Sushi and Shortcake

I have a date night.

That’s right—a date! With a red-hot, redhead from the “30-something Fun Chicks” book club. She was at the Bunko Babes night, and honestly, the only voice of reason and levity when the conversation turned to whether Madame X was a lesbian and going to start to date women. She, let’s call her Strawberry Shortcake, Shortcake for short, has a sister who is gay and thankfully injected some reality into things. Madame X claims she would NEVER go that route! But if you ask me, she’d do well to have another woman on her team helping set her straight. I don’t think men are patient or understanding enough for that level of emotional disaster. Truth is, neither gender is lining up at her door, but she continues to fantasize.

Anyway, aside from having a gay sister, she is cool because she kept the conversation humorous and relevant and when the mousy-psuedo-intellectual-annoying-never-shuts-up-about-therapy-and-how-both-her-and-fiance-are-finding-themselves girl spoke, she looked at her and said, “How old are you?” I immediately fell into friend infatuation. It was subtle, insinuating, and underhandedly witty…just my kind of insult.

We might go out for sushi, which pretty much means nirvana in date form. I can only hope that I don’t end up with seaweed stuck in my snaggle-tooth or a sneezing fit from excessive wasabi. How embarrassing that would be. I have been thinking about what to wear all week, not too nightclub or too mommy-mundane. I know, I am a big geek, but a girlfriend here would be such a blessing. I am on the phone and email with my girlfriends constantly, but you miss those faces, expressions and silences that say more than words sometimes.

The trouble is that finding just the right partner in crime is not easy and crucial to a fulfilling relationship. So, there might be a lot of dating in my future, if Shortcake doesn’t work out. The good news is that this matchmaking won’t hinge on sex—that can really throw a wrench into things. At least it will be purely plutonic everything will be based on assets above the shoulders.

Wish me luck, I hope I don’t get too nervous and tell too many dumb jokes or talk about my kids too much or just generally portray myself as a total moron. Other than those fears, I am really looking forward to my date. And hopefully, Shortcake and I will become fast friends or even better, good ones.