My Matchmaker Moment

I went to one of my favorite bars last Friday night, which is significant because said bar is over an hour away from my humble abode, so it's not one that I frequent. Not that I frequent bars, of course.

At said bar, I was talking off and on throughout the evening to an older gentleman. We started out laughing about a guy who tried to pick me up with a line older than I am, and gradually progressed to talking about relationships, our respective failed marriages, and the sad state of courtship today.

During our last conversation, the music turned to a slow song. I watched out of the corner of my eye as a woman seated near us at the bar cast a few quick, sidelong glances at my oblivious new acquaintance. After a few moments, I couldn't resist leaning over to whisper in his ear that his lady friend wanted him to ask her to dance. He immediately looked doubtful and replied that she would never dance with him. At the same moment, the lady in question glanced furtively in our direction once again, and I almost laughed out loud as I assured him that, oh, yes, she most definitely would. He looked quickly and not quite furtively at her, and then back at me, and confided that he was "not much for dancing." I reminded him that he had two perfectly good feet, and not much more than that was required. Then I excused myself to step away, sit back, and watch.

For a minute, I didn't think it would happen. Then he turned around in his seat to shoot me a look that was somewhere between dumbfounded and terrified, and I responded with my best "what are you waiting for?" glare. Another long moment, a "what-the-hell" shrug, and my new friend FINALLY asked his probably-long-suffering lady friend to dance.

I watched them make their way to the dance floor, and flashed my friend a final thumbs-up before I headed for the door. I'll probably never know how it turned out, but I like to think that maybe I started something good.