First Base
Contemporary Romance; Online Dating; Silver Dating; Starting Over
The new matchmaking site promised something different. Graybuzz for 65 plus searchers.
It claimed to use AI to analyze not just biographical blurbs but also the pictures to most efficiently unite previously unmatched perfect pairs.
Len saw Dawn’s profile and was smitten if somewhat puzzled by the whims of the algorithm that matched them. She reportedly liked old movies which was right up his alley. But if he had to sum up her profile in a word it would be: horsehide. Everything was baseball. Pictures at ballparks. Souvenir pennants and bats. Logo T-shirts and mugs.
He had nothing against the national pastime. Played it as a boy. Still followed it, slightly, from a distance. But if he was honest, it played a very small if any role in his life and was conspicuously absent from his his online bio.
They met for coffee, chatted easily and the hours flew by. They talked about family, travel, exercise, medical matters of course along with funerals, de rigueur for their demographic. Even tiptoed around the twin rattlesnakes of politics and religion and came away without needing antivenin.
Finally, he addressed the elephant in the room. “It seems like the site has done a splendid job; we really are peas in a pod. I’m a little puzzled, though just how we matched. Thrilled but confused. You seem to be heavily involved in all things baseball.”
She looked surprised. “I thought the same for you. In that first picture you’re wearing a Yankee hat.”
“Well, we were in the city to see the revival of Sweet Charity on Broadway. It started pouring and I needed a hat to try to salvage my combover. I grabbed the first thing I could find from a street vendor.”
“I think you look very handsome there. And here. And your hair is quite lush. Wavy even.”
“Yeah, it’s wavy alright. Waving goodbye.”
“Hush, and that second picture. You are clearly in the stands at Yankee stadium.”
“Ah yes of course. We were there to see Pavarotti.”
“So, you don’t really love baseball?”
“I don’t mind it. I loved your pictures by the Lake in Cooperstown but because of the subject, not the scenery, or the Hall of Fame. “
She blushed. “I have a bit of a confession myself. I can take or leave it. It was Vern’s obsession, and I just rode along. I kept it in my write up because my girlfriend said men would like it. To be candid it is a bit like watching paint dry.”
He smiled with relief. “Well, I know you like old flicks. For what it’s worth one of my all timers is Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”
“1949. MGM. Directed by Busby Berkeley.”
“You weren’t kidding when you said you like the old standards.”
“Yes, when Vern nodded off during the ballgame telecast, I often would head up early to the bedroom and watch an oldie on Turner Classics.”
“Well, I love that one. Although the young Sinatra was never my fave.”
“Always looked slightly asthmatic.”
“And Gene Kelly always was too puffed up and ruddy and pleased with himself for my taste.”
“Like he’d just walked into the room on his hands.”
“To me the guy who makes that film, and On the Town for that matter, is…”
They spoke in unison, “Jules Munshin.”
They were silent after that for a long moment. Then she spoke. “I think this is going very well.”
He slid his hand into hers. “I agree. A fan of a certain type might even call it a home run.”
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I really liked the dialogue in this one! It had a nice flow did a good job of showing how the characters were relating with each other
Loved this line “Even tiptoed around the twin rattlesnakes of politics and religion and came away without needing antivenin”