I was having dinner with an old girlfriend catching up when she got a call from a guy. She was fixed up by a friend and had yet to meet the guy. I was excited for her. She didn’t know much about him so we didn’t discuss it much.
She asked if I would come with her after to meet him for a “meet and greet” drink. I felt funny about accompanying my friend on a blind date but she really wanted me there so I said yes.
We finished our dinner and walked over to the bar. We entered sat down and each ordered a glass of wine.
After a few minutes of chit-chatting, the mystery date entered. I had a strange feeling I knew who he was but wanted to talk for a few minutes before making up my mind.
He said he was an attorney, working for himself, never been married, no kids. I immediately knew who he was, but I chose to keep quiet. It was my friend’s “date”. So I let them chat and get to know eachother.
We each ordered another drink and continued the conversation. I could tell my friend wasn’t really interested because she was sitting leaning back with her arms crossed in front of her chest. The universal body-language for “not interested”. For the next 10 minutes or so, I sat there with a sort of surprised yet blank look on my face. Finally, they noticed.
Him: “What’s wrong? You look confused?”
Me: “Well. I am sitting here trying to figure out how it is that you can sit here all this time and you have absolutely no idea who I am.”
Him: “…” (he looked a little blank and nervous)
Me: “We dated about 13 years ago. Went out several times. I recognized you immediately but didn’t want to say anything at first.”
Him: “…”
I felt kind of bad. I definitely put him on the spot, but to be honest, he was such an incredible asshole when we dated, I was just happy that I finally had a chance to put him in his place. Yet, I chose not to really say much since there was no point in being rude or embarrassing him.
He profusely apologized to me for whatever it was he did back then and said he really did want to make it up to me (or my friend) so we would know he was a stand-up guy. I politely made light of the whole thing so we could just finish our drinks and enjoy the rest of the evening.
About 20 minutes later, he started his “I’m getting tired and have a long day tomorrow” monologue. The indicator that the “date” was about to come to an end.
Mr. Nice Guy, who was so intent on showing us what a great guy he was – who wanted very badly to make up to me what a jerk he was the last time we had dated, stood up to leave said:
“I’d like to pay for one of your drinks.”
With that, he took out and left a $20 bill on the table and left.
My friend and I looked at each other and laughed. $20? That just barely covered the cost of his one beer and my friend’s one glass of wine, not including the tip. Of course I didn’t expect him to pay for MY drinks, but really? $20?
I must say, he really did a great job of showing me what a great guy he turned out to be. I’m sure you can imagine, my friend wasn’t interested and never went out with him again.