Half a Couple Date is Better Than None

I had a couple date tonight but she ended up having to work late, so it wound up being just me and him at Lemaire.

He and I are the more similar ones, so she usually provides the balance to our shared traits, so her presence was missed for that.

But he and I are the direct ones, so we enjoyed an evening of straightforward conversation about everything from his spreadsheet for the perfect woman (our starting point for next time's chat because it came up at the very end of the evening) to our perspectives on burial (don't even think about it) to the location of his upcoming birthday extravaganza.

The place was mobbed when I arrived, full of what I guessed to be corporate types engaged in some sort of meet and greet.

Upon my friend's arrival, he confirmed them to be worker bees; he should know because he has referred to himself on more than one occasion as a corporate drone (for the time being anyway) and recognizes his kind.

Eventually they faded away, leaving a much calmer bar for the rest of us.

But he's very much a food lover, too, so we ordered a cheese plate (Drunken Goat, Midnight Moon and Humboldt Fog) and the fried mac and cheese balls with truffled cheese fondue (totally unnecessary cheese for cheese) at his suggestion.

It was only when it arrived that we looked at each other and realized what a lot of cheese we had.

The grapes and mixed berries were a welcome break from the fromage feast.

We discovered a mutual love of talking about other bar sitters (the out-of-town cougar in the straw hat was worth her considerable weight in gold for conversational value).

He sought out specifics on some of my posts and I regaled him with the details of a new acquaintance's efforts to get to know me better at a recent show at the National.

"That's a really great story," he said, amazed at the audacity of a virtual stranger.

I love to share stories like that and just sit back and watch the reaction they get. Welcome to my world.

As the one who had recommended Ronnie's Ribs to me, he wanted my assessment of Ronnie's dry-rub magic (personally, I thought ribs and wings ruled that roost).

He told me about some of his recent out-of-town meals, including an amazing tomato pie at the hole-in-the-wall Dixie Supply Bakery & Cafe in Charleston.

Notable here is the fact that he doesn't like tomatoes and said he could have eaten two pies.

Since we're still getting to know each other, he gleans a lot about me from reading my posts.

Not long into tonight's conversation, he looked at me and said, "I can't imagine you at Costco!" referring to my first visit there earlier today.

Needless to say, I took this as a compliment.

I shared with him how I'd once mentioned running into a musician I knew at Target and my friend Andrew had had a similar reaction.

"You go to Target?" he'd marveled. His amazement was clear; he had no idea that my world included Target on occasion.

It's interesting the wild stories my friends can easily imagine happening to me, but when I veer anywhere close to typical, they're left shocked and surprised.

I'm actually pretty normal; it's how the rest of the world reacts to me that brings on the craziness.

At least that's what I tell myself.