softened
when she looked at him. Ah, young love, I thought, and I
was glad she had somebody who looked at her the way he
did.
My windbreaker was on a hook behind the door and I
grabbed it, then returned to the table. “If the dizziness
happens again, I want you to promise you’ll call me,” I
ordered her before kissing her on the cheek.
She patted mine in return. “Yes, dear.”
“Don’t yes, dear me. I mean it.”
“Yes, dear.” She winked at me and I shook my head.
92
Starting From Scratch
“Don’t let her give you too hard a time, Mr. D. She’s a
handful.”
“Don’t I know it,” he said with a twinkle in those eyes.
I took my leave and left them to be alone. As I walked
to my car, it occurred to me how mind-bogglingly strange
it was to realize I was jealous of my own grandmother’s
budding romance with a man closing in on ninety.
93
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I smiled at the laptop as I sat at the kitchen table and
clicked send. Once Josh had helped me get started with
initial e-mails to the three women I’d chosen, it had moved
rather comfortably as we tested the waters with each other
for the rest of that week. I was now conversing with all
three of them, still on a somewhat superficial basis. No real
names yet, not many personal details, just small talk.
DrCutie and I had discussed movies for several days
and we seemed to have similar tastes, including most
Scorcese films and anything that featured Susan Sarandon.
LilMinx was all about political causes, which I found
admirable, but I was trying to find a way to steer things to
other subjects so I could learn more about her. Pinot72 was
witty as hell and had me laughing out loud on more than
one occasion. It occurred to me that it might be
approaching time to exchange photographs, but I wasn’t
sure how to bring it up. And I wasn’t ready.
e situation—meaning online dating…or in this
case, sort of pre -dating—was such an odd thing and I was
sure Grandma would find it all very tedious (yet amusing).
It was like dating foreplay. You could chat somebody up,
but you couldn’t really go too far without seeing a picture
because, callous as it might have sounded, physical
appearance did mean something for most people. It
Georgia Beers
certainly did for me. I could find a woman to be
devastatingly charming on paper, but if she didn’t look
attractive to me, that was it. We had to have physical
chemistry or all the chatting in the world would be
nothing but a waste of time.
e worst part of it, at least for me, was the matter of
self-confidence. Yes, I wanted the women I was chatting
with to be attractive to me. Of course I did. But worse, and
more nerve-wracking, was the fact that I wanted to be
attractive to them. Just as I would pass judgment on their
looks, so would they do the same thing to me.
I hated to even think about it.
It was a cool Sunday afternoon and Steve and I were
enjoying a quiet day at home…my favorite kind. We’d
gone for a long walk in the morning, and Steve was now
crashed out on the couch in the living room.
I closed the laptop and stared out the window at a sky
the color of dull metal, wondering when it would rain.
Such weather seemed to cry out for warm chocolate
chip cookies, so I began pulling out the ingredients for
them. I’d only gotten as far as creaming the butter and
sugar together when a knock on the sliding glass door
scared the bejesus out of both me and Steve, who leapt off
the couch as if he’d been ejected from it and started
barking his head off.
ere, with his nose pressed against the glass, probably
hoping to be able to see inside, stood Max.
“Damn,” I muttered. So much for my relaxing Sunday
at home. Alone. Cruel as it sounded, I briefly entertained
the thought of ignoring him. But when Steve jumped at
the door and Max’s face lit up, I had no choice. I had to let
him in.
96
Starting From Scratch
“What are you doing
when she looked at him. Ah, young love, I thought, and I
was glad she had somebody who looked at her the way he
did.
My windbreaker was on a hook behind the door and I
grabbed it, then returned to the table. “If the dizziness
happens again, I want you to promise you’ll call me,” I
ordered her before kissing her on the cheek.
She patted mine in return. “Yes, dear.”
“Don’t yes, dear me. I mean it.”
“Yes, dear.” She winked at me and I shook my head.
92
Starting From Scratch
“Don’t let her give you too hard a time, Mr. D. She’s a
handful.”
“Don’t I know it,” he said with a twinkle in those eyes.
I took my leave and left them to be alone. As I walked
to my car, it occurred to me how mind-bogglingly strange
it was to realize I was jealous of my own grandmother’s
budding romance with a man closing in on ninety.
93
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I smiled at the laptop as I sat at the kitchen table and
clicked send. Once Josh had helped me get started with
initial e-mails to the three women I’d chosen, it had moved
rather comfortably as we tested the waters with each other
for the rest of that week. I was now conversing with all
three of them, still on a somewhat superficial basis. No real
names yet, not many personal details, just small talk.
DrCutie and I had discussed movies for several days
and we seemed to have similar tastes, including most
Scorcese films and anything that featured Susan Sarandon.
LilMinx was all about political causes, which I found
admirable, but I was trying to find a way to steer things to
other subjects so I could learn more about her. Pinot72 was
witty as hell and had me laughing out loud on more than
one occasion. It occurred to me that it might be
approaching time to exchange photographs, but I wasn’t
sure how to bring it up. And I wasn’t ready.
e situation—meaning online dating…or in this
case, sort of pre -dating—was such an odd thing and I was
sure Grandma would find it all very tedious (yet amusing).
It was like dating foreplay. You could chat somebody up,
but you couldn’t really go too far without seeing a picture
because, callous as it might have sounded, physical
appearance did mean something for most people. It
Georgia Beers
certainly did for me. I could find a woman to be
devastatingly charming on paper, but if she didn’t look
attractive to me, that was it. We had to have physical
chemistry or all the chatting in the world would be
nothing but a waste of time.
e worst part of it, at least for me, was the matter of
self-confidence. Yes, I wanted the women I was chatting
with to be attractive to me. Of course I did. But worse, and
more nerve-wracking, was the fact that I wanted to be
attractive to them. Just as I would pass judgment on their
looks, so would they do the same thing to me.
I hated to even think about it.
It was a cool Sunday afternoon and Steve and I were
enjoying a quiet day at home…my favorite kind. We’d
gone for a long walk in the morning, and Steve was now
crashed out on the couch in the living room.
I closed the laptop and stared out the window at a sky
the color of dull metal, wondering when it would rain.
Such weather seemed to cry out for warm chocolate
chip cookies, so I began pulling out the ingredients for
them. I’d only gotten as far as creaming the butter and
sugar together when a knock on the sliding glass door
scared the bejesus out of both me and Steve, who leapt off
the couch as if he’d been ejected from it and started
barking his head off.
ere, with his nose pressed against the glass, probably
hoping to be able to see inside, stood Max.
“Damn,” I muttered. So much for my relaxing Sunday
at home. Alone. Cruel as it sounded, I briefly entertained
the thought of ignoring him. But when Steve jumped at
the door and Max’s face lit up, I had no choice. I had to let
him in.
96
Starting From Scratch
“What are you doing
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