Favorite Dinosaur
“What was your favorite dinosaur as a kid?”
The restaurant atmosphere was lively, inviting, and warm. The unofficial dress code was fancy, and the couple at this particular table had followed it to the T. The lights around them were dimmed to set the mood, but the man and woman could still see each other across the table.
“Wait, is that seriously a question on your list?”
The couple had been set up by friends, meeting for a blind date. They had only spoken through text messaging before, so this was their first real chance to get to know each other. The man had a literal list of questions to ask, typed on the ‘notes’ app in his cell phone. They had gone through three of them, and the woman had no idea how many more there were.
“Yes, it is.”
“Is it important?”
“Every question on my list is important.”
She took a sip of her Chardonnay and thought for a moment. Did she have a favorite dinosaur as a kid? Was that something that people usually had?
Their waiter arrived and they both gave him their order. The man tutted at her choice of steak, but otherwise said nothing. When the waiter left, the man resumed his questioning.
“Surely you had a favorite dinosaur.”
“I honestly can’t think of one. I guess the pterodactyl,” she replied with the first one to come to mind, other than the obvious T-Rex.
The man’s face did not hide his disappointment, but he continued down his list of questions nonetheless.
“What is your favorite color?”
By the time the food arrived, they had gone through three more queries, and judging by the man’s facial expressions, the woman was failing his pop quiz. They ate in silence for the most part, though chatted a bit here and there about the quality of the food and the atmosphere of the restaurant itself. The woman loved it, the man not so much.
“It’s too dim here. I could hardly read the menu,” the man complained.
“I like the low light. It sets a romantic mood,” the woman countered.
The two finished their meals, and the waiter came back around to ask if they wanted dessert. They both agreed that they did. The woman ordered a slice of cherry cheesecake, and the man ordered tiramisu. Once the desserts arrived, they again ate them in silence. The woman felt disappointed in the date, but she didn’t let it show.
After dessert, the bill arrived. The woman expected to pay for her half, as it was a first date and a blind one at that. However, when the man insisted he pay the full bill, she was pleasantly surprised. For a date that hadn’t gone the greatest, she surely didn’t believe he would pick up the check. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.
The two gathered their items and made their way out of the nice restaurant. They stopped in the parking lot in order to say their goodbyes. The woman expected a hug or a kiss, and a simple goodbye. She did not, therefore, expect a grade on the quiz she had taken.
“I hate to say this, but you failed 65% of my questions. Your favorite color is a bland yellow. You couldn’t even name your favorite dinosaur and instead chose the very generic pterodactyl, which is, by the way, a reptile and not a dinosaur. I expected better, honestly. I had a nice meal, and the conversation wasn’t bad, but I don’t see a second date happening between us. Thank you for taking the time out of your night to meet me, though.” He kissed her on the forehead and left her standing there, flabbergasted and silent, as he walked towards his car.
She took a moment to realize that what had happened had, in fact, happened, then walked in the opposite direction towards her own vehicle. Once she got in, she picked up her cell phone, dialed a number, and waited for an answer.
“Danielle? You’re never going to believe what happened.”
