Behind Classroom Doors II

CLXVIII- Blind Date

Shawn's P.O.V.

    "Come on Matthew, eat your dry cereal please." I try to rush him because I'm late. Unfortunately, he knows few words and probably only understood the words eat and Matthew. He begins to bounce up and down in his high chair so I give in. "Fine, let's get you cleaned up."

    I push the table back and pick him up. He grabs onto my tie, pulling it down and trying to choke me in the process. "Okay, give him to me." Mom says as she takes him out of my arms.

    She couldn't have had better timing. "Thank God you're here. He won't eat his food and he's been fussy all morning." I grab a paper towel and wet it, wiping the dried snot from his face. Matthew moves his head away from me, trying his hardest to keep the snot on his face. I give up fighting him and throw the towel away. "Have it your way." I say.

    My mom chuckles at me. "He's probably just worked up. I'll take him to the park to play with some of the other kids today."

    "Just be careful." I say. "This is New York City, not a small town in Colorado. People don't look after each other here." Who knows how many kids go missing from central park.
    Mom sets Matthew back down and turns to me, "You worry too much, I'll keep my third eye on him." Before I can ask what the hell her third eye is she explains, "It's a mothers intuition. How do you think I always knew where you two were always playing?"

    I shake my head, "Honestly, I don't remember."

    "Hmm." She hums.

    I kiss Matthew on the forehead and grab a banana. "I'll be back at six."

    "No, it's Friday, you should go out to dinner. Jack made a reservation at Mastro's at seven-thirty." How does she know this before I do? It doesn't matter, I decide, I have to go.

When I step inside the restaurant the first thing I notice is Jack's absence. "Do you have a reservation?" The hostess asks.

I stop looking around to answer her question. "Yeah maybe under Briers, or Morgan."

She checks her list, nodding enthusiastically as she finds my name. "Yes! Your date is already here."

"I'm sorry my what?"

The hostess looks at me questionably. "Yeah, just over there." She points to a table beside the bar. There's a petite blonde with her back turned to us.

I smile at the hostess, "There must be some misunderstanding, I didn't-"

"Shawn!" The woman turns to wave me over. I walk past the hostess and meet the woman at her table. She holds her perfectly manicured hand out for me to shake. "My name is Melinda Simpleton. It's nice to finally meet you."

It dawned on me that this is a blind date, and I've been set up by my brother and mom. "Shawn Morgan, nice to meet you." I let go of her hand and take the seat across from her.

A waiter comes to take our order. She orders us a bottle of white wine and sends him away. "So," Melinda begins. "Jack tells me you're a partner at his company."

I feel nervous and awkward. Something I'm not used to feeling around women but this is different. I'm not supposed to be dating other women. The feeling of being set up like this is overwhelming. I'm sure Melinda is nice but I wish they would've asked beforehand. The last thing I want is to date right now. "Yes, but before that I was a professor at NYU."

"No way!" She exclaims. "I went to NYU. I studied to be a lawyer but I couldn't pass the bar so now I'm a paralegal."

She continues to talk about her career as the door to the restaurant opens and Ty walks in. Holding his hand is Livia. She's wearing a short black dress with long sleeves.