"I met a guy," Ella said. "A really great guy."
"Did you now?" Elizabeth said. "That's news. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"
"Yes it has. But the moment we were introduced, it just felt right. Instant connection."
"What's his name?"
"Max."
"And how did you meet Max?"
"I met him at a friend's house. We clicked immediately, we talked for hours that first night."
"And when was this?"
"A week-and-a-half ago. Then the next day he called to ask me out and we talked for a few more hours. Everyday since. I've never felt so close to someone this fast. It seems so natural, it's scary."
Elizabeth had been Ella's therapist for a number of years. The sessions began after Ella lost her mother, to whom she was very close, as a teenager. The sessions helped her through her grief. Then several years later her father got remarried to a much younger woman, which was another major adjustment, and then less than two years after that he dropped dead of a heart attack. Ella had leaned on Elizabeth through all of it.
"So," Elizabeth continued. "Go on."
"We've talked constantly. I've never been able to talk to a man like this. It's like a drug, something I didn't think was possible. We've only had one real date since we first met."
"So it was a good date?"
"Oh yes, very good."
"How so?"
"I went to bed with him. We fucked our brains out."
"Wow, Ella, that's a surprise. That was pretty quick, wasn't it?"
"I know. We didn't plan on it. It kind of happened by accident. We were having a good time, it felt natural, we just went with it."
"Have you talked to Hannah about this?"
"Yes, I saw her Saturday night. Told her everything. She's cool."
"She's cool? You're sure about that?"
"Yeah, we knew this time would come at some point. She's going to meet him this weekend."
--
Max and Ella met at a party at the home of a mutual friend. When they were introduced and their eyes first met, things changed for both of them, and they both sensed it. Their reactors ignited, their rods heated up and the chain reaction was underway.
Ella had the look Max was often drawn to: Shoulder-length brown bob surrounding her high cheekbones, smooth creamy face, and a lean, toned body. And she felt the same, was immediately attracted to him, his blond hair, warm smile and tall, athletic frame.
But it was their conversation that was the glue. They spent the rest of the party together, talking for several hours about anything and everything, in a province of their own making, ignoring the guests coming and going around them, until the party started breaking up. Max walked Ella to her car. They talked another twenty minutes standing there, exchanged phone numbers. He said he'd call her the next day and kissed her goodnight. They felt like they'd found magic in a bottle.
When Max called her, the stream-of-consciousness conversation picked up right where it had left off. They talked for two hours before he asked her out to dinner for Saturday night. Ella said she would love to, but would Friday be okay instead? She and her stepmother had tickets to the theater Saturday night. They agreed that Friday would be fine.
Both were happy and anxious when Friday evening arrived. Max picked her up and thought she looked stunning in her silky, brown leopard jumpsuit with her tanned arms and shoulders exposed. He took her to a popular seafood restaurant and they were seated on the deck overlooking the town dock. They drank beer from a pitcher and munched on an appetizer while they talked and watched the boaters come and go.
Dinner was served, broiled platters, along with another pitcher, and the nonstop conversation continued as the sun went down. They ordered after-dinner drinks.
A couple from a nearby table asked them if they would mind taking their picture. Ella obliged, hopped up and snapped a couple shots with their smart phone. Then Max held out his own phone and asked if they would return the favor, which of course they did.
They looked at their photo together. It wasn't too bad for an impromptu moment on a first date.
"Well, would you look at this handsome couple," Max said. "The woman is a knockout!"
Ella smiled shyly. "Yes, not bad. The guy's pretty damn cute, too."
"I don't know what made me ask them to do that," he said. "I'm usually camera-shy. I don't photograph very well."
"I know what you mean. I'm rarely happy with pictures taken of me. But often the best ones are the ones you aren't expecting. Spur-of-the-moment, like this one."
"Right. Whenever I pose for a photo, it always looks phony. Say cheese, and all that crap."
"Yes. Like school portraits. Or your driver's license."
"Oh yeah" Max said. "What worse setting is there for a photo-op than the Department of Motor Vehicles?"
After a short pause, Ella said, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."
"Show what?"
"Our driver's licenses." She started digging in her purse.
"Okay."
Max took his wallet out of his pocket and removed his license. He handed it to Ella, and she handed over hers.
"You look pretty good here, Max, you handsome devil. Wore a tie and everything."
"I went there on the way to work." He looked at Ella's face on the license. It looked fine to him. "Your mugshot is beautiful, I must say," he added.
"Oh, please," she said.
Ella scanned over the data on Max's license: Address, age, height, weight, organ donor. Then she saw his date-of-birth.
"Max!" she barked, and turned to look at him with twisted lips. "Today's your birthday!"
"Yup. Guilty as charged. Twenty-nine and holding," he said with a cringe, and raised his drink. "A toast! To my extreme good fortune to share my day with such a smart, beautiful lady!" They clinked glasses.
