Yesterday's post will provide background

The black skirt and cardigan over a teal green ruffled blouse proved to be just right.  They say the legs are last to go; the black heels and hose were a conscious attempt to prove the rule.

There are some days when the temperamental hair cooperates fully.  Usually, it happens on a day when I have absolutely nowhere to go.  Last night was the exception that proved the rule.  The day-long ride in the "hot" rollers did the trick.  It will be a long time before my coif turns out so salon-perfect.

I was starting to feel quite optimistic about this date of mine, which was only ten minutes away.  He had called an hour earlier to assure me he was on schedule and "excited about our dinner together."

So it was only right that I would knock over a brand-new bottle of room diffuser oil on the newly washed table cover, right inside the front door. My murmuring "Oh, shit!" did nothing to change the fact that the usually calming scent of French vanilla was now shouting in an obnoxiously cloying way.

He said it smelled good.  When he rang the doorbell at the stroke of 7 p.m., I had barely managed to soak up the spill with a fistful of paper towels, and cleverly cover the oil stain on the tablecloth with the base of the lamp.

He was dressed for a date -- the kind I remember, not the jeans and hoodie uniform one often sees these days.  Sport coat, light blue oxford button-down shirt, dress slacks and shined shoes.  He smelled of after-shave, but not so much as to trigger my sensitivities to fragrance.  

He was bone-tired from his day on the route.  He didn't say it.  I could just tell.  His truck broke down midday, causing him to worry about keeping our date. That made me smile inside.

Instead of causing any sense of awkwardness, our 20-year age difference provided us a chance to discuss how things have changed here in the South since my flirtation with disaster in 1964-era Jackson, Mississippi.  He had been slightly shocked by what he had seen in "The Help."  That was the year he was born.

I had a wonderful time.  He said he looked forward to the next time.  He asked for a hug and drove off into the night.  Perfect!