Thanks, everyone. During the course of the evening, we reminisced some about our first date.
As we sat, talked, and danced at Armands, we could see that we enjoyed each other's company. I was asked to sing, and the entertainer persuaded Marge to sing.
Let's put it like this - despite a lifetime of singing in a pretend voice, and having my kids beg me not to sing, I actually found out that I sing pretty good. Especially when I sing songs from the fifties and sixties, and slow songs since - particularly country and western. But while I'm good, Marge is great! Had her life been a little different, I could easily picture her having a singing career.
Marge (and her good friend, Connie) was impressed that instead of meeting Marge at a generic place, I had chosen a favorite stomping ground where I was known. And it was a pretty classy place.
For my part, she definitely did not detract from my image. On the contrary, she won the hearts of everyone there. And you could tell that people were glad that I had found someone special. People could tell that I was lonely for a special relationship. I wanted, not just a "romance," but a lifetime of romance.
As the piano bar wound down, Marge and I realized neither of us were ready for the evening to end. I came to realize that Marge's night shifts as a labor and delivery nurse made her more of a night person.
We decided to go to a nearby restaurant for an early breakfast. Years later, I can't recall exactly all that we talked about. It's impossible to really learn all a person's history, even in years and years, let alone a few hours. Yet, somehow we seemed to "know" each other. By the time our breakfast and several cups of coffee had been consumed, we saw it was about 4 in the morning. Not really a problem for either of us - I think this was a Saturday night, and I worked weekdays only, and Marge could sleep the day before her shift Sunday night.
Marge had mentioned, while we were still at the piano bar, that singing karaoke was much cheaper, and you got to sing more songs (if the rotation was reasonably small). She mentioned that she went to a place called Big Al's in Temple Terrace (a suburb of Tampa) on Monday nights for karaoke, and we made plans for me to meet her there on Monday week.
As we walked to our cars in the parking lot, I did not intend to try to kiss her, although the idea was certainly on my mind. Nonetheless, I didn't resist when she kissed me!
More later.
