The Date
Was this him? She glanced across the crowd with squinted eyes. She saw a tall guy with glasses and a brown, striped shirt heading her way. He was shorter than he seemed in the pictures, but he was holding flowers, so that made up for it.
His bio said he was a landscape architect. That was pretty cool, right? Her friends said it was promising. Although, her friends tended to sprinkle a little judgment into their opinions on her dates. One of them had the 6-6-6 rule; 6 figures, 6 feet, and, well, 6 inches.
This guy lied about one of those—hopefully, the others were true.
He finally spotted her and waved. When they got close enough, she opened her arms for a hug. The first meet-up was always the most awkward part of talking to someone. She’d get comfortable with someone on a texting level, but being face-to-face with them was so much more intimate. It was usually like they had to re-do their awkward opening lines all over again rather than start from the place of false comfort they thought they had built through their phones.
All of her fears of the first, awkward moment vanished the second he returned the hug. It was warm and comforting. It was not from the side or given by a man who considered her a stranger. It was the hug of an old friend. She was instantly relaxed.
With no hesitation, they dove into a conversation about their individual days. They had both met with friends for lunch, but he had to work later in the day, and she stayed home to clean her house. The conversation was easy.
They made their way to the restaurant they had decided on for dinner. He held the door for her which was either the sign of a gentleman or the sign of a guy who knows how to impress a first date. Either way, she appreciated it.
They discussed the menu like a couple that had been together for years. There was no trying to fill awkward silences or think of topics of conversation. They just lived in the moment with no hesitation in saying things like, “Eating cheese this late will destroy my stomach.” Or “$25 is WAY too much for a grilled chicken meal. Where could they possibly be getting these chickens from?!”
They laughed and shared a meal like this was something they had done dozens of times before.
He asked her about her family. He reiterated—an arguably annoying amount of times—how important family and “family values” were to him. She found this to be sincere, at first, but almost rehearsed after the third time he mentioned it. It was as if he really wanted her to know this about him, but he kept forgetting if he had already brought it up or not. She wondered if he had mentioned it on previous dates and got all of the conversations confused with each other. She knows that had happened to her a few times, so she silently forgave him.
When the night began to wind down, he asked her if he could drive her home. She had been dropped off earlier in the night and planned on using one of the various car services to get herself home.
“Oh wow, that’s so nice of you to offer.” She said while shuffling through a mental pros and cons list of accepting this ride.
He seemed safe enough. She wouldn’t normally want a first date to know where she lived, but for some reason, this one made her feel so comfortable that she felt she could trust him. She wouldn’t let him inside of her house, of course. She’d just be dropped off and leave it at that.
“Alright, let’s do it. But if you think you’re getting’ some, you have another thing comin’.” She said with a smile.
He laughed and they began the journey to his car.
They discussed and listened to various types of music as they drove. When they finally arrived at her house, they were on the subject of art. She explained that she was somewhat a collector of unique art. It was always her favorite souvenir to bring home from her vacations. He told her he’d love to see her collection, sometime, and so, she went against her usual rules and asked him if he’d like to come inside.
The rest of the night was one for the history books.
They discussed their similar childhoods and values. They laughed and talked like friends who had known each other a lifetime. At the end of the night, he leaned over and kissed her.
She felt all of the blood in her body fall from her head to her toes. Miniature fireworks shot off in her chest. It was a kiss like nothing she had had in years.
After he left, they made a promise to each other to meet up again, soon. She already couldn’t wait for that day.
They spent the next few days messaging back and forth. He wasn’t as responsive as he had been on the days before their first meet-up. She figured this was because of the grueling hours he worked. She decided on day 4—post-best first date of her life—to look him up online. She knows she should have done this first, but she dove so quickly into conversation with him that she figured she didn’t need to verify his identity. Plus, he turned out to be who he said he was, so she didn’t really need to look him up now, either—but she wanted to.
She couldn’t find him on Instagram or Facebook, so she tried typing his name into google. That’s when time came to a screeching halt.
