Amanda
arranged to meet her date in a wine bar and had a back-up plan with
her best friend Meg, in case he was not what she was hoping for. Meg
was to ring about an hour after they had met and depending on how it
was going, Amanda would have a brief chat or make excuses to leave
for an ill relative.
It was
Andrew Grey's profile picture that attracted her, more than the city
job, owning the boat or the promise of foreign travel. Of course,
many of the men on the site were handsome, wealthy and eligible, but
few posted a black and white photo, reminiscent of a 1940s film star.
None entreated 'try your own 50 shades of grey.'
They
shared a few cordial emails, finding out about each other and their
likes and dislikes. Both enjoyed French cinema and good wine, but
neither was fond of jazz or tabloid newspapers. Amanda didn't admit
she was frightened of sailing, thinking she may never even need to
explain if their first date didn't go well. And if it did, she'd
worry about that later.
So she
arranged to meet him, two attractive affluent young people having a
drink in a popular bar. What could be more normal? Amanda arrived a
few minutes late, glancing around to make sure she wasn't the first
to arrive.
Then
she saw him. Andrew looked just like his photo. He was very
handsome, with glossy hair parted and waved perfectly. He wore a
single-breasted suit, black, with a sharp white shirt and created
tie. There was a definite gleam in his eye and he was in soft focus.
He was also black and white in real life.
Amanda
doubted she would last until Meg's phone call let alone her sailing
confession when he turned to the side and she saw he was just 2 mm
thick and made of Kodak paper.
No comments:
Post a Comment