ToWriteAndWander
Not all those who wander are lost.
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2020
It should not have been as much as a surprise as it was to find his daughters best friend on the dating app she had recommended to him. Richard, a single father now aged 50, had finally decided to get back to dating. It had been years, more than he cared to remember, since he had been on a date or had had sex, but he had devoted his life to raising his daughter. Now that she was 22, she didn't need him nearly as much as she used to. She and her bestfriend, Maya, had started to encourage him to start dating, that it was okay for him to get back 'on the horse' and not spend all his time with them. Maya had recommended this particular app, so of course she used it too. He just wasn't expecting to be paired with her.
He didn't know how to use the thing and hadn't set an age range. He couldn't help but thumb through her pictures, read her bio - and swipe right. Where was the harm, right? He had never expected her to swipe right on him and for that 'match' notification to come through. The girl was beautiful, of course, but felt like a second daughter to him. They had texted about matching, about how she found it 'cute' that he had swiped right on her. And how she'd love to be his first date. No pressure that way, right? Going on a 'date' with some one you knew.
He hadn't told his daughter, of course. He didn't want to make things weird, or force her out the door sooner. She was looking at a place of her own, but he wasn't exactly prodding her out of the house. Maya had suggested a casual date - a movie and dinner. He had put on a polo shirt and a nice pair of jeans. Casual wear. Then he had driven to her house - a familiar route. Once there, he debated whether or not he got out of the car and rang her doorbell. Its what he would have done thirty years ago, but that wasn't the 'cool' thing to do these days. So he shot her a text instead, saying he was outside but to take her time.
He had classic rock on the radio, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for her to come out.
He didn't know how to use the thing and hadn't set an age range. He couldn't help but thumb through her pictures, read her bio - and swipe right. Where was the harm, right? He had never expected her to swipe right on him and for that 'match' notification to come through. The girl was beautiful, of course, but felt like a second daughter to him. They had texted about matching, about how she found it 'cute' that he had swiped right on her. And how she'd love to be his first date. No pressure that way, right? Going on a 'date' with some one you knew.
He hadn't told his daughter, of course. He didn't want to make things weird, or force her out the door sooner. She was looking at a place of her own, but he wasn't exactly prodding her out of the house. Maya had suggested a casual date - a movie and dinner. He had put on a polo shirt and a nice pair of jeans. Casual wear. Then he had driven to her house - a familiar route. Once there, he debated whether or not he got out of the car and rang her doorbell. Its what he would have done thirty years ago, but that wasn't the 'cool' thing to do these days. So he shot her a text instead, saying he was outside but to take her time.
He had classic rock on the radio, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for her to come out.