"Hello Lindy! I am ready to come out of my hole. Can we meet for lunch today?"

"Of course. I was only giving you one more day before I broke down your door and dragged you out myself! Thanks for sparing us both that." Lindy laughed with relief at the sound of her best friend’s request. "I will meet you at 1:00 at LaTella’s. I am in the mood for some eggplant parmesan."

Sadie purposely arrived late, uncharacteristically not wanting to sit alone to wait for her friend. When she saw her friend, whom she has known since childhood, Sadie waved enthusiastically to her.

"Oh, Lindy," Sadie cried happily as she gave her friend a warm hug. "Thanks so much for meeting me. I could not take my own company another day. I finally convinced myself to soak in a hot bath this morning, and prepare to re-enter the world. I am so glad that I have you."

Lindy agreed that it was time for Sadie to end her self-imposed exile. "For heaven’s sake, Sadie. It was just a man. How could you let anyone affect you so?"

Sadie, who was usually very brash and sassy, whined, "I am not sure I can handle another broken heart. I think it is time for me to just play for a while. What is wrong with me that I fall for the same man over and over again?! The faces are different but nothing else about them is."

"So what attracted you to this one? How did you get so carried away so quickly, Sadie?" Lindy implored of her friend.

Sadie may have been down for the past week or so, yet now that she has finally got out, her excitement bubbled up, especially when it came time to talking about romance, even a failed one.

"Honestly, Lindy, it was so hard not to fall. We met in the airport. Remember when I flew to Chicago to break it off with Gary? Well, I had just given my seat up because the flight was overbooked, and the airlines offered me a free round trip ticket. Plus they put me on a direct flight later that day. I could not resist and there was no reason I needed to rush back. So, I was waiting for the shuttle to another terminal and suddenly, I heard a male voice comment, "I can tell that you are a very meticulous person."

I was the only other person standing there. I chuckled, knowing the real truth about me. I turned toward to him and asked, "Now, sir, how do you know that?"

"I can tell by the way you are putting your phone away in the case."

"’Now, that’s a line I’ve never heard before,’ and I flashed him a smile. We chatted for the next three hours. It turns out he had a whole story about why he was on the same plane to which I had been switched rather than having flown out the night before. He was so charming, and it seemed like fate that we had met, and that our seats were actually together on the flight.

We sat in the very last seat of the plane. He was on his way to Long Island for a charity event and happened to be carrying a cooler of mini pink champagne bottles, which he gladly shared with me. I had him laughing hysterically with stories of the men I had been dating. He proclaimed himself, ’the upgrade.’

Lindy, you can imagine how much fun I was having. By the time we landed in Boston, he had convinced me to accompany him to Long Island.

I can see that look, Lindy. It was not the champagne. I only drank two little bottles."

Recounting the Color

Sadie is sitting at LaTella’s restaurant with her lifelong friend, Lindy. She has just recounted how she met Karl, and is ready to relive the wonderful six week fantasy relationship.

"Lindy, why wouldn’t I go to Long Island with him? I had the time available, and what a great opportunity to get over Gary. You know, how hard that was for me to make that decision, and even though I did manage to go through ending things with Gary, it was still hard for me to do.

"I know Sadie, you struggled with that choice. But do you not see that you jumped from one hurtful relationship that, by the way, you jumped into so quickly, and it totally messed up your judgment in ending your marriage. But that’s another conversation, so I will let it be. But honestly, Sadie, you leaped from one situation into another without catching your breath!"

"Lindy. I see that now, but at the airport I wasn’t thinking about anything except how much I was enjoying Karl’s company. I did not go to Long Island with any ideas except that it would be a fun weekend. And, Lindy, it was! You know because I had told you all about it."

"Yes, Sadie, you did. You were on cloud nine, and honestly, I was happy and excited for you. I felt it was just what you needed. I also thought that you had enough sense to let it be just that, a good time. When you got back from Long Island, you had said good bye to Karl. You spoke to him on the phone a few times, and you seemed to have your wits about you. You went to visit him in Chicago, and the next thing I knew, you were in Florida, and I only heard from you here and there with snippets of the good times you were having. Actually you became euphoric and as the weeks went on, I heard less from you, until of course you crashed. So tell me, Sadie. What happened?"

"Long Island was so much fun as you know, and I really enjoyed his company. I stayed in the hotel room with him, and yet he was completely respectful of my desire to sleep on a separate bed. I enjoyed time alone while he was involved in the charity event, and I even participated a bit myself. We flew back to Boston, said good bye and he continued to Chicago where he lives. He called me regularly, and we had so much fun talking. He was such a cheer leader for me, encouraging me to explore my options of what to do with my life now.

Then one night, when we were talking, he invited me to come for a visit. He offered to put me up in a hotel. There was a dinner where he was being recognized for his volunteer work, and he wanted me to accompany him. You thought it was a good idea, if I remember correctly, Lindy."

"Yes, I did, Sadie. You were a bit apprehensive about going, and I actually did encourage you to go. I never imagined that you would stay there. I certainly did not anticipate Florida!"

"Ok. So, I met several of Karl’s friends at the Volunteer Recognition. They were so happy that he had met a woman that excited him. One woman, Carmen, pulled me aside, and told me how difficult his divorce had been. He was such a kind man and everyone loved him. His friends and family knew how devastated he was when his wife decided to leave him. The divorce had been finalized for six months, yet it had taken two years to resolve. In all of this time, he had not dated at all, although Carmen had tried to push many woman in front of him. She was so thrilled that I was there, and that he was happy.

"Lindy, my heart started to melt. I knew he had been through a painful divorce, but I had no idea that his inviting me there was a big deal. I also thought that it was time he was having fun with a woman.

Sadie Jackson, a fictional heroine, is back on the dating scene for the third time. After two trial marriages, she is bound and determined to get it right. She can be nauseatingly optimistic and enjoys recounting her dating experiences with humor and compassion. Follow her dating escapades in this work of fiction that will be updated on a regular basis.