“Here are your shoes, please be fast, I think he is already here” my roommate Mirabel yelled as I hurriedly got ready for my date.
This had been my first date since my fiancée left me at the altar 3 years ago because in his words “he wasn’t sure that getting married was what he wanted anymore”.
After he left, I threw away the idea of love and continued focusing on work until my mother called me a few days back saying her boss's son was in town and she had set us up, knowing fully well that when it came to my mother I had no choice, I sucked it up and agreed to the blind date.
As I got ready, I began imagining how my date would look like, my mother made sure not to tell me a name so I don’t go snooping but my mind did play tricks and I hoped that he would be an awful man so I had an excuse to leave early.
“Sarah, he is here” my roommate screamed shaking me out of my thought.
I quickly took my bag and walked out of my apartment building waiting at the door for him to come out of his car, and as he did, my eyes popped open because he was truly a view to bestow upon, he walked up to me with the prettiest smile I have seen and said;
“Hello Sarah, my name is Jamal and you look beautiful”
While he spoke I couldn’t help but gawk at him but I quickly pulled myself together, exchanged pleasantries and we went to his car.
The drive to where he was taking us was a bit lengthy but we spent the time listening to music and having conversations about the city we were in which calmed my nerves down and I was grateful for it.
After a few minutes of driving, we arrived at a restaurant that I had never been to before and he hurriedly came out of the car to open my door which was a nice gesture and it made me feel some way because my ex-fiancée never showed me such gestures.
We walked into the restaurant and I immediately realized that all they served was Nigerian food which almost brought tears to my eyes because I had always felt a gap since leaving my country and I wanted to learn more about where I came from.
“Are you okay with this?” he asked and further went on explaining that he chose this restaurant because he heard my mother speaking about how I wanted to learn more about my culture.
At that point, I couldn’t believe the odds that someone as caring as Jamal existed, and I internally screamed telling myself not to lose control.
Before the first course was served, he whispered to the waiter, and almost immediately the lights went dim putting the whole restaurant in a mood which was perfect and did I forget to mention that we were the only ones there.
While we ate, we had intense conversations and for every doubt I had, he unknowingly resolved them and even though I had just met him, he felt like a safe haven which was crazy to me.
We had finished our meals when he said he had something to tell me which I urged him to go on and he went on by telling me that he hadn’t just met me today for the first time, he explained how he met me at a Christmas party a few years back while I was still with my fiancée and I had caught his eyes but since I was taken he didn’t want to intrude.
He further explained that he begged his mother to set up this date because he wanted to see if things could work between us and with how successful this date was, he wanted a second one if that was okay with me.
I immediately nodded my head and smiled at him because even though I wasn’t sure of what would come between us, I was ready for an adventure.
We ended the date with him dropping me off at my apartment and kissing my forehead and while he drove away I thought to myself “what an amazing first date this was”.