conundrum

visually impaired dining session

    It was snowing outside and i could feel the cold creeping in due to a broken heater and the shitty insulation in my garbáge apartment. I sit down on the couch and cover myself with the biggest blanket i could find, I check the clock. 7:39 pm.
    Tonight was the blind date that my friend, kim, had arranged, telling me i had "been working too hard, and deserved a night off with a man who'd treat me" whatever that means.
    I roll my eyes and wrap the blanket around me tighter as i get up to check my face in the mirror. While tugging at my already horrendous eye-bags i look at the clock behind me. 7:40. I bend down to pull up my socks and put my warmest boots on. The date was at 8:30 and i was probably going to be late because I've been too busy doing absolutely nothing but dread this night. What if i just ....... didn't go? I thought, Or i could set all the clocks back an hour and tell myself that that just...happened? I shake my head. I was raised better than that, i think?
    I toss off the blanket and put on a jacket because a coat is what a sensible person ready for New York winter weather would wear. And seeing as I'm neither, i 'tsk' at myself in the mirror before i pick up my bag and snag a HotHands baggie and head out to my visually impaired dining session.
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    I stand in front of the diner that is where this blind date is taking place and i realize the worst. I don't know what this person looks like. How in the flying flinstone fat fanny fuck am i going to know who this person is and if they're even here?
    I put my HotHands in my pocket and take out my phone, checking my texts from kim,
K: 8:30 at Tammy's works? his name is Benny and he has brown hair and eyes! Hope yall have fun! You deserve it girl!!!
If my eyes rolled any further they'd be on the ground collecting Ice Melt salt. I just need to remember to thank her for the blind date with vague guy and vague features at tammy's. I shove my phone back in my pocket and suck in a breath and shove the front door open. I find myself welcome with a quick "ding" from the bell above me and a few pair of eyes that then focus back on their own food and conversation.
    I realize. That not only was kim's description of this guy vague is was also extremely unhelpful. Every guy here that looked around my age had brown hair and brown eyes, except for the cashier. Yes. Thank you. Kimberly.
    So i do the one thing i did not want to do. I asked around. I walk to a guy in the back who looked pretty promising, he seems like the kind of guy kim would set me up with, so i tap his should and he turns around. 
"Uh, hi sorry, I'm looking for a benny are you him?" He slurps a runny booger back into his nose and shakes his head and says "sorry". I hold back a grimace and say thanks anyway. I ask two more guys and the third ones girlfriend was in the bathroom and was not to happy to see me when she got back. So naturally she left in a fit and mr. Not Benny ran after her.
    I sigh walking to sit at the counter and glance over at my last two options. One guy is sitting on his phone, french fry lazily hanging from his mouth, the other reading a ....book? I literally have not seen someone read a book outside of their own quarters in years. I grin and prepare myself to squint my eyes in the most casual way i could muster. 3, 2, 1, i quickly jerk my head over to the front of the diner at his book and back to my hands as fast as i could. He was reading.... Harry Potter?
    I grin once more. This HAS to be the guy, i mean kim knows how much i love that series, it was literally my childhood, its the only thing i carry with me since then. I take a deep breath and slide off the candy-red stool and saunter over to him. He looks up, he has the most beautiful dark brown eyes i've ever seen. I smile softly,
"Hi, you aren't by chance benny, are you?" All of a sudden, i can't stop "I'm just looking for a guy named benny uh, or do you prefer ben? i mean does he, if you're not him my friend kim set me up on a visually impaired dining session because she says i need it." I finally stop and remorse fills my entire being. This boy is still staring at me, as i'm about to apologize because he clearly seems like he's not the guy i'm looking for he smiles while he dog ears the page of his book and runs his hand through his hair. I die. 
"Yes, hi, i'm ben." he stands up and extends his hand,  i sigh in relief as i do the same and bid him hello in the form of a hand shake. He motions for me to sit.
"I would just like to apologize for rambling a bit back there, i usually am more... articulate?" I raise the pitch in my voice near the end because i wasn't sure if i was lying, or had a poor word choice.
    Benny-Ben, sets his book aside and chuckles. End me.
"I mean, i thought you were pretty articulate, you spoke very coherently and," he stops, stifling a laugh "did you say, 'visually impaired .... dining session' ?" He starts to chuckle a bit. My face is as scarlet as its ever been.
My hands shoot up to my forehead and i slowly drag them down past my chin, as i listen to his sweet laughter fill my ears. As much as i loved listening, i wish he'd stop.
"Uhhhhh" i cough "yeah."
    He tucks his jaw length hair behind his ear. It's quiet now. Dammit did i fuck this up already? I tug on my hangnail under the table.
"So" i drawl "what number?" He looks confused, i chuckle " i meant book, i saw you were reading hp earlier, and judging by how loved it is," i tilt my head, gesturing to the paper-thin spine on the hardcover book  "I'm assuming you're reading it again? So which one is it?" He smiles and pushes his book out in front if him. Success!!
"This is the third one, i haven't really decided why, but it's my favorite" i put my hand out,
"Can i see" a 'sure' is said and he had set the book down gently in my hands, making sure i'd not lose his place , its hardcover and is so soft from use it feels like a slightly thick dollar bill. I flip through the pages quickly to see shadows of dog ears at page corners and words marked out and scribbles strewn throughout the book. I laugh,
"What could you possibly correct in this book? Ben, its fiction!" He rolls his eyes and puts his hand out, taking the book, setting it on its bottom, a hand cradling each side.
"There are just parts that i don't like in here, like the sad stuff, even though the kid is a prick he doesn't deserve the shit that happens to him, y'know?" Not that I'm a therapist or anything but i saw right through that, clearly stuff happened to him while growing up that he's unhappy about to this day. I grin
"Do you wanna go for a walk?" He sets the beloved book on its back again,
"Are you kidding?! It's freezing out? No one is outside right now."
I smirk, "Even more reason to."
He ponders and shoves his book into his purse, lifting the strap over his head to set on his left shoulder. After buttoning his coat, he interlocked our fingers and we set out to the cold streets of New York at 8:55 pm.