Chapter One
Olivia
O livia sat staring at the slender man sitting across from her, wondering how she could make a graceful exit. There seemed to be a thin line between engaging in such a way to not encourage someone to keep talking and not being outright rude. After years of online dating, she was beginning to get the hang of it. The trick was to smile slightly in the right spots while not asking any questions. And not laughing. Whatever happened, she must not laugh.
The problem was, she'd known as soon as he'd started talking that there was not going to be a second coffee date. It had begun with his long drawn out explanation of how he was not responsible for being late, assuring her that the blame rested squarely with his ex-wife. Her tardiness had always been an issue and was ultimately the reason why they divorced. That and the fact that after his brain injury, caused by a motorcycle accident - he had decided he wanted to live in an RV. Not because he couldn't afford it otherwise, he was quick to assert, but because he had longed for the simple life. His ex-wife was hung up on material possessions and had an unhealthy attachment to shallow, material things… like savings plans and investments.
Bringing her coffee cup to her lips, she blew lightly on the hot drink and wondered how long they had been sitting there. Taking a sip, she set the coffee down and glanced casually at her watch. Crap. It had only been fifteen minutes. Another fifteen to go and she could make a graceful exit. She often wished she could be mean-spirited and get up and walk out, but she couldn't help but reason that while these failed attempts at dating meant they weren't a match for her, it didn't mean they were less deserving of some basic respect.
While he continued to talk, she pushed her sunny blond hair behind her ear and leaned her head on the palm of her hand. Her eyes were a soft blue, and they looked kindly on the man in front of her.
"I'm telling you, the big companies want us to be tied down by debt," he was saying. "If everyone did what I'm doing, they would have a hard time sucking us dry the way they do."
"Uh-huh," Olivia said, nodding imperceptibly while looking over his shoulder and avoiding eye contact.
"I have my RV and I can go anywhere I want - nothing holds me down," he continued. "If I decide I want to see the mountains, I go. If I need some money, I work, and if I don't, I don't."
"Mmmm," with a lift of her chin, Olivia expressed neither agreement or disagreement, just an acknowledgment he had spoken.
Exactly fourteen minutes later, Olivia gently broke into his conversation, saying she was sorry, but she had to get going. She had mentioned when they set up the meeting that she had another commitment and couldn't stay longer than half an hour.
"Oh yeah, sure! No problem at all," he said. "So, I guess we'll be in touch then?"
"Sure, we can do that," Olivia responded with a smile as she quickly reached out her hand to shake his. She had learned this trick after being caught in an unexpected hug after another awkward coffee date. she was already composing in her head the let-down email that would say "Thanks, you are a lovely person, but I don't think we are a good fit." As she headed for the door,
The fresh air outside was welcome after the stuffy coffee shop, and she slipped into her car with a relieved sigh. As she waited for her phone to connect to her Bluetooth, she looked in the mirror to tie back her hair and check her makeup.
She couldn't wait to tell Terri about this one! One of Olivia's go-to friends when she wanted to debrief about the latest online dating bomb, Terry was a fellow single woman who understood how frustrating and discouraging dating could be in your thirties. Petite in stature but large in personality, Terri could always be counted on to have time to chat. Olivia could imagine Terri throwing back her head, light blonde hair cascading down her back as she laughed at Olivia's latest dating foibles.
As if her thoughts were a summons, the phone rang and Terri's number showed on the call display.
"Hi, Terri! I was just thinking about you!"
"So, how did it go?" her friend asked, effectively skipping any welcoming niceties.
"Wellllll, you know how I was pleased that he just asked to meet and didn't want to spend days and weeks chatting online first?"
"Yeah?"
"There was a reason why he wanted to meet right away. He was using a free computer in the local library to access his account because he lives in an RV," she explained.
"Oh no!" Terri exclaimed, trying to suppress her laughter.
"Oh yes, he is 'off the grid' most of the time and didn't want to fool around chatting online," Olivia said.
"You certainly haven't had the best of luck, have you?" Terri said.
"Nope. I thought the guy who wanted to sell me his book was a bad match, but this fella was even worse," Olivia said with a smile in her voice. "Can you imagine me deciding to live the simple life in an RV, going on and off the grid, depending on how paranoid I was feeling that day?"
"Oh no, not paranoid too?" Terri asked.
"Oh yes, not only are 'they' all out to get us, but all these power lines and the radiation from WiFi may have caused complications while healing from his brain surgery,"
"His WHAT?" Terri sputtered as she broke down, howling with laughter. "Where do you find these guys?"
Olivia asked herself precisely that as she drove home, making a mental list of dating disasters as she changed lanes. So far, she had met a man who wanted a mother for his six children, a young man who wanted a mother figure, another who worked an entry-level job and lived in his aging parent's basement and, of course, the guy who sold her his book at their first meeting.
She was 37 years old. Way too old for this she thought as she turned into her suburban subdivision. Having married young, she had her children and was divorced by her early thirties. Now, she lamented ever being able to find someone to spend the rest of her life with.
That night, after sending off a thanks-but-no-thanks message to her RV-loving coffee date, she slipped between the crisp, cool sheets of her bed. As she lay there looking up at the ceiling, she felt a deep sense of longing. It frustrated her because she had a great life. She worked at a job she loved and that gave her a sense of fulfillment, her kids were great, and she had some fantastic friends. Why was it that no matter how hard she tried, nothing filled the empty spot deep inside her that became so noticeable in the dark of the night? She tried to focus on the freedom her life gave her. She had the freedom to travel, to spend weekends in the mountains, she could watch any channel she wanted on the TV and fighting for the bed covers was never an issue.
Flopping onto her side, she punched the pillow next to her as though trying to force the negative emotions away.
~~~
"Hurry Up!" Olivia yelled down the stairs. "I'm not driving you if you miss your bus!"
The sounds of trudging teenagers coming up the stairs were the only answer she received. A moment later, grabbing their lunches and stuffing them into their backpacks, her boys filed out the front door with a mumbled goodbye flung in her direction.
Olivia looked at the clock and decided she had just enough time to check her messages online before she would need to be on the road. Sliding in behind her computer, she wiggled her mouse to activate her screen. Clicking on the browser icon, she quickly loaded up her Facebook profile. Seeing no messages needing a response, she moved on to the dating site she had found. There was a message from her coffee date from last night, insisting that she had not given him a chance. He assured her that he was going to be in town for another day or so if she changed her mind, and would check his emails from the library before he left.