, looking as beautiful as ever in a sexy dress, and he couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

"I'm surprised to see you here."

"Me too; what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I'm, uh..." He didn't know how to say this to his ex-wife.

"You're on a date, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes, I am," he answered. "A blind date, actually."

"No way, me too," she said.

"Seriously? What are the odds?"

They both laughed. He asked if he could join her while he waited for his date, and she said yes. The bartender had just brought his negroni, and they began to chat.

Grant now realizes that when the hostess said his date was already here, she must've meant Mandy. They both used to come to this restaurant regularly when they were married, but they haven't been here together since their divorce. He told this to Mandy, and she started laughing.

"Oh, that's so funny," said Mandy. "That explains why when I said I was waiting for somebody, she said she already knew about it."

"She must've seen my name for my reservation and made that assumption."

"Oh, poor girl, she didn't know about us," said Mandy. "I'd hate to disappoint her when she sees us go off with other people."

"She may think we've become swingers," Grant joked, and they both had a good laugh at it.

"By the way, were you nervous about coming here? I was a little nervous because, well..." she trailed off.

"Yeah, me too," said Grant. "It was our favorite restaurant, after all. I tried to steer my date away from this place but she said she really wanted the lasagna."

"Really?" Mandy asked with a cringe. "I mean, it's alright, but it's very basic."

Grant was glad to hear that she felt the same way about it.

"I thought so too, but I thought I'd make a good impression and say yes to this place."

"Same here," she replied. "When my date said he wanted to take me here, I got very nervous about it. But I didn't want to appear demanidng, so I agreed."

"You're not that demanding," said Grant.

"That's not what you said during our divorce proceedings."

Grant suddenly remembered that he had indeed said something like that to their lawyers. In fact, they both said a lot worse about each other during those proceedings.

"Sorry, I was mostly angry at the time," said Grant.

"It's ok; I know I can be a little demanding," said Mandy. "And I said some things too, so I'm not entirely innocent here."

"Since we're talking about it, will we be alright seeing each other on a date with another person?" Grant asked. "We've both been out with other people since we split up, but we've never seen each other in public like this. To be honest, this feels a little awkward."

"I'm glad you brought that up; I feel the same way," said Mandy. "But I think we're in a good place with each other now, and I'm sure we can handle seeing each other on a date with someone else."

"True, it will be strange at first, but we're mature enough to handle it."

Grant was happy that he had a good relationship with his ex-wife. There were other divorced guys he knew who were always bitching about their ex-wives. They did hate each other a lot at the end of their marriage and said some hurtful things to each other. But when the dust settled, they talked things out and realized there was no point in being angry with each other anymore and that they should try to have a cordial relationship. They also had two young daughters to think about, and they didn't want their divorce to have a bad effect on their mental health. Over the next few years, they became very friendly with one another and almost never argued.

They finished their drinks, and Grant ordered them another round. They were having a little fun talking and wanted to keep it going for as long as they had to wait there. They mostly talked about work, friends they hadn't seen in a while, and other things that were going on in their lives. They also talked a lot about their daughters who were both currently away at summer camp. They even brought up their mothers, who hated each other, and how glad they were that they didn't have to see each other as much since their divorce.

"By the way, it was my mother who convinced me to go on this blind date," said Grant.

Mandy laughed. "Oh my God, my mother set up my blind date too."

"Seriously?" Grant asked. "You don't think this was a set-up, do you?"

Mandy laughed harder this time. "No way, our mothers hate each other, remember?"

"True, my mother loved you, but she celebrated with champagne when the divorce was final because she didn't have to deal with your mother anymore."

"I got you beat. My mother went straight to church to thank God she didn't have to see your mother anymore."

"Your religious mother was happy we got divorced?"

"No, she hated that part," said Mandy. "But she said it was worth it if it meant she didn't have to see your mother anymore."

Mandy's mother was a religiously conservative woman, and Grant's mother was an agnostic research scientist. They only got along as much as they needed to because of their children and then for their grandchildren. But that only kept them behaving to a certain point; there were many times over the years where they got into screaming matches with each other. Mostly it was over religion, but many times it was for whatever reason they could think of to yell at each other. Grant and Mandy were often caught in the middle and tried not to take sides as much as they could, but it was hard not to when you needed to defend your own mother.

Emily had come by to let them know their table was ready. They didn't know what to tell her, so Grant just said they'd like to wait a while longer at the bar before they ate. Emily seemed really pleased to see them again, and they just didn't want to disappoint her. Eventually she was going to find out the truth, but they were hoping to hold off on that for as long as they could.

