
βI donβt know what to do.β Nan blew on her coffee and took a sip before looking up at her best friend of nearly forty years. βHis profile seems nice, but I got kind of a bad vibe from him at the coffee shop yesterday.β
βI hear you hon. Itβs hard to get back out there. But Jimβs been gone four years now. Itβs time to start living again. Just maybe not with this guy?β
βBut maybe Iβm just misinterpreting. Itβs not actually anything he said. More just a feeling. Maybe Iβm just nervous.β
βRemember when Rod asked you out in high school? You werenβt too sure about him, but I convinced you to give him a chance.β
βI remember.β
βRemember how that turned out?
Nan laughed. βOh boy, do I. He was such a creep.β
βAnd remember how I felt about Jim?β
βYou told me to find someone more interesting.β
βAnd I couldnβt have been more wrong. You have good instincts, Nan. If something feels off about this guy, close the book and pick up another one. Trust yourself. Iβm betting dollars to donuts youβre right about him.β
Nanβs shoulders relaxed, releasing the anxiety she had been feeling since yesterdayβs βdate.β
βWhich brings me to something else,β Lana said, grinning that smile that always preceded some kind of revelation. βBertieβs back in town.β
βBertie?β Nan sat up a little straighter. βWhatβs he doing here?β
Nan had had a huge crush on Lanaβs older brother when they were kids. He had taken a job out west and had rarely been home since. His wife had died around the same time as Jim. Lana had said he hadnβt dated since either.
βHe decided to transfer home. Mom and Dad are pretty frail these days. He wants to be closer.β
βThat will be nice for them.β Nan raised her cup to her lips.
βI set up a date with him for you tomorrow night.β
Nanβs coffee spewed across the table.
What do you think? Lana has just made the point that Nanβs instincts are better than her own. Will the date she set up with her brother work out?
It will be interesting. Even though she hasn't seen him for years, she knows him and she sat up to take notice. If nothing else, they'll be good friends but I bet it will be fun to find out and to renew an old acquaintance. Yes.
π€£ I like to think it will work out. Fun story.