We felt like a couple of teenagers again
Despite the pouring rain, the married couple was just happy to be together
Evan is a 53-year-old contractor who lives west of Toronto. He says his style is“construction business casual. I usually wear work boots with jeans. I’ve lost weight and have been more than happy to show off in skinny jeans and a real funky tropical shirt.” Evan’s friends would say he “is self-assured, always has an answer, and is relaxed and happy.” Evan says he likes to “go for a nice long bike ride, though I mostly stick to rail trails and waterfronts, which are flat” and “go on road trips to the countryside around the GTA.” He also loves to eat out, “especially now with all the great patios.”
I met Marsha in college. She made me laugh. She was living with a friend, in a house where we all hung out. We spent a lot of time together throughout college, and then ended up living together and getting married, and then it was a family and life together.
A few weeks ago, we went on a bike trip. We rode to a small town, where we found an amazing consignment shop. Marsha found a designer dress with flowers and a midriff lace detail. Being a guy, I did not immediately get why she was so excited to buy this dress, but she said it was special for our anniversary.
I wanted to have a real date for our anniversary since we hadn’t been out in forever, due to COVID-19 and all.
The last couple of years have robbed me of planning anything for a good date night or getaway. We’re talking cancelled plans for trips, cancelled parties, cancelled concerts. I so wanted to take Marsha to see Green Day.
Our original plan was to have my mother-in-law look after our special-needs adult son, our son struggling with health issues, the dog and the goldfish for the weekend, and I was going to book a hotel. Well, my mother-in-law had plans that weekend.
As we approached our anniversary, I was struggling for ideas. Maybe Ki downtown, or what about the Keg? They’re safe bets. Then I thought, what about that new upscale place I’d read about? The reviews looked good. I booked a patio table since it looked like that night would be a nice one.
Shaved, showered and dressed up. Marsha came downstairs with her hair down, a hint of lipstick and that sexy dress she’d bought. She rocked it. She looked hot. I smiled, appreciating how beautiful she was. Talk about just having your breath taken away.
We got in the car and, to be honest, I couldn’t help but take in everything about her.
It was sunny as we left. As we drove north, I could see ominous storm clouds in the distance. What the heck? It was supposed to be a decent night.
We talked and got caught up. It was so nice to be able to converse just the two of us about everything but our everyday stuff. Between work, our kids and aging parents, we have full lives. But those storm clouds … As we got close to our destination, the cloud deck dropped on us and it poured. Our talk turned to whether we would even be able to eat, as we had a patio reservation.
It was pouring. Real rain. Summer of ’92, it rained every weekend leading up to our wedding and this was some reminder of that. We arrived at the restaurant and sat in the parking lot, hoping to wait out the worst of the rain. But, you know, we were talking and having a good time. Sitting in the car with rain pouring down made me feel like we were a couple of teenagers out for a date and parking.
Bonus. We got a table inside the restaurant. They made room for us.
We sat and ordered drinks. Marsha had a nice glass of wine, I went for a Manhattan. Our drinks arrived and they were way oversized. As she smiled and talked, I thought about how smitten I am with her. And this is after being married for almost 30 years!
We were finally on a real date. God, I loved that. Oh, and the food was amazing too. Did three hours really pass that fast? Dessert was awesome, too, and she consented to come home with me. Enough said.
Evan rates his date (out of 10): 10