Holly just joined the senior dating site a few days before I planned to sign off for good. We could've easily missed each other. How different life would've been!
I found her new profile one morning before work. She was everything I could hope for and more. She lived only 20 minutes away. She was a widow with no children. Short and pretty, with a friendly smile, she had Farrah Fawcett llong, curly blond hair. She looked younger than her age, which was a little older than me. She worked as an IT Specialist for a major communications company, plus she had her Real Estate license on the side. Horses were one of her passions, as were all animals, and she owned three beautiful retired horses on her small farm. She loved to cook, quilt and enjoyed movies and music.
Who could ask for more?
I wrote her the nicest introductory email I could muster at a drowsy six o'clock in the morning. I probably should've waited until I was a bit more coherent but Holly was someone I wanted to know better. Knowing the guys on these dating sites it wouldn't be long until her mailbox was full.
I let my profile do the talking . First letters are always so hard to write. I don't know what would separate me from others but I hoped for a reply.
The first thing I did when I got home that late January afternoon, even before feeding Bud ( who wasn't too happy about that) was check my email on the site. Sure enough, there was a response from Holly. I wanted to read it yet prepared myself for the usual "You sound like a nice guy but..."
It turned out Holly really liked my profile and first email. She thought I was funny and cute. Most importantly to me, she didn't seem fazed by my disability.
We exchanged emails for the rest of the week. Then I started a conversation via Instant Messenger one evening. Before you know it I offered my phone number. My excuse was that it was easier to talk than type, which really was true. My typing sucked. I also wanted to hear if this special lady sounded true. Remember what happened to me earlier in the month with the first reply I got to my profile?
Funny, I had thought then how "fast" she was to include her phone number and ask me over to her place for chicken without really knowing me- and here I was, doing the same thing.
We planned to talk on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. Our letters all week were fun and light-hearted, nothing too serious. We both looked forward to the next letter and the next, one building on the other. We had a lot in common. Even though Holly wasn't a sports fan she was willing to learn. I really wasn't a country music fan but I was willing to listen. We compromised and grew closer.
When Holly called at exactly seven I was delighted by her cheerful voice. She was just like her emails- fun, bubbly and smart. I was dazzled. So much so that our planned short chat turned into a five hour marathon.
We talked about our past- her husband had died not too long ago and, because she was lonely and one of her sisters was vacationing in Mexico, she decided to take a chance as well. She had two sisters and even though Holly was the oldest they were very protective of her. Neither knew she was on the senior dating site.
As I expected, Holly's inbox was crammed with mail. Everyday she got more and more replies Most of the guys wanted to meet her right away, understandably so. One demanded a "full-length body shot" before he would continue to correspond. Some were nice, some were rude and crude, some were goofy, and some were boring. Some were too far away, as she was looking local too. Some were way too young for her ( under 50) and some were from women. She found my original email and profile refreshingly "normal."
Me, "normal?"
I told her about Bud and my life. I was honest and answered anything about my disability she wanted to know. I made sure I thanked her for giving me a chance. Of course, I had not met her yet to see if it really did matter. I had been down that road too may times before where someone says "It's no problem" then they meet and it's "See you later."
The five hours flew by, so much so that we agreed to talk again the following night at the pre-determined time of seven once again. I hung up and couldn't wait.
I forgot. The next day was the Super Bowl. I always watched the Super Bowl every year. New England vs. Seattle. I was the kind of intense sports guy that I couldn't do two things at once, like watch the game and talk on the phone at the same time. Not if I really wanted to get into the game.
But there was absolutely no thought of sending her a"let's reschedule" email. I wanted to talk to her more.
Talk we did, another great conversation until 11:00 when we reluctantly said our goodbyes because of work the following morning. Somehow the subject of the Super Bowl came up and she figured out I had missed the big game for our chat. I scored huge brownie points right there.
Holly gave me her number and I started calling her during my lunch break. She worked at home so it was easy. She began leaving messages on my voice mail at my work desk, plus every night at seven swe talked for several hours. It was heaven to find someone who really seemed to care. Finally.
I decided to sign off the dating site. I wasn't going to pay for February. I found someone special. Holly continued on the site because she was only a week into her membership. She was still getting tons of mail but, other than responding to an 88-year-old guy looking for "friendship" she decided she had found someone special too.
We didn't talk about meeting yet. The following weekend Holly drove right by my house on her way to King Of Prussia. She was going to surprise me with a quick visit but chickened-out. I'm not sure what I was doing that Saturday afternoon. Probably not much, as usual on my weekends. That's fine, I told her. When the time is right we will meet. Right now let's just take our time and get to know each other.
That was a lie. I wanted to meet her badly but didn't want to sound like the rest of the vultures contacted her. I tried to play it cool but wasn't very good at it. I know she wanted to see if I was "real" or not. What if I just said I use a wheelchair, for whatever bazaar reason? Before she invested more time it made sense to know for sure.
We agreed to meet the following Saturday, which happened to be Valentine's Day. What a perfect day to meet that someone special!
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