Why I Love Singlehood: by Elisa Lorello, Sarah Girrell Read Free Book Online Page A

the tables.

Dating Rules
     
    I HAD BEEN in a funk since Lemon Torte Day, missing my parents and Olivia all over again, not to mention Shaun. He hadn’t called or come into The Grounds since. But at some point, I decided that enough was enough—it was time to be proactive, get back into the swing of things, try a new hand of cards.
    Time to go on a date.
    When I swung open the door to Mike’s Seafood restaurant, Nick from New Bern—my first Lovematch.com date—was already waiting for me, standing stiffly in the lobby. I instantly recognized him, although he was both taller and heavier than I’d imagined (I hadn’t seen any photos of him from the neck down). He straightened his posture when he saw me.
    “Eva?” he asked tentatively. He pronounced it EE-va, despite my telling him otherwise during the ten-minute phone call to finalize plans for the date.
    “It’s pronounced AY-vah,” I corrected.
    “Sorry,” he said, looking relieved. “I’m Nick.” He shook my hand. “So why’d your mother insist on giving you a name that’s spelled one way and pronounced another?”
    He’s just met me face-to-face and already he’s criticizing my parents?
    “Actually, it was my father’s influence,” I explained. “I’m named after my paternal grandmother. She’s European and that’s the way they pronounced and spelled it. My sister was named after our maternal grandmother. Her name is Olivia, and it’s spelled the same way it’s pronounced.”
    The hostess sat us at a table in the middle of the restaurant.
    “Well,” Nick said once we were seated, “you’re even lovelier in person.”
    “Thank you,” I said, taking a sip of water and feeling uncharacteristically shy. I’d dressed in black pants and a sleeveless blue top along with Nine West pumps.
    “What do you think of me ?” he asked. His bluntness surprised me.
    “You mean, appearance-wise?” I asked.
    “Of course. Be honest, now.”
    Thinning hair. Close-set eyes. Tweed and khaki, buttons straining.
    “As advertised,” I said, willing myself not to blink. “No complaints.”
    He seemed satisfied with this answer. Just then, my eyes brightened as our server and I recognized each other.
    “Professor Perino!”
    “Caleb Collins, as I live and breathe,” I said. He was obviously pleased that I remembered his name. “What’s a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?”
    “I’m on the five-year plan at school,” he replied with a chuckle. “I work here on the weekends and during the summer.”
    “I see. And what comes after graduation, or are you sick of everyone asking you that?”
    “Not at all, ma’am,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “I’m moving back to Virginia to work for my dad’s company. It was too late to change my major and transfer to NC State, but I’ve decided to get into engineering.”
    I looked at him, my face frozen with shock. This was the same kid who was hell-bent on moving to New Hampshire to live a bohemian lifestyle and drive a hybrid, who was a Civil War buff and whose first short story in my class was about a Confederate soldier who breaks ranks of his father’s command and defects to the North.
    “What changed your mind?” I asked.
    “My girlfriend has a Hummer,” he said.
    Nick interjected, “Sweet ride!”
    Caleb turned to him and nodded. “Dude, you know what I’m talkin’ about. They never shoulda discontinued them.” I thought he was going to high-five him.
    I seized the moment to introduce the two, telling Nick, “Caleb was one of the shining stars from my teaching days at NCLA. He took my Introduction to the Short Story class.”
    “Professor Perino is a great teacher,” said Caleb.
    “You can call me Eva now, you know.”
    Caleb laughed politely. “Yes ma’am.”
    “So, what’s an outsider got to do to order a drink?” said Nick. Apparently the Hummer-bonding thing had a short lifespan.
    Caleb turned his attention to Nick. “I’m sorry, sir. What can I get for