Emily said it was no problem, but she could only hold the table for so long. They assured her it wouldn't be that long. They were checking their phones regularly, and their own dates assured them they were coming soon despite being late. Before Emily left, she commented on how beautiful Mandy's dress was, and she thanked her for it.

"By the way, I've also been meaning to say that's a lovely dress you're wearing," said Grant.

"Thank you," she replied, feeling very pleased. "You don't think it's a little too sexy?"

"It's sexy, but in an elegant way," he assured her. "But I am surprised you're wearing something like this. You're usually against... how do I put this..."

"Publicly displaying my tits," she replied.

"I wouldn't put it that way, but that's essentially what I was saying.'

"I got this dress a while ago, after we split up and my friends convinced me to go on a shopping spree to celebrate single life. But as time went by, I never found a reason to wear any of the sexy dresses I bought. That is until my mother insisted I wear this tonight."

Grant couldn't help laughing. "Your super religious mother insisted you dress sexy tonight?"

"I know; I was surprised too."

"Maybe she's hoping you'd give her more grandkids," he joked.

"Oh, please, she would never try to get me laid, for any reason. She still thinks I was a virgin until our wedding night."

They both had a big laugh at that. Grant remembered how much he had to pretend that he and Mandy never fooled around with each other when they were dating for her mother's benefit. They were together for two years before they got married, and he was surprised that she actually believed he kept his hands off of her daughter the whole time. He wasn't even the first guy Mandy slept with; he was the third. And he was sure she had slept with a couple of guys since they got divorced, but he was not going to ask about that.

Grant's phone began buzzing, and he saw it was Sally, the woman he was supposed to meet tonight. He excused himself to answer the phone and walked out to the lobby to speak to her privately.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but I have to cancel," said Sally.

"Really? Why?" he asked.

"Something came up at work, and I have to take this late-night video conference with our overseas clients."

"I understand. When can we see each other?"

"Oh, I don't know. Let's just text about it in a couple of days and see what happens then. I hope you're not upset about this."

"It's OK; it's only a blind date, after all."

"I'm glad you understand."

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Grant was a little upset by it, but not by much. He was excited about going out with a beautiful blonde woman, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. He did brag to his friends about who he was going out with tonight; he showed them the picture Sally sent of herself, and a few of them joked that it was a photo Grant pulled off the internet because he couldn't get anybody that hot since Mandy.

He went back to the bar to tell Mandy what happened and to pay the tab for the both of them. He figured he might as well go home after this. When he got there, he found Mandy, and she looked upset.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied, even though she was sure he knew she was lying. "What was your call about?"

"My date had to cancel."

Mandy laughed, and Grant asked her what was so funny.

"While you were gone, my date canceled on me too," she said.

"Is that why you seem upset?"

"No, I'm upset because of the reason he gave me for canceling."

Apparently, her blind date, Jeff, was a total jerk. She sent him a picture of herself before she came to the restaurant so he would know who to look for when he arrived. He had just seen the picture on his way over and apparently had something to say about it. He said she was very beautiful, but he hoped she would have bigger breasts, and that was a dealbreaker for him.

"Can you believe that?" she said as she finished off her martini. "He actually thinks my breasts aren't big enough for him."

"What the fuck is wrong with that guy?" Grant asked. He was feeling just as upset as Mandy was. He had known some men who could be jerks before, but he couldn't believe any man would say such a thing to a woman.

Grant also had no idea why he thought her breasts weren't big enough. Mandy has amazing 36DD breasts; they were plenty big for any man. Grant had never grown tired of seeing her naked in all the years they'd been married. Even after their divorce, there were still some nights when he jerked himself off thinking about fucking Mandy.

"You're more of an expert on my body than any other man. You think they're big enough, don't you?"

"Are you serious? You know how much trouble I had keeping my hands off of your body," he replied and enjoyed the smile his comment gave her. "In fact, I'm surprised you haven't caught me looking at your cleavage by now."

"Actually, I have, multiple times. I didn't want to say anything because I kind of enjoyed it."

"You see, you know you have great tits," he said. "And it's not just those that look good, you're still a very beautiful woman."

"Thanks, you don't have to say that to make me feel better."

"I am hoping it makes you feel better, but at the same time, it's very true," he assured her. "You're a very beautiful and sexy, and that jackass doesn't know what he's missing."

What Grant said made Mandy feel much better about herself and about what had just happened to her. She was very glad she ran into Grant tonight.

