Divorced Don and Lady M -- Trust and learning who you are.
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The time was 1981, that made me 40. My wife and I had divorced 5 years ago. One of my favorite things to do was country dancing. It was the current craze. One of my favorite places to go dancing was only 6 miles from my house. That was convenient, getting to the bar or bringing a female friend home with me. Today was Friday and I did not have a dinner and dancing date for tonight. I was hoping that I would see several of my friends who also liked to dance at that bar.
I finished my dinner and got ready to head out. I was wearing a nice western shirt with snaps, good jeans with a wide belt, boots and my hat. It only took a few minutes to get there. There were already several cars in the parking lot. Some vehicles I recognized and some I did not. Maybe there would be some new faces. I walked in, said "hi" to the bouncer and a couple of other friends. I stopped at the bar to say hi to the cute little bartender because she already had my Coors setting on the bar for me. I paid her plus a nice tip because she always gave good service. I picked up my beer, walked to my favorite table near the dance floor and sat down.
The band was just getting started. I danced with two or three ladies that I regularly danced with. We were just dance friends. I was always picking on what I called wall flowers. A lot of times a new lady or two new ladies would go to a bar and most of the guys were afraid to ask new ladies to dance, so they ended up just sitting there being wall flowers. The guys were either afraid that she would turn them down or would not know how to dance resulting in an awkward attempt at dancing. I'm not bashful. I'm a good dancer so if a lady declines my offer I figure it's her loss. If that happens I sit that dance out. No lady wants to be second choice! I'll ask someone else on the next song. If a lady tells me that she doesn't know how I simply say, "Come on, I'm a good teacher." Most ladies who have come out to the bar and want to dance will accept my offer. After a few more dances it was break time for the band which usually played for 45 minutes and took a 15 minute break.
I watched a lady walk in during the break. She was tall, nicely built, hair done to perfection and I guessed her to be about 40. I could tell by the way she was looking around, trying to decide where to sit, at one of the smaller tables or at the bar, that she was probably new to the bar scene. There was an empty small table over against the wall. She walked over to it and sat down with her back to the wall. The waitress was quickly over there taking her order and was soon returning with a glass of white wine.
The band started a slow song that would be easy to dance to. I stood up and glanced her direction. She was looking straight at me as I walked directly to her table. When I got to her table I held my left hand out to her and asked. "May I have this dance?"
She was smiling as she answered, "Yes, thank you for asking."
It was obvious that she knew something about dancing as we assumed a normal dance position and started across the dance floor doing a two step. I started the conversation, "I'm Don and sort of a regular here. I love to dance."
She didn't tell me her name. She simply replied, "I used to dance a long time ago but haven't in recent years. You're making this easy."
My first thought was that she was either recently divorced or possibly widowed. We were just chatting as we danced. When the song ended, I said, "Stay for one more." She didn't make any comment but was still holding my hand and smiling.
As another slow song started I put my arm around her in normal fashion but pulled her a little closer to me. We were dancing and making small talk. Where are you from? What kind of work do you do? Back and forth in that manner. The song ended. I walked her back to her table and we both said thank you. I walked back to my table for a swallow of my beer. The next song was a fast one so I headed towards Sue, one of my regular dance partners. She saw me coming and was already standing up when I got to her. The song ended and I walked Sue back to her table where Kathy, another lady that was part of our dance group was sitting. We said hi. Without a pause the band started the next song. Kathy jumped up, grabbed my hand and said." This is my favorite song." It was a real slow snuggle type song so we did. We both loved to dance really close. When the song ended we were right at her table. We shared a little mutual thank you kiss like we always did. I walked back to my table for another swallow. Good dancers don't sit very much.
Before the next song started I looked to see if the new lady was sitting at her table. She was so I got up and headed her way. She was still smiling but waited until I got to her table to stand up. She held her hand out to me which I happily took in mine. The next song turned out to be a waltz. I asked, "Do you waltz?"
She replied, "Not in a very long time... but I'd love to try it."
After just a few steps we looked like we had danced together many times. She started to lead me back to her table. When we got to her table she said, "I would love to stay and dance some more with you... but tonight I can't. Maybe we will meet again next Friday?" She picked up her purse and gave me just a little hug.
I said, "I don't like to see ladies walk out to the parking lot alone. I'll walk you out to your car."
She had a worried look on her face. She quietly said, "I don't dare let you do that. I do hope I see you next Friday and I will explain." She walked away. I still didn't know her name.
I wasn't sure what was going on but would certainly be here next Friday to find out. I spent the rest of the evening dancing with my friends and went home by myself about midnight.
I had a little trouble getting to sleep that night, wondering what she meant by, "I don't dare let you do that."
The next day was Saturday. I did my normal things during the day and went dancing at a different bar that night. I had fun but could not get the new lady out of my mind. All thru the next 7 days I did my normal routines of work, shopping, and dancing, etc. I could not come up anything that made sense. I would just have to wait until Friday night and hope she showed up at the bar.
The band would start at 9:00PM. I was in my favorite chair at twenty till. She was not in the bar. The band finally played the first song but I sat it out. Just as the second song was starting she walked in... paused to look around, spotted me at my table and walked to it. I stood up to greet her. She gave me a little hug and asked, "Can we move to a quieter table?"