She found an obituary for this exact man with the exact same photo he had used for his dating profile dated March 9th of the year prior. That was almost a year ago, at this point. An obituary? No way, she thought.
She clicked on the obituary link and read it. Every word was exactly as he had described himself. Whoever wrote this obituary clearly knew him to a T. It mentioned his favorite sports and TV shows. It described the type of relationships he had with his siblings. It even mentioned his family dog—who he would NOT stop talking about.
She stared at her computer, mouth wide open in disbelief for so long, she began to drool. She whipped her phone out, snapped a picture, and sent it to her “ghost” Tinder date.
Her phone buzzed back at her almost immediately.
“What the hell is that?” He wrote.
“You tell me, I found it online.” She wrote back.
“Are you fucking joking? That’s so fucked up, where did you find it?”
She shared the link with him and paced around her kitchen. Who was this guy? Was this some sick joke? That is a recipe for bad karma, she thought.
She sat back down at the table and put her head in her hands. Her roommate walked in after a few minutes of this and asked her what was wrong. She showed her roommate the photo and explained the crazy situation.
“Call that bastard.” Her roommate barked. “There’s no way he doesn’t know about that, it’s fucking crazy.”
She pulled his number up and pressed the green call symbol. He answered on the second ring.
“Don’t tell him he’s on speaker.” The roommate whispered.
“Hey, so… what the hell is this obituary thing?” She asked into the phone.
“I honestly have no idea. I tried contacting the website to find out who posted it, so we’ll see if I get a response. That’s so crazy. It even describes me so well.” He sounded anxious. “I don’t know, but can I call you back? I need to call my parents or something about this and see what they may know.”
He hung up quick, and she put her phone down. She looked up at her roommate.
“He sounds genuinely confused. Maybe it’s really just some fucked up prank or something that he didn’t even know was played on him.” She shrugged her shoulders and looked back down at her phone.
Her roommate looked at her with a tilted head and furrowed eyebrows. “Girl, are you okay? Am I missing something?”
She looked up at her roommate confused. “What?” She asked.
“Did you think someone answered the phone just now?” Her roommate took a step away from her and crossed her arms
“Um, yeah, Adam did. Didn’t you hear him? He said he has no idea what’s going on. He’s gonna contact the website and see if they know anything.” She was growing annoyed.
“Girl, that phone just rang 7 times and then dropped. No one picked it up. Are you messing with me?” Her roommate began to laugh in amazement. “You’re fucking with me. Get out of here.” She said as she turned to grab a cup from a cabinet.
“What? Did you not hear him? I think YOU need hearing aids or something. He literally explained everything and then rushed off the phone. Are YOU messing with ME?” She began laughing, as well.
Her roommate turned off the sink faucet she was using to fill her cup with water. She put one hand on her hip and lowered her eyebrows once more. “You’re on something, girl. But if you figure out whats going on with obituary boy, let me know.” Then, she walked off.
What the whole hell was that, she thought. She turned back to her phone and saw Adam’s name and number once more. Just out of curiosity, she clicked on the phone log to see what time he answered and how long they spoke for. The phone log said “Outgoing Call” with no pick up time.
That can’t be right, she thought. She swiped to his number and called him again.
“Hey, what’s up? I haven’t finished trying my parents, yet, but I promise, I’m gonna see what’s going on and let you know.” He sputtered frantically.
“No, it’s totally fine, I’m sorry, I just... It’s funny and hard to explain, I think my roommate is fucking with me. I just wanted to call you and hear your voice. I don’t mean to put this obit thing on you—I thought it was some kind of sick joke or something, like maybe you made it up to get out of another first date at some point or something.” She giggled into the phone.
He laughed back, “No, absolutely not. This is so fucking weird. I am so glad you found it instead of another family member or a potential job, you know? This needs to be taken care of now before it really messes with my life, so thank you for sending it to me.”
Relief washed over her as she heard his comforting words. He was such a good guy—the best guy. She couldn’t believe she was lucky enough to find him.
