1st Date, Take 2

1st Date, Take 2

We met and fell in love
twenty-some years ago
in the space of a
slow country two-step
to the song
'If You Would Love Me Now'
sung by a now dear friend.

Newly divorced issues
overwhelmed
the fragility of
newly dicovered feelings:
late-winter freeze
chilled, snowballed
and reluctantly
we danced to different music.


Fast forward twenty-some years.
I moved back to Michigan
and friends from the past
all wanted to know if I
had talked to him yet.
He was told I was back and asked
if he had talked to me yet.

Yet. We'd talked occasionally
during those two decades,
friends discussing the kids,
the ups and downs of our seperate lives.
I was back in Michigan to start fresh-
yet the friends all pushed me
to seek my future
in the past.

But it would be nice to see him again
and once settled, I called.
We hadn't talked in maybe five years
but it felt like we'd talked
only days ago.
The easy banter back and forth
was still keeping time
and we danced around our inevitable meeting.

When the invitation was extended-
a hand asking me to dance
I didn't know if I still remembered the steps-
was out of practice, had the music changed?


Twenty-some years older,
viewed through a looking glass of the past.
Wanting, on some level, to be
that girl in a prairie skirt
he'd asked to dance all those years ago.

What should I wear?
What to do with my hair?
Had I unpacked my make-up?
Are my favorite jeans clean
How----
The phone rings again.
"Come on over now!"


My stomach's in knots
as I change jeans three times
because my favorite ones aren't exactly clean.
My hair won't cooperate-
I can't find my keys-
I'm too old for this first date stuff...
How bizarre! Oh please.....

Followed his directions,
found his house without getting lost
Ohhhgod-please help me now.
What do I do when I get to the door?
I can't sit here in the car forever.
I can't do this.
I can't pull out...

Forcing myself out of the car
I went up to the door
which opened
and I was enfolded in a hug
that erased twenty-some years
in the space
of the song
playing in the background.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Prompt Subject: First date jitters
Word(s) to use: bizarre or bizarrely
Word(s) not to use: excite(d, ing, s), nervous(ly), sweat(ed, ing, s, y), kiss(ed, es, ing)