At that moment, the hostess returned and said they couldn't hold their table much longer if they didn't take it now.

"Sure, we'll be right over," said Grant, and the hostess walked away.

"Did you say we'll be right over?" Mandy asked.

"Our dates bailed on us, we're both free for tonight, and I still have a table reservation. Why don't we have dinner together?"

"Oh, I don't know," she said, feeling kind of awkward about his suggestion.

"Please, I was hoping to have dinner with a beautiful woman tonight, and you're way prettier than the woman I was supposed to meet."

Mandy smiled at him. She liked how Grant was flirting with her, and she couldn't resist falling for it.

"Well, we can't disappoint Emily if she sees us leaving so soon," she said jokingly.

"So, it's a date?" he asked.

"It's a date."

Grant paid their bar tab and left a good tip. He held out his arm, and Mandy took hold of it as he guided her to the dining area. Emily happily escorted them to their table, a booth in the back where they used to have their dinners. Emily told them that when she realized who was coming, she made sure they got one of those booths just for them. They thanked her for it, and she gave them their menus before walking away. Grant and Mandy both agreed not to tell Emily they were divorced; they couldn't bear seeing how upset she might be if she found out.

Grant ordered for the both of them since he still remembered a few of Mandy's favorite dishes. He ordered a shrimp rossini for her and an osso buco alla Milanese for himself. He also ordered a bottle of a new wine from the menu that he thought they both might enjoy. Mandy told him how impressed he was by his choices, and he was glad she was happy about them. He felt he might have gone overboard with his choice of wine, but he couldn't help himself. Despite their reasons for having this dinner, he still felt compelled to try to impress her.

The food was delicious as always, and they were having a great time together. They talked a lot about other things they've been doing, funny work stories, and what their friends have been up to. They discussed their daughters and what activities they think they should get them involved with when they get back from summer camp. They also enjoyed seeing the pictures they have gotten since they went off to camp.

They both secretly wondered what their daughters might think about them having dinner together but didn't say it to each other; they were having a good time and didn't want to ruin it by mentioning anything that would make things awkward between them.

When they finished their meals, they decided to order desert. They both got a piece of chocolate cake; it wasn't traditionally Italian, but they loved the cake they served. When they were done, they had some more wine and just kept talking for as long as possible.

Eventually, they had to leave. Grant paid the bill and left a generous tip. They said their goodbyes to Emily, who again said she was glad to see them again.

"If I remember correctly, your anniversary is in a couple of months. Do you want to set a reservation now?" Emily asked.

Grant and Mandy gave each other a concerned look, as they had no idea what to do in this situation.

"Sure, let's set it up now," said Grant.

"Wonderful!" Emily replied enthusiastically.

They set up a reservation, said their goodbyes to Emily, and walked out of the restaurant. When they got outside, Grant apologized for making that reservation, and Mandy said it was OK because she was about to do the same thing. They both agreed that they'd just cancel the reservation later on and make up an excuse for it.

Mandy pulled out her phone, and Grant saw that she was going to get an Uber for a ride home. He asked her about it, and she said her car was in the shop, so she needed to use a rideshare app for a few days. Grant offered to give her a ride home so she wouldn't have to waste her money on an Uber; she said it was alright, but he insisted on giving her a ride, and she accepted the offer.

On their way, they talked about what a great time they had and how the food seemed to be just as good as they remembered. They talked about the good times they had there for their dates and anniversaries, when they brought their daughters there, and the double dates they had with their friends. It was bringing back a lot of good memories for them.

They got to Mandy's house ten minutes later. Technically, it was both of their homes since they bought the place together. After the divorce, they agreed Mandy would live there with their daughters, but it would still be under both their names, and they would share the mortgage and maintenance of the house.

"Thanks for a great time," said Mandy.

"It was a lot of fun," said Grant. "I'm glad we ran into each other. I think this was better than the woman I was supposed to meet tonight."

"I feel the same way. But then again, my blind date set the bar very low, so anyone would've been better than him."

Grant just remembered what that jerk said to Mandy earlier that night.

"What an asshole. If I ever meet him, I'm going to have to smack him for what he said to you."

"I would love to see that," Mandy replied. She liked that Grant was still willing to stick by her even after they split up. There was something romantic about that, and it was giving her some ideas.

"I guess we should call it a night," said Grant.

"Maybe, but how about you come inside for a nightcap?" she asked.

"I don't know, it's kind of late and we had enough to drink already--"