The Woman Before the Date

The Beautiful Possibility of Again

Season One | Episode Three
The Woman Before the Date

“Mom, you’ve changed your earrings three times.”

“I have not. Hold up - why are you counting!?”

“You’ve also checked your phone six times.”

“Again…. Why you counting?”

“Somebody has to. Clearly, you’ve lost your mind.”

She laughed. Her eldest daughter had always been her favorite kind of reality check. Old enough to tell her the truth, grown enough to understand her, and just disrespectful enough to keep her humble.

“Mom, wear the green one.”

“Why the green one?”

“Because you look good in green. Now, are you going on this date or are we going to spend the entire evening discussing your wardrobe?”

“Girl, goodbye.”

Her daughter smirked.

“And please don’t interrogate that man over dinner.”

“What!? Girl… It’s called having a meaningful conversation.”

“It’s called a deposition.”

The nerve of these children. 😅😆😂

She stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the fabric of her dress. Her vision had changed how she experienced moments like this. Some things required a little more time, a little more patience, and occasionally a second set of eyes.

Her daughter understood that better than most.

What hadn’t changed was the woman looking back at her.

She knew who she was. She knew what she brought to the table. She had spent enough years learning herself to know that companionship was a desire, never a requirement for her happiness.

But she was still excited.

She fantasized about the kind of anticipation that made you smile at your phone for absolutely no reason… the kind that made you wonder what somebody smelled like before they even arrived…. The kind that reminded you that being grown, healed, and content didn’t mean you were immune to butterflies.

She dreamed about the one who made her forget about anytime a man hurt her before.

___________

Her phone rang.

It was Daniel.

He was downstairs.

“Well, girl, he’s here.”

“Okay, Mom. Have fun. Be yourself.”

“Who else would I be?”

“Just checking. Love you!”

She grabbed her purse, took one last breath, and headed toward the door.

Whatever happened tonight, she intended to enjoy herself.

She had nothing to prove.

And absolutely nothing to lose.

________________

The Debrief

“GIRLLLLLL!”

That was all it took.

Her daughter knew immediately.

“Hold on. What happened?”

“Good morning to you too!”

“Forget good morning. You don’t call me on this type of energy unless something happened. TALK! 

And hurry up!!”

She laughed.

There was something about having an older daughter, you basically grew up with, who knows your history. She is a woman now. A woman who has watched you love, lose, heal, grow, and occasionally make decisions she still won’t let you forget.

This is the woman who knew when you were genuinely happy and when you were trying to convince yourself you were.

“So, how was it?” Her daughter asked.

“It was good.”

“Good?”

“Really good.”

“Ma’am. I need you to understand that I am your daughter and I have known you entirely too long for you to call me with all this excitement and give me two words. Start from the beginning.”

She settled into her chair.

“Well, first of all, he is FINE.”

“I KNEW IT! You know you have a ‘type’, right!? Let me guess… bald headed with a beard, huh!?”

She continued to smile while completely brushing over what her daughter had just said.

“And he’s a gentleman”, she said.

“Okay, now we’re getting somewhere.”

She began telling her about the evening. She talked about how Daniel greeted her, how attentive he was, how naturally the conversation flowed, how he showed up, how he made her feel, and how he ended the night.

There were no awkward silences to fill. There was no pressure. She never felt the need to explain or defend who she is and who she is becoming.

He was thoughtful without being performative.

He exuded confidence without being arrogant.

He was intentionally attentive without making her feel helpless.

That last part mattered.

A lot.

___________

Her white cane had become a visible part of her life, but it was never the sum of who she was.

Daniel seemed to understand that.

He didn’t make the evening about her vision. He didn’t ask a single question.

He simply treated her like a woman he was interested in getting to know.

No one could know how much she appreciated that.

“Okay, so what didn’t you like?” Her daughter asked.

She paused.

“Girl, why does there have to be something?”

“Because I know you.”

“Well, I don’t have anything to report.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing.”

“Hmmmm.”

“Don’t start.”

Her daughter laughed.

“I’m just saying. You sound different.”

“Different how?”

“Peaceful.”

She sat quietly for a moment.

That was exactly it.

Peaceful.

There was no anxiety about what she had said. She didn’t replay conversations to determine whether she’d revealed too much, nor was she wondering if she’d somehow misread the evening.

She genuinely enjoyed herself.

Completely.

And whatever came next would reveal itself in time.

“So, are you going to see him again?”

“I’d like to.”

“Does he know that?”

“I think so.”

“Girl!”

“What?!”

They both laughed.

The truth was, she had no interest in rushing ahead of what was happening right in front of her.

She had learned the difference between potential and promise.

 A wonderful evening and a meaningful relationship doesn’t equate to consistency and intentionally.

One date couldn’t tell her everything she needed to know about a man.

But it could tell her how she felt in his presence.

She liked how she felt.

She liked the ease.

She liked the laughter.

She liked being pursued without feeling pressured.

Most of all, she liked that she hadn’t spent the evening trying to become someone she thought he might want.

She had simply been herself.

“I’m happy for you,” her daughter said.

“Thank you, girl.”

“Just don’t go marrying this man before I meet him.”

“GOODBYE!”

They burst into laughter again.

The beautiful possibility of again.

To be continued…