“Hi, Melissa! Any chance you can help me get off Tinder and save me some misery?”

It was a Sunday afternoon when I received this message in my Tinder inbox.  I attempted to dissect where he was inserting the misery. Was the misery caused by being single especially during the holidays? Or could the misery stem from having to use Tinder to find dates at 37 years old? 

Isaac’s dating profile sparked enough of my interest to embrace the saying, misery loves company, and pencil in a Thursday night date. 

After revealing my grandma hand and sharing my love for quiet peaceful coffee shops as opposed to the bar scene for an ideal first date, Issac understood the assignment. He suggested a coffee shop called Common Grounds in Greensboro and set the time for 7 PM. This coffee shop would be a first time visit for the both of us. 

As I showered on Thursday, the thought of a coffee shop, other than a Starbucks of course, being open at 7 PM confused me a bit. It seemed odd, but I took comfort in the assumption that it would be a crowd free and cozy encounter. Boy, was I wrong.

There I was (actually on time!) muscling my way through a group of college age students with Issac by my side to order a latte called the Robin Williams from a barista with Grinch green hair and several face piercings. Suddenly I was transported back to the past, say about 18 years ago, in a world of open mic, open mouth tongue kissing, vape using (replacing cigarette smoking from my day), midriff shirt wearing college life.

 After awkwardly standing among the young crowd, seats finally opened up on a red couch pushed up against the front window. Issac jumped at the chance to mingle with the younger crowd, as I made people watching my hobby for the night. The artsy decor, eclectic mix of people, and rap music coming from the open mic stage, sent my date expectations wildly off course. 

As time shifted, I accepted the fact that I was a part of the college crowd from nearby UNC for the night and allowed Issac to order me a Narragansett beer in a can. We laughed and enjoyed the interesting mix of local artists that were accepted by the crowd regardless of their talent level.  I helped edit a college student’s paper while Issac used nature’s restroom to beat the line. Somehow we managed to fit into the crowd despite the near 20 year age gap between us and them. 

As the night ended and  I slipped my way into my jeep to escape the cold night air, Issac mouthed the words, “ I’ll have my people get in touch with your people.” I laughed and embraced the unexpected opportunity to trade in the stresses of a ticking time clock for an open mic night and a can of Narragansett.