Silvia was born in Switzerland and moved to the United States as a young girl. As an adult she'd lived in Indonesia for a few years with her ex husband, who went there to study under a spiritual teacher for a while. She was 39, had a young daughter, looked very nice in her profile picture, despite being gap-toothed. She cared for her daughter full-time, and I wondered if her ex supported her and her daughter. Or perhaps she'd inherited a fair bit of money. How else could she afford to live in Marina del Rey and not work?
We hit it off very well on OK Cupid and later on IM. By the time we were to meet we were talking about passionately kissing each other when we met, and joking about fogging up the car. We decided to meet at a Scandinavian bakery in Culver City. She had set aside a couple of hours before she had to go somewhere else to meet a friend.
The bakery was small and spiffy, but had no pace to sit. So I waited for her outside. When she appeared she looked even more attractive than I'd imagined. She wore a tight top that revealed her ample, firm breasts, a flat stomach. But as soon as she saw me, I sensed a flash of disappointment, a momentary flicker of hesitation in her approach towards me. I knew then that this was going to lead nowhere.
As we went inside the bakery, she was uncommunicative, and I made up for the silence by making small-talk. Finally she said, "I've been wanting to check this place out for a while. I hear great things about their pastries. I'm going to get some for my daughter."
She proceeded to pick a box of assorted pastries to take home and one to eat there. I offered to pay for everything, and she did not hesitate. We took our pastries and went to a small park nearby where we sat on a bench and chatted. She opened up slowly, eventually becoming cordial. But at no time did I detect any warmth or enthusiasm. And certainly none of flirting we'd indulged in online. But I braved on. She had time to kill and I kept hoping I'd warm her up enough.
After finishing our pastries we drove to a nearby Starbucks where we sat and had our teas. The conversation was a little forced. We were searching for topics to discuss. Eventually, I decided that it was close enough to her time to go on to her next appointment (perhaps another date?) and suggested that we make our way back to the car. As I drove her back to her car, I decided I was going to clarify if she was just normally this standoffish, or was she genuinely not interested. I jokingly asked her if we could kiss. The long, pregnant pause answered my question. After what seemed like at least 40 seconds, she said, "Okay, but just a peck." And she leaned forward politely and gave me a peck, which I accepted graciously.
"Would you like to meet again?" I asked as I dropped her off.
"Yes, of course," she said. "The next few weekends are difficult for me since my ex will not be around to take care of our daughter. But we can meet after that."
I handed over the box of pastries I'd bought her and waved her goodbye. As expected, I never heard back from her. Nor did I bother contacting her.
