Author's note: Thanks again to Eclecticwoman818 for her assistance with spelling, grammar and continuity. Like all the authors here, my only pay is your votes. Please vote if you like the story or even if you don't. Comments are always welcomed and appreciated.
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"Date of birth?"
George always found it a bit annoying, but in this case kind of humorous too. In order to buy a pack of cigarettes at the local supermarket, he had to give his birth date to the cashier who in this case was young enough to be his granddaughter. "9/2/49" he replied to the inquiry.
"Oh, that's Denise's birthday, too." she replied. "I know because we celebrated her birthday yesterday."
"Did you call me, Jeanine?"
"No, no, Denise, it's just that his birthday was yesterday, too."
George turned to see who Denise was and recognized her as the woman who ran the floral department and with whom he had exchanged the perfunctory "Good Mornings" on any mornings she happened to be up front when he walked in. The store required it's employees to greet customers when it wasn't busy and at 7:30 in the morning, it was rarely busy.
"A belated Happy Birthday to you, Denise" George said, smiling.
"And to you as well" said Denise before heading out to tend to the outside display of fall flowers and garden decorations.
While he waited for the young cashier to make change (thank God for the register showing how much change to give,,, doing math in her head did not seem to be her strong suit) he wondered if he should invite Denise out for a drink to celebrate their birthdays. George hadn't dated in the year since his wife of 40 years succumbed to cancer and had not had sex in a couple of years before that. Denise had that wholesome look he found so attracting. She was about 5'-5" and nicely proportioned without being anorexic looking. She had light brown hair with blondish streaks, usually done up in a ponytail. He was willing to bet that all the high school boys working in the store referred to her as a MILF.
He took his change and groceries and walked outside to see Denise watering the mums and other fall flowers displayed outside. Oh, what the fuck, he decided. "Excuse me, Denise?" She turned and smiled as she released the handgrip on the hose to stop the water.
"Yes?"
"My name is George and I was wondering that since we share a birthday if I could buy us both a drink to celebrate after you get off."
Denise looked at him and then his hands. "Wouldn't your wife object to that?"
"I'm sure she would if she were still alive and rest assured I would never have suggested such a thing if she was. She died a while ago and the thought never even occurred to me to take my ring off."
"I've heard that once before in my life and lived to regret it." she replied.
Okay, this isn't going anything like what my imagination told me it would, George thought. "I'm sorry to have bothered you and certainly didn't mean to offend you. Have a good day" he said, as he turned to walk to his car.
After about two steps he heard "4:00"
George turned back toward Denise as she said "I get out of work at 4:00. I'm sorry, it's just that I'm still a bit skittish about guys with wedding rings. But after the last couple of days, I probably could use a drink."
"Okay, how about we meet at Fannucci's up the street about 4:15?"
"Sounds good. I'll see you then."
Working from home allowed George some freedom to come and go as he pleased as long as his work was finished on time. He knocked off around 2:30, grabbed a shower and put on some jeans and golf shirt with a light sweater over it, arriving at the restaurant / bar at about ten after four. Not wanting to seem to presumptuous, he took a seat at the bar and not one of the booths or a table in the dining room. Denise arrived right at 4:15 and smiled as she joined him at the bar. She had on a pretty flowered top and her black, employer mandated slacks. They decided on drinks, a vodka and tonic for her and a bourbon for him. After their drinks arrived, she asked if he would mind if they grabbed an open booth since she found the commotion around the bar very annoying. George agreed readily and followed her across to an open booth. He chastised himself for staring at her ass as she walked, but rationalized it by thinking it was certainly worthy of a look.
When they got to the booth, Denise looked at him "I'm sorry about this morning. It's just that not too long ago, I had an affair with a man who kept telling me he was getting a divorce and that his marriage was for all intents and purposes over. I kept believing, or at least wanting to believe, until I happened to see them out one night, holding hands and kissing each other. I beat myself up pretty good about what a fool I had been and vowed that it wouldn't happen ever again. Now, whenever I meet a man, my eyes immediately go to his hand, looking for a ring."
George looked at her for a moment and could tell that the pain and humiliation she felt were real. "That works I suppose for the 75% of men who wear wedding rings, but doesn't provide much protection from the 25% who don't." he replied.
"Well, for the moment I haven't felt much like being interested in any man, so that 25% isn't a concern either."
"Well, I'm glad you made an exception." George replied.
They chatted for a while. Denise told him about having been married at twenty two, having what she thought was a pretty good marriage for 12 years before her ex-husband traded her in for a recent college graduate. She was left with a great deal of anger and a young daughter , After struggling as a single mother, working jobs that provided no challenge or satisfaction, she was hired to manage the market's floral department and she discovered that she really liked it. It allowed her to be creative in the arrangements she created and also gave her time outside almost daily. Her daughter was now nineteen and attending the state university on a full academic scholarship.
George told her about how he was married just short of forty years, had two children and four grandchildren and ran his own online consulting service which provided him a comfortable living, especially as a single man living alone, although he had no expectations of ever being what most would consider wealthy.
When the waitress arrived, George asked her if she would like another drink and, after a moments hesitation, Denise agreed. "Just so you know, I don't usually let men I've just met to ply me with drinks. It's just that in the last couple of days I've found out that my rent is going up, my car needs a new exhaust system and my mother has been diagnosed with dementia."
"Oh my, talk about a run of bad luck." George replied. "And rest assured, I'm not trying to ply you with drinks, although in my youth the thought of plying an attractive female with drinks to loosen her inhibitions would've definitely crossed my mind. But after being out of the dating game for more than half my life and alone for the last year, my mind doesn't work like that anymore."
Denise smiled "Don't let some of the women at the store find out that about you or they'll be plying YOU with drinks and trying to get in your pants."
George's face reddened slightly as he chuckled "Well, I think in that case I should get a portable lighted sign that flashes 'Available'."