Anniversary meal a chance to date again
I was infatuated with Linda from the day she walked into Grade 4
Charlie is a “middle-aged” educator who lives in the west end. He says “I dress smart-casually and kind of outdoorsy, but I like to read men’s magazines that feature more stylish clothes.” Charlie is “loyal and trustworthy, like a Labrador retriever” and “smart and well-organized like a Border Collie.” Charlie likes to hike, canoe, travel, read about philosophy and psychology, watch foreign-language films and “build things out of wood.”
I met Linda in elementary school. I was immediately infatuated with her when she walked into my Grade 4 classroom. She had long red hair, freckles, and a great personality. We were friends. We started dating in high school, and got married in our early twenties.
For one of our wedding anniversaries, our daughters gave us a gift certificate to a bed and breakfast outside of the city. We couldn’t get away until the fall, but that turned out to be great because the changing colours of the leaves are so nice.
To find the bed and breakfast, I had printed out Google directions, was using the GPS in the car, and was looking at a road map. By the time we got near our destination, we were both tired, and it was getting dark, and because of a bit of a mix-up with two roads in the area having the same name, we were lost.
I could see that Linda was getting irritated and a bit frightened. I was hoping I hadn’t blown it — I was really hoping to give her a great time over the weekend. I made a lame joke about not being lost, and just being “temporarily misplaced,” but I could see that it wasn’t helping. Fortunately for us, after a quick phone call to the bed and breakfast, we were happy
to learn we were only a few kilometres away.
When we finally arrived, we saw tiny coloured lights sparkling in the tall spruce trees hugging the house, and were soon settled into our room, which had a king-sized bed, fireplace, and a hot tub on the deck overlooking a valley of maple trees.
We decided to go on to dinner. Linda put a lot more time and effort into dressing for our date than I did, and she looked amazing in a brightly coloured outfit that matched her personality.
Just down the road was a diner that had started as a place for area farmers to go, but gained a
reputation over the years for its live music and exotic assortment of meat.
I could see from the look on Linda’s face that she wasn’t sure this was the kind of place she might have imagined for an anniversary celebration, and once again I found myself hoping I hadn’t ruined our anniversary date. We’re most comfortable in places with a fireplace and steak on the menu.
Still, she was game to stay. Over pre-dinner drinks, Linda and I started reminiscing about our life together, starting with setting up our one-bedroom apartment, then renting a twobedroom house near the dental office where she worked while I
finished university, followed by our first home, having three children in five years, good times, bad times, sickness, health, and more good times. We shared a warm apple crisp for dessert.
In the warm glow of the restaurant, I realized that this was one of those times where I had been so busy with day-to-day life that I suddenly found myself thoroughly enjoying an experience that I hadn’t actually anticipated.
We returned to our room at the bed and breakfast and soaked in the hot tub while watching a million stars. We read for a while sitting by the fireplace, and shared a mint-
chocolate bar I had hidden from Linda but had fully intended to offer. We settled onto the bed and watched a movie about two brothers in Iceland who raised sheep and hadn’t spoken to each other for 40 years.
I fell asleep dreaming of the possibility of another 35 years with the woman I love.
Charlie rates his date (out of 10): 10
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