First Date Jitters

Taylor had butterflies in her stomach as she walked to the corner coffee shop downtown. She hadn’t been on a first date in years, and the anticipation was almost too much for her 24 year-old, single-mom-of-a-toddler brain to handle. But she had come too far to turn back now. She was running late, and would be surprised if her blind date wasn’t already waiting for her. They’d been set up by a mutual acquaintance that Taylor knew from work. Even if it was just a free cup of coffee, she would take an evening away, talk to an actual adult, and potentially stay up past her 9pm bedtime.

Sure enough, as she opened the door she saw a guy with dark hair and eyes, sweating in the back corner. He gave a nervous wave as they made eye contact. Not bad, she thought. He’s wearing jeans and a nice shirt, and you can tell he works out. For first impressions, he was already a step up from her baby daddy.

Taylor took her seat across from Kevin and tried to calm her nerves. “Hey,” she began shyly.

“Hey,” he countered, equally as nervous.

Her leg shook under the table and she wondered if he could feel the whole table shake along with it. She took a few deep breaths and tried to concentrate on what he was saying. He seemed more nervous than her, which made him seem sweet, vulnerable even. She noticed him watching the door, and looking around, not meeting her eyes. He must not date much either, she thought to herself.

They were deep into a conversation about favorite movies when a nearby waitress dropped a whole tray of coffee mugs. It startled everyone, but Kevin literally jumped from his seat, as if about to run away.

“It’s ok,” Taylor said half laughing, “it was just some dishes. Are you always this jumpy?”

“Oh, uh, no, sorry. I’m just..” he continued looking around the room and at the door. “Sorry, it just startled me. I promise, I’m normally not jumpy, just nervous I guess. You’re very pretty,” he said as he took his seat and looked down bashfully.

Taylor was taken back. They hadn’t really been flirting at all, so it seemed to come out of the blue. “Oh,” she blushed, “thank you. You’re not too hard on the eyes either,” she smiled.

An awkward silence fell upon the table like a block of concrete. Taylor was grasping at straws to come up with something, anything, to generate conversation. “What’s your bracelet?” she blurted out, foolishly pointing at his wrist, as if he didn't know where a bracelet would be.

“Oh, uh, it’s a Cancer awareness fundraiser thing at work. I actually bought 2, but must have lost one.”

He didn’t give any further context, nor try to spark any new conversation, and it annoyed her that he was still looking around as if he was expecting someone better to walk through the cafe doors any second. He’s probably married or something. I sure can pick ‘em.

It seemed they had both given up forcing conversation. So, when Kevin looked at his watch again, Taylor did the same. “Oh goodness, I should really be getting back. The sitter wasn’t available to stay late tonight,” Taylor explained.

Kevin walked her to his car and offered her a ride home, but it was still nice outside, and she wanted to enjoy a little more quiet time before going home. Not to mention, she wasn’t planning on a second date, so she’d rather him not know where she lived.

Taylor decided to take the long way home. She normally didn’t walk this way after dark because there were fewer street lights, but it was a Saturday night, and there were still a lot of people downtown, visiting the local pubs and restaurants. She suddenly had a burst of relief that she had only agreed to coffee with Kevin. She didn’t think they would have survived a whole meal. She passed an elderly couple holding hands, walking in the opposite direction, and found herself smiling. Although the date didn’t go as well as she’d hoped, she was “getting back out there”, as they say, and it felt good to begin this part of the healing process. Her previous relationships had not been great, so she was determined to be more selective about who she let in. She had her daughter to think of after all, and didn’t want any unseemly characters within their circle.

As she rounded the corner she caught a glimpse of something shiny out of the corner of her eye. She was leary of the bold raccoons in the area and thought it could be their beady little eyes searching for scraps along Main street. However, as she looked, the reflection wasn’t moving. It was still. She looked closer and saw that the shiny thing was attached to a body. An unmoving body, partially covered by bushes and leaves in a corner chapel lawn.

Her piercing scream broke the silence of the warm, autumn night. Some diners at a nearby patio bar looked in her direction. When she screamed a 2nd time, a couple of guys hopped the patio fence and ran to her. “What’s wrong?” a man shouted.

Taylor couldn’t speak. She simply pointed with a shaking hand toward the still body.

“Holy shit,” the 2nd man said as his hand went to his hair. “Someone call 911. Now,” he shouted toward the bar.

What seemed like hours later, but was really only 10 minutes, police arrived and blocked off the scene. They questioned Taylor about her evening and how she discovered the body. It was obvious she was in shock when she gave too much detail about her date.

“Let’s focus on after you left the cafe, can we?” suggested Officer Evans.

“Oh, yeah, right,” sputtered Taylor.

She had been talking to the officer for several minutes when another detective waved him toward the scene.

“Wait here,” Officer Evans told her. “I may have more questions for you.”

Taylor continued to sit in the front of the cruiser with her legs sticking out the open door. At some point someone had brought her a bottle of water. She sipped slowly and zoned out while she waited.

A few moments later Officer Evans came back to the cruiser holding a small evidence bag.

“Where did that come from?” Taylor asked, pointing at the bag.

“It’s an evidence bag. Give me a moment to log this and I’ll be right with you. I know you’re probably in a hurry to get home,” he replied.

“No, the thing in the bag. Where was it?” she asked with a shaky voice.

“It was near the body. Why? Does it look familiar?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed.

The clear evidence bag held a bright pink, cloth bracelet.

“They were selling them at work, some kind of Cancer fundraiser. I actually bought 2, must have lost one.”

His nervousness all night. Watching the door, looking around, jumping when the dishes crashed. It made more sense now.

“Yes,” Taylor said, meeting Officer Evans’ eyes. “It looks very familiar.”