The conversation ended with them deciding to go on another date that night to get drinks. They both needed it after this day.
Her roommate didn’t say another word to her all day about their awkward interaction earlier. When it was time for the date, she called an Uber in the hopes that Adam would offer to take her home once more.
She got to the bar, first. She told the hostess that someone would be joining her, and she sat down. He eventually showed up, once again, flowers in hand, and a warm, wonderful smile on his face.
She let the chills send a blush to her cheeks and smiled back. He sat with her, and they talked all night. There wasn’t much mention of the obituary other than him explaining that he would ask his parents about it when they got back to him. Once she was in person with him and his sharp, blue eyes, she had almost forgotten about the obituary all together.
The night came to an end, and, just as she suspected, he offered to take her home. She told him she would use the restroom first and be right back. He smiled and nodded.
She adjusted her makeup in the bathroom before exiting. Tonight was the night. She knew him, she liked him, she trusted him, and she was ready.
She stepped out of the bathroom and made her way back to the bar. Before she got back to her seat, she glanced up and saw two empty chairs where she and Adam were just sitting. That was weird. She glanced around thinking maybe she just passed him on the way to the bathroom. He probably went in at the same time she did.
She sat there waiting for a few minutes before deciding to check outside. Maybe he thought she would meet him out there, she thought. She walked past the hostess before stopping and asking if she had seen a gentleman matching Adam’s description leave. The hostess responded,
“Is that the gentleman you were waiting on?”
“Yeah, the one I was sitting at the bar with.”
The hostess looked confused. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you sitting with anyone. I’ve been waiting, actually, for the guy you said was going to join you, but no one has come, yet.”
She looked at the hostess sideways and then looked out the door to the sidewalk. “Um, I’m just gonna check and see if he’s out here.” She said dismissively before squeezing past the woman and exiting the bar.
She grabbed her phone and called Adam. He picked up right away.
“You calling me from the bathroom?” He asked before she could speak.
“No, I’m outside the bar looking for you, where did you go?” She glanced to either side of the building searching for him.
“I’m sitting at the bar, still. Why did you go outside?” He sounded concerned.
She dropped her arm with the phone in it to her side and looked in through the window of the building. There he was. Sitting at the bar in the exact spot she had seen him minutes before.
“Holy shit,” she whispered to herself. She raised the phone back to her ear, “That’s so crazy, I swear you were just gone from that spot. Did you leave at any time while I was in the bathroom?”
He said no and asked her to come back inside.
When she entered through the doorway, she looked at Adam before turning to the hostess and saying, “That’s the guy I was talking about.” Her and the hostess turned their heads to the direction of the bar to find that, once again, the seats were empty.
Her mouth fell open and her face became hot with embarrassment. The hostess looked at her and then back at the seating chart at her stand.
She walked back to her original seat and called Adam once more. This time, there was no answer. There was no answer for the rest of the night.
She ended up getting herself a ride home. She didn’t understand what happened. The date went so well. They had so much chemistry. It really didn’t feel like it was all one-sided, but obviously, it had to be. She thought back on and replayed her responses to everything they had discussed. Did she say something wrong? Why would he just ditch her at the end of the night? She couldn’t make sense of the whole situation. How did that hostess not see him at any point? Why was everyone making her question reality today?
She got home, and, once again, time slowed down.
There he was. He was standing on the sidewalk that lead to her front door. He was smiling and holding the same flowers from before. She got out of the car, thanked the driver, and approached him with crossed arms.
“Well, well, well. Who do we have here?”
“What is that stance for? You’re the one who left me at the bar!” He said as a light-hearted accusation.
“I’m sorry, what?!” She walked toward him. “Are you crazy?! YOU left ME. I literally saw you in the window after I called, I came in, and you were gone. I sat there waiting for you for like 20 minutes before I finally left. That host thinks I’m a nut-job. Pretty sure I can never go back there.” She started to laugh. She realized that it didn’t matter how either of them got here, she was just so happy to see that he was, in fact, here.
