was his seeing eye dog nice at least?

She had been anxious all day, so much so that she couldn’t concentrate. Liz had been waiting for this day, this date, for three weeks. Although skeptical, she was hopeful. He was supposed to be a good one at the very least. A few years older, a great job, good personality, looks to match…. that was how Chris had described him. Oh, and a few other things – very tall, originally from Wisconsin (I suppose nobody’s perfect…), and he had two requirements for his prospective other: 1) she can’t be high-maintenance, and 2) she must enjoy going outdoors and being active. From this description, what girl wouldn’t think this was a good catch?
Ah, but there always is a catch, isn’t there? This down-to-earth guy was currently being down to earth elsewhere – he was away on a business trip. The date would have to wait. This didn’t bother Liz, she had work and friends enough to pass the time. But those three weeks left an awful lot of time for imagining – what they would talk about, where they might meet for their first date, what he would look like….
But the day had finally come. Despite her nervousness during the day, when 6 o’clock came by, Liz felt confident and prepared for a wonderful evening out. The call came right at 6 (punctual, very good sign). He asked if she’d like to meet for dinner that evening (well, that was the plan they'd discussed last week, right?) and if meeting at the Chipotle in town would be alright (Chipotle? Huh. Not exactly the evening out her skirt and heels outfit had planned on all day at work). They settled on Panera. Liz ditched the heels and pulled on a pair on clunky sandals. She sized them up in the mirror. (ugh) There was nothing to be done about it, she wouldn’t survive the 6 block walk in those 3-inch foot-daggers. She was out of time anyway. This was it! The wait was over…

Liz had no trouble recognizing Benjamin when he strolled into the Panera. He was easily the tallest person within a five-mile radius.

TBC