Compare and Contrast

Story Sent in by Tony:

I asked Nora out over a dating site.  She informed me that she was just "dipping her toes" into the dating pool after a bad breakup.  I told her that I didn't have any expectations, and that we didn't have to meet up if she wasn't ready.  She wrote back at once that she was interested, and even suggested a time and place.

The time and place was a Friday evening at a sports bar.  I met her there, we sat down, and I ordered us drinks.  All seemed well, and her behavior didn't give me any clue that something unexpected was going to happen.

Something unexpected did happen, though, about 20 minutes after we had arrived.  A tall, tired-looking, sandy-haired guy walked right up to our table and said to Nora, "Hey.  What's up?"

She stood up, hugged him, and at once it was as if I wasn't there at all.  He pointed to the bar and asked her, "Can I get you a drink?"

She hadn't touched her drink that I had bought her, but she followed this guy to the bar, they sat down on stools, and slid right into close-quarter conversation.

I sipped at my drink, in the meantime, wondering if it was worth it to go over and talk to her.  I didn't know who this new guy was, but regardless, her disregard for me was disrespectful, at best.  I went over to her with her drink and asked, "Hey Nora, are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

She said to me, "This is Franklin."  I shook hands with Franklin and said, "Nora and I were in the middle of a date.  Is everything all right?"

Nora gave a short gasp and looked at Franklin.  He opened his mouth in what looked like shock, and stood up.  He said to her, "You told me he was just a friend, but it looks like you've already moved on."  He turned to me, said, "Nice meeting you.  Enjoy," and left us there.

"No…" Nora whispered as he left.  She then turned to me, and she wasn't pleased.  "You ruined it.  I can't believe this.  You just messed up everything."

I asked, "Was that your ex?  You invited us both out to the same place?  Why?"

She said, "I wanted to see who I was happier with, and it was him, for sure."  It seemed as though she was barely holding back tears.

I said, "Well, enjoy your drink.  Goodnight."

At that, she downed her drink all at once and walked out of the place, ahead of me.  The evening could've been a total loss, but I stuck around, joined a team trivia game, and ended up coming in second place with a cash prize, so I made more than my money back, as far as the drinks were concerned.