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Author’s Note: For the prompt ‘Twice', I wrote a short story about a young woman who struggles to find someone new, content in her own loneliness to admit she actually hates it.
Synopsis: After years of her enjoying her own solitude, Hattie's best friend persuades her to try online dating. Reluctantly Hattie gives it a go, and after some time finds a man. He invites her on a date, but still Hattie tries to push him away. Will Hattie finally find love?
‘Hattie. It’s been almost five years since you and Alex broke up. Don’t you think it’s time?’
I held my mobile to my ear, my best friend's voice said on the other end of the line. ‘Maybe you should consider putting yourself back on the market?’ she suggested, trying to be helpful.
I bit my tongue to stop myself from laughing.
Like it was that easy.
Daisy had no issue finding someone, she could put herself on a dating site one minute and find a date a moment later for later that night. I’d considered her suggestion previously, but it felt too soon after my ex left to jump back into the dating pool. Alex and I were high school sweethearts. We’d even attended the same college and university. It was only after a few years in our own apartment did we realise we’d grown apart, that we wanted different things in life. We separated eleven months ago and still I was struggling to make peace with the change.
‘I’m not sure,’ I said finally, almost forgetting where I was.
‘What have you got to lose by trying, really?’
I had to give it to Daisy, she certainly was persistent when an idea got into her head.
‘Fine, fine. If it’ll stop you going on,’ I replied, admitting defeat with a groan. ‘But I wouldn’t know the first thing about setting up a dating profile.’
A laugh rung in my ear, ‘Don’t you worry about a thing, your girl Daisy is on the case. I’ll take care of everything,’ she said. ‘Shall I pop over tonight with some wine?’
‘It doesn’t have to be quite so soon.’
‘No time like the present. Anyway, I’ve got to dash, duty calls.’
We said our goodbyes and hung up the call. Daisy was a hotshot events planner in the city, known for her party-girl lifestyle. Always a free agent on the evenings but ever the organised workaholic on weekdays. It was a wonder how she’d so much free time for the dates she proudly bragged about.
But where was the connection? The building of the relationship? As much as the promise of sex sounded great, I didn’t like the idea of a one-night stand. Besides, what if I was terrible in bed? I’d only ever been with one man. I’d rather not know any differently.
I busied myself for the next few hours, while I waited for Daisy to finish work. General housework and reading were the usual suspects to cure my loneliness in the empty apartment. A place I still couldn’t bring myself to call home after my separation. But cleaning a spotless apartment would only take up so much time, and I’ve lost count how many times I’d read my small collection of books.
Thankfully, the evening came around quicker than I’d anticipated, and by seven Daisy arrived at my door with a bottle in hand. No sooner had I opened the door, had she made herself at home and already demanded my laptop, two glasses and a bowl for the crisps she’d purchased. Together we slumped on the sofa, and I sipped on the fruity wine as Daisy began ‘transforming my life,’ or at least were her words but we both knew she was stretching the truth. My love life was a disaster, to say the least.
‘How would you describe yourself?’ she asked.
‘What?’ I said, choking on my wine.
She turned the laptop so I could see the empty bio, ‘We need to write something that will really sell you on the market.’
‘I’m a person, not one of your events.’
Daisy rolled her eyes, ‘Just answer the question. Your bio will be the first thing a man reads, it has to be good.’
‘Fine,’ I said, sighing with defeat and I scooped a handful of crisps from the bowl. But as I thought. about my interests and personal life, I realised there wasn’t anything interesting enough to put online. ‘I don’t know, this is your line of work, I’m sure you can think of something good.’
After an hour of going back and forth, my new dating profile had been set up and the wine drained dry. We sat back to relax, admiring Daisy’s hard work.
‘So, what happens now?’ I asked, realising my question sounded more like a student than a grown adult.
‘We wait and see who responds,’ she replied, just as something caught her attention. She clicked on a notification, her face screwed up as she read. ‘Now this is something to avoid. Fuckboys and bots. Stay clear of them and you’ll be fine.’
I eyed the screen, ‘And how will I know the difference?’
‘You just will.’
The evening rolled on and eventually we said our goodbyes, leaving me at the mercy of the online dating pool. I closed my laptop down and went to bed, I didn’t want to think about it anymore.
It was a couple of weeks before I found a decent man, most of the others seemed to want nothing more than a fling. This guy seemed genuine, his bio interesting enough and after some talk back and forth, we agreed to meet for a date.
A week later, I stood outside a small bistro, waiting for him to turn up, when I caught sight of my own reflection. I looked nothing like my usual self thanks to Daisy’s ‘incredible makeover’. My confidence started to wane as soon as I caught sight of him.
‘Sorry to keep you waiting,’ his voice was silken. ‘Caught up at work, shall we go inside? I made a reservation.’
I nodded, my words trapped in my throat. He held the door open like a perfect gentleman, and held the small of my back as we were greeted by the staff. A beautiful waitress showed us to our table, and just before we’d reached our spot, my heels gave way and I slipped onto my bum. My cheeks ruby as a pair of warm hands guided me back up and onto the nearby seats.
None of us spoke about the incident, nor could I look my date or the waitress in the eye. I was glad when she handed menus to hide my face for a brief moment.
But before I could even consider my options, my date placed his hand on mine and said, ‘Order whatever you like, it’s on me.’ His smile was reassuring and soon I felt comfortable in his presence, more so than I thought I’d be with anyone other than Alex.
My anxiety melted away, leaving me to enjoy my evening in the presence of a lovely man. We wined, dined and talked for hours until we were the last ones remaining in the bistro, and in the end we had to be ushered out still giggling like school children about a story my date was telling.
Outside we said goodnight, with him planting a kiss on my cheek. When we parted I was secretly glad my best friend had convinced me to try again. That it was possible to fall in love, twice.
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