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Hope and Doubt

They usually go together

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to persons, living or dead, is purely coincindental.

I wanted to believe he would be the next big thing. Yet, I had nagging doubts.

Joe and I connected online. His profile seemed a bit on the mysterious side. I’m not sure why, but I am often suspect of a man who has reached maturity and has never married or had children. Our culture still doesn’t readily accept that this is an appropriate choice. He was 58 and lived alone.

Part of the reason this raises a red flag is I tend to think that the guy is still single because he couldn’t figure out how to make a relationship work. Though, I reason this can also be a plus in that there are no ex wives or children to cause problems with new relationships. He was one of the most handsome men in my pool of “matches”.He was mostly bald, but I didn’t care. He had dreamy, deep blue eyes, and an actor’s good looks. I was cautiously optimistic.

We chatted for about two weeks on the dating app. He said he had an undergraduate degree in Finance and worked as a bartender at a fine dining restaurant. As in, bartending was his career. He’d been at it for more than 20 years. He also mentioned that he was a landlord.