Jodi Klein - First Date Stories: Womens Romantic and Ridiculous Midlife Adventures

PRAISE FOR

First Date Stories

In First Date Stories, Jodi Klein shows that there are no bad first dates, only great lessons those looking for love can take with them on their next first datehopefully making it their last.

Melanie Notkin, author of OTHERHOOD: Modern Women
Finding a New Kind of Happiness

First Date Stories gives the caliber of experiences that one hopes for when selecting a book.... I absolutely loved this book and wholly appreciate the contributions that Jodi weaves into a fantastic anthology. Really well done.

Readers Favorite, 5-star review

Such an enjoyable book! While many seasoned daters can get frustrated with the process of finding a partner, Jodi Klein masterfully points out how each date provides us with valuable knowledge about ourselves, and gets us one step closer to finding enduring love.

Marisa T. Cohen, author of From First Kiss to Forever:
A Scientific Approach to Love

Copyright 2021 Jodi Klein

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, digital scanning, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please address She Writes Press.

Published 2021

Printed in the United States of America

Print ISBN: 978-1-64742-185-4

E-ISBN: 978-1-64742-187-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021906049

For information, address:

She Writes Press

1569 Solano Ave #546

Berkeley, CA 94707

She Writes Press is a division of SparkPoint Studio, LLC.

Book Design by Stacey Aaronson

All company and/or product names may be trade names, logos, trademarks, and/or registered trademarks and are the property of their respective owners.

Names, identifying characteristics, and locations have been changed to protect the privacy of certain individuals.

Ingrid Berman is a trademark of the Estate of Ingrid Bergman

Excerpt from The Day I Shot Cupid: Hello, My Name is Jennifer Love Hewitt and Im a Love-aholic by Jennifer Love Hewitt. Copyright 2010. Reprinted by permission of Hachette Books, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

New Faces reprinted by permission of The Joy Harris Literary Agency, Inc.

Excerpt from "New Face" from REVOLUTIONARY PETUNIAS & OTHER POEMS by Alice Walker. Copyright 1972, renewed 2000 by Alice Walker. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

To Michael, my Mr. Yes

H ow about we get something to eat? Brad asked as we left the independent bookstore where hed suggested we meet.

Sounds good to me, I responded, smiling. I was pleased that he looked like his Match.com photos and that his personal specsheight and eye colorwere as advertised. Id been on too many dates where the man who showed up wasnt true to the guy I previewed online. Brad didnt disappoint.

We strolled down Santa Cruz Avenue, chatting under the early afternoon sun. The conversation flowed nicely. We hit many of the first date standards: hometowns, jobs, weather, sports. I easily kept up with his gait and sensed a slight bounce in my step. It didnt matter that I had no idea where wed be eating. Id let my handsome six-foot companion surprise me.

As we approached the local grocery store, Brad veered off the sidewalk. I followed him across the parking lot and into the store, all the while wondering what he could possibly need to pick up. Was he running an errand on our date?

Brad headed directly to the deli counter. I watched him as he leaned down and surveyed the cornucopia of salads and other prepared food on display in the glass cooling case. He stood up and waved over one of the deli assistants. When she approached, he rested his pointer finger against the glass to direct her attention to the mound of premade food in front of him. I stood speechless, my eyes transfixed on Brads every move.

Can I taste the corn and chicken salad? he asked. The clerk handed him a small fork and one bite of salad in a plastic ramekin. He turned to me. What are you going to taste?

Uhhh... I glanced into the case. Ill try the lentil salad, I replied cautiously.

Shell have the lentil salad, Brad repeated to the grocery employee, in the familiar manner a man uses when hes ordering for his companion at a restaurant.

The plastic cup with its spoonful of salad remained untouched in my hand as I watched Brad taste his way through most of the items in the display case. I was baffled. Then it hit me: Hes taken me to the grocery stores deli counter to sample food for free for our first date!

Oh, Brad! This romantic deli counter outing was one of the more memorable first dates Ive been on. Im a seasoned dateran alumna of nearly four hundred dates. Dating for decades isnt something that people usually tout. But why not? Isnt it better to wait to meet the right partner than to divorce the wrong one? Many women who reach their thirty-fifth birthday single, or rejoin the dating scene later in life, know that finding enduring love can be tough. The hardest part isnt finding men to go out with. Thanks to that multitalented phone thats probably within arms reach of you right now, youre likely just one dating app and a series of swipes or thumb taps away from getting a flirtatious conversation going with some guy, somewhere.

But it is incredibly hard to find a man with whom you want to develop a fulfilling relationshipand its even more difficult to find a man with whom you want to build a life. I should know. I became a master at going on first dates.

The first date is where every relationship begins. The first date is all about detecting a spark, even just a hint of a connection. You may think youve sensed that spark from texts, e-mails, or calls between you and the man whos caught your eye, or from a virtual date that the two of you have had. But you cant be sure. Its only when youre with him in person that you can accurately detect whether or not theres chemistry. All your senses are activated, taking in his presence, level of energy, appearance, body language, and even his personal scent. Your mind is consciously, and subconsciously, in assessment mode.

Do I feel safe with him?

Does he seem nice?

How well does our conversation flow?

Do we have things in common?

Am I attracted to himhis personality, his looks?

Does he make me laugh?

Could I see myself kissing him?

Do I want to spend more time with him?

You get the idea. There are a series of questions that people answer for themselves during and after each date. And there are plenty of additional questions that we have to find the answers to for that first hello to evolve into a committed relationship.