They discussed it some more as they argued about timing and locations, but they eventually went inside and had the night that she had been excited to have for days.
The next day, after he left, she sat down at the kitchen table to eat her breakfast. Her roommate came in and asked her how her night was. She told her all about the date and the bar mix up. She started to tell her about how she really, truly liked this guy when her roommate interrupted her.
“Wait, you’re not still talking about obituary guy, are you?”
“Well, yeah, his name is Adam. The obit thing is just a weird thing, I promise, he’s normal and not like a serial killer or something.” She laughed and took another bite of her cereal.
“Wait, so you’ve met him in person?” Her roommate was staring her dead in the eyes, now.
“Yeah, we’ve been on a couple of dates, now. He’s really cool, I swear, you’ll like him.” Just imagining his face in her head made her feel warm all over.
“Girl, I don’t know what is going on, but I did some more research last night on that dude you showed me the obit for, and I actually found this video. And just so you know, this isn’t made up, I messaged this girl and she said it’s all real.” Her roommate pulled her phone out and turned it sideways to show her.
Oh geez, what’s this gonna be? She thought.
The video began to play, and a news caster showed up in the center of the screen. She had the cadence and baritone of most of the people on local news. She started off by saying, “It’s been a cold and tragic end to winter, here in Ohio, as a young man’s like was taken, tragically, in a twist of fate.” The woman went on with just about as much emotion as one might have durong an explanation of how to correctly fold laundry.
The woman said that Adam Tempers was struck by a car in the downtown area on his way to a local restaurant for a date. He had been carrying flowers, at the time, and because they scattered across the corner of the sidewalk where he was hit, many of his family members and friends were laying flowers of their own in the same area to commemorate him.
She felt chills spill out of her head and down her back. What the fuck was this? The pictures shown on the screen were that of the guy she had been out with the night before.
“You said you contacted a girl? Like, the news caster lady?” She asked her roommate.
“Yup. Found her on the W24 News website. I wanted to make sure this wasn’t made up.” Her roommate was looking at her with pity, now. Did she pity her because she kind of just got broken up with, or because she thought she was losing it? Just that thought alone made her realize she was, in fact, losing it.
“Listen, I don’t know what kind of doppelganger joke or what this dude is pulling on you, maybe he stole this guy’s identity ot something. Either way, you need to ghost him asap. I can’t believe he knows where we live!” Her roommate was pacing, now.
“Oh my god, I don’t even know what to say. I just need to go.” She got up from the table, leaving her cereal bowl behind—something that would actively piss off her roommate—and she went to her room.
She tried to comprehend what this meant. Was her roommate right? Did this guy look enough like that Adam that he stole his identity? Or had he just maybe done something so awful that he faked his own death?
Either way, this relationship seemed like it had to end. Something was messed up, here, and clearly, she wasn’t going to get the answers she wanted. She really, really like him, though. She would actually miss him.
She pulled out her phone and blocked his number. Then, she went to the dating site and reported his profile as a scam.
Weeks later, she was driving through downtown when she saw Adam again. He was standing on the corner of an intersection, in his same, usual casual wear, with the same, yellow flowers. She all but slammed on her breaks at this sight. She recognized this intersection, but it took her a few seconds to realize it was the one the newscaster had been broadcasting from in that crazy video her roommate had shown her.
What a coincidence that ahe would catch this loser right at the location that that other poor guy had died. Did he even realize how heartless that was to be in that spot with flowers just like the one that poor kid had had?
Her phone vibrated, and she glanced at the screen. It was a message feom Tinder explaining that the profile she had reported had not been active foe over a year.
Her whole body fell into chills as she slammed on her breaks and pulled over by the sidewalk. She looked in her rearview mirror to see Adam still standing in the same spot. She got out of her car and began walking toward him. Before he could turn around to see her, she saw the memorial in the grass to the left of the light pole he was leaning against. It had his picture with “drive carefully” written underneath. She stopped in her tracks, looked up where Adam had been standing, and he was gone.
Holy shit, she thought. I’ve been ghosted.
