Intermission - Thomas and Maria’s date.

Thomas was given an address and he went there at the appointed time, 9:00 pm. He had half-expected it, but he didn’t fully believe Maria would invite him to her own house for their first date. She had.

It was a relatively small house, at least compared to the others in the neighborhood. A single story, white clapboard house in a residential area where most other houses looked more like small mansions. It stood out due to its size and its more austere aesthetics, with a simple front garden with a stone path curving through the green grass. Thomas followed that path, not setting a single foot on the lawn. His heart would not stop pounding hard against his chest.

“Come on, you’re the ladies man! Give me some advice!” Thomas had pleaded to Oliver the day before while hanging out at the latter’s house.

“Do I need to remind you I am where I am because those girls are all insane?” Oliver asked him. Thomas snorted. “I’m just as insane, for that matter. Why would you want my advice?”

“Because I’m ****, because I have no one else to ask, and because you set me up for this. Take responsibility, dammit!”

Oliver groaned into his hands. “Fine. A few things come to mind, at least.”

“Hit me!”

“First of all, be punctual. If my sources are to be believed, arriving late will only make the rest of the date harder. That said, I’ve never been late to a date, so I wouldn’t know.”

“Show off.”

“Second of all, ask her questions. She might act like she doesn’t want to at first, but Maria actually loves talking about herself.”

Made sense that he knew. He’d been working about two months with her already.

“And finally… She said yes to you, right?” Oliver asked.

“Y-Yeah.”

“That means she’s interested. She also said yes despite the age gap, which means she’s not just doing it to see where it goes. She’s into you, so be confident.”

Thomas smirked. “You’ve become a love guru, huh?”

Oliver shrugged. “There’s a 50-50 chance you’ll come to hate my advice, so do what you will with it. It’s just my gut feeling.”

There were worse things to trust than the gut feeling of the guy with five girlfriends. Be confident, Thomas. Maria is interested in you to the point of inviting you to her house.

He took a deep breath before he rang the bell, and as he waited, he checked himself one more time. Dark corduroy pants, matching shoes, a white t-shirt and a loose denim jacket. When he looked himself in the mirror before heading out, he fully believed he look good, attractive, even hot. Now, at Maria’s door, he was second guessing himself. Should he have gone for something more formal? Was this TOO casual?

The door suddenly opening almost sent his heart to his throat. Seeing Maria made it skip a beat.

Straight, shoulder-length pink hair, with her bangs to the side; a white, puffy, short-sleeved blouse; a long blue skirt. She looked gorgeous, in a different way than she did at work.

Maria grinned. “Perfectly punctual, huh? Very nice.”

Thomas managed to smile despite his own nerves. “Not too early, then?”

“I’m just finishing up here. Come in.”

She led him directly to her living room, which, as expected, was fairly small yet gave off a cozy atmosphere. Dark brown laminate flooring under a large, black carpet where the coffee table and loveseat were set. Across from the sofa was a large TV hanging on the wall with a huge sound system at the sides.

“Take a seat. I’ll be right back.”

Thomas saw Maria going into the kitchen. He stiffly sat down on the loveseat. Everything was so neat, so clean, so organized. The antique cupboards in the corners, the flowerpots on top of decorative tables… There was even an antique phone on one of those tables, one of those where you had to turn a dial.

Soon. Maria came back with a tray of mini sandwiches, appetizer meatballs, a cheese board with different types of not only cheese, but hams, too, like cubes of caramelized ham and slices of cured ham.

She set them on the coffee table before she went over to a cupboard. “Do you drink wine, Thomas?” she asked.

“Yes, a bit. My dad practically only drinks wine, and I share a glass with him during meals from time to time.”

“Really? That’s sweet.” She brought out a bottle from the cupboard. “Would you like to share a couple of glasses with me?”

“Only a couple?” he asked jokingly.

Maria laughed. “Yes, only a couple. I’m not trying to get you drunk. Or, well, get drunk myself.”

She opened the bottle and poured two glasses before she sat down next to Thomas. She smiled at him and raised her glass.

“Cheers.”

Thomas clicked his glass with hers. “Cheers.”

They both took a small sip. Thomas blinked at the taste, surprised. “Oh wow.”

“It’s good, isn’t it? I have a friend who knows a lot about liquors and she gave me this bottle as a gift. Told me to open it when I finally got a date, so who am I to argue?”

Thomas chuckled. “Sorry. I still can’t believe you said yes.”

“Let’s say I’m open-minded.” She took the TV remote and showed it to Thomas. “Music?”

“Sure.”

Maria put some soft, ambient music perfect to leave room for conversation.

“By the way, I like this house. You’ve been living here a long time?”

“Only a couple of years, actually. It was my grandfather’s, but he left it to me when he passed.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

Maria chuckled. “Don’t be. He went out like he wanted, drifting off quietly into his sleep. The house itself is really old, so I had to do some renovations.”

“But you kept some of the furniture.”

“It’s just too nice to get rid of, don’t you think?” Maria beamed. “It IS a little weird to have things like this TV and sound system next to antiques, but I like it.”

She grabbed a mini sandwich, prompting Thomas to do the same.

“So you live here alone?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“Doesn’t it get lonely?”

Maria laughed. “And that’s another reason I caved and accepted your invitation. It HAS been too long since I had a date. Been too busy getting the shop set up.”

They settled into a comfortable atmosphere, talking about nothing of particular importance, yet getting to know each other better. Thomas asked about her time in university, her relationship with her mother, Maria senior, and other things she liked to do. Like Oliver had told him, that got her going.

Maria told him of her friends, of how her mother’s baking business started from practically nothing, and of how she loved going on bike rides out of town. It was all very pleasant and calm. Thomas’ initial nerves and excitement were replaced by the heartwarming pleasure of listening to Maria tell him about herself.

Two glasses of wine later, however, the excitement would begin to resurface.

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