Maybe I shouldn’t have let my mom drive
Katherine’s choice of chauffeur probably wasn’t smoothest move
Katherine is a 25-year-old graduate student who lives in the west end with her parents. She says “I really love fashion. I always get compliments on my clothes. I’m not superskilled at doing my hair or makeup, so I usually leave my hair down, and just do the basics of makeup, like eyeliner, mascara and concealer.” Katherine says, “When I first meet new people, I can be super-shy, but as I get to know them better, I’m sarcastic and blunt.” For fun, Katherine likes “taking my dog for walks, playing tennis, watching hockey, reading, and mini-golfing.”
This date was actually my first date ever. I’d started to feel like I’d created a huge void in my life by focusing just on school. My friends suggested I use a dating app, since a couple of them met their boyfriends online. I let my friends start and respond to conversations for me, and once it gets going, I take over.
A few guys came off super creepy or super dull. When my friend found Trey, I really liked that we had gone to the same university and that his pictures made him seem like a genuine, nice guy.
Trey and I hit it off and switched over to text. We actually texted for a month before he finally asked me out. I have no idea what took him so long. Because I was so new to dating, I didn’t feel like I should make the first move.
We decided to go to a coffee shop at a nice mall that was between where we both lived. Unfortunately, I don’t drive — I needed my mom to drop me off and pick me up. When she dropped me off, I told her I’d be an hour, maximum, and that I’d meet her outside of the stores that were next to the coffee shop. That way, Trey wouldn’t see me get into her car.
The date turned out to be su- per great. I was definitely attracted to Trey: he had dark hair with blue eyes, which is always a good combination! Plus, he was tall, over six feet, which is nice because I’m fivefoot-seven. He asked a lot of questions about me, and genuinely listened while I answered and told him random anecdotes and stories. It was nice that he remembered details about me that I’d mentioned over text. He also alluded to the next time we’d meet up.
Trey went to use the bathroom, and I pulled out my phone. That’s when I noticed the time: three hours had passed! To make matters worse, my mom doesn’t have a cellphone, so I couldn’t text her to let her know what was happening!
When Trey got back, I was trying to think about what to do. I definitely needed to meet my mom, but I didn’t want to be abrupt and have Trey think I didn’t like him. Then, as we were sitting facing the parking lot, I saw my mom’s car drive by, slowly. I was horrified but I didn’t say anything. Trey and I went back to chatting, and then five minutes later, I saw her car drive by again, this time even slower than before.
I told Trey that it was getting late. He walked me outside and asked where I parked, which is when I confessed that I didn’t drive, and that I was going to meet up with my mom. He didn’t seem too fazed and gave me a hug goodnight. As he walked away, I started searching for my mom. I finally found her in the parking lot.
I said, “So I saw you drive by …” and she said, “Oh, you saw that?” And I said, “Yes … Both times!” She said that she wanted to make sure I was OK and drove by a second time because she wasn’t sure if it was me, She was paranoid about me online dating and had convinced herself that something had happened to me because I was so late.
After that, I made sure that I chose dates that I could get to by myself.
Katherine rates her date (out of 10): 9