Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Author Extra for A Lie I Can Live With

A Lie I Can Live With is told from Otis' point of view, but wouldn't you like to know what was going through Garret's head the first time he saw Otis' profile on the dating site?

***
Garret plopped down into his computer chair, muscles still pinging from a
five mile run. First he checked emails, grimacing at his sister's good
natured, "So, are you bringing anyone to Thanksgiving dinner this year?" He
sighed. No, not last year, not this year, and he didn't hold out much hope
for next year either.

Refusing to give up just yet, he replied a non-committal, "We'll see." Fat
chance of finding anyone within the next few weeks, and not just anyone
would do. When Garret did finally take a man home to meet the folks, it'd be
the keeper of his dreams, Mr. Right, for he'd had it with Mr. Right Now.

After triaging his remaining emails, he logged on to GetaDate.com, the GLBT
dating site that he'd all but given up on after a year's fruitless search
for a good man. He scrolled through the list of perspective dates, who'd all
tagged his profile as "Interested." Huh. Only fifty today. Must be a slow
day.

One by one he discarded the profiles for various incompatibilities. "Done
him, and don't want to again," he commented to a potted geranium on his
desk, clicking on the "Not Interested" button that'd theoretically delete
that man's profile from his home page, knowing from experience he'd find the
same one added back next week.

He pulled up the next profile. "Lives in
Bangladesh. No hope there." The
plant seemed to droop its leaves in sympathy.

The next profile picture caught his eye until he read the "About Me" blurb,
recalling the date from hell a few weeks ago. "Damn, but that one was
shallow." Clicking the "Not Interested" button, he sing-songed, "And another
one bites the dust… "

About to log off and spend another lonely Sunday afternoon, he noticed a
message that said, "Hey there!" and clicked on the attached profile.

"Well, 'hey there,' yourself, handsome. Loves movies, microbreweries, and
anime conventions," he read. "I can live with that. And you cook!" Garret's
eyes shot from that nugget of knowledge back to the man's picture. His mouth
dropped open. "Oh, wow! I bet you hear this all the time, but you look like
Dr. Mack from Tennessee Trauma!" Could this guy possibly be for real?

More excited than he'd been for a long time, he dashed off a quick message:

Hey yourself! How in the world did I miss your profile? Did you only
recently join the site?

Though it went against his normal policy of taking things slow, he added:

I'd love to meet you.

He logged off and trotted into the bathroom to take a shower. As he stared
into the mirror at the face that had earned him the nickname "Adonis" in
college, he quietly whispered, "I wonder if this one will bother to look
past what I look like to see the real me."

2 comments:

  1. Oh Eden - I love it! This is so cool. Are we going to get more from this little world? They are so much fun.

    Sadonna

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  2. Thanks so much! A story about Adam moving in with Barry may be on the horizon, but nothing definitely planned yet. I've had a lot of fun with the boys though, and wish I could have worked the two Toms into this installment.

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