Scattered Landmines

six

Theo emerges from the pub, and my mouth almost gapes in shock. Covering his clothing is a long black goose-down Banff parka, a black knit scarf, and a grey beanie to top off the outerwear look. Around the hood of the jacket is a furred collar, normally I would consider this feminine, but he looks like a model out of a GQ magazine. To say he is cute would be quite an understatement; he looks gorgeous.

"Is that all your wearing to keep warm?" Theo's eyes are wide with surprise, and I look down at my jacket and nod. I'm going need to invest a little money into winter apparel for the children and me if we are going to survive winter here. Back in Texas, it's not cold many months out of the year, so owning an abundant amount of winter clothing would be deemed unnecessary.

"Yes, but the walk home will keep me warm, and we don't have very far to go." I raise my hands, covering my mouth, slowly blowing deep warm breaths to revive my frozen appendages.

Next thing I know, Theo removes his oversized black scarf and wraps it over my shoulders, looping it in a knot around my neck. I am taken aback by such a small and considerate gesture. If I was comparing Jake, he was not one for gentlemanly tokens, and would never go out of his way to resolve my comfort level out of selflessness, let alone recognize my discomfort at all. "Thank you," is all my mouth can manage to convey, although I wish I could muster up more.

"We can't have you turning into an ice lolly now. Can we?" He chuckles and grazes my nose playfully with his index finger.

The walk home was less awkward than I had anticipated. There were affectionate glances, and shy smiles back and forth. Still, it consisted mainly of Nancy making small talk and asking Theo question upon question that I should probably be asking him myself, yet I remained quiet and unsure of how to behave. If I'm going to consider dating, eventually I may need to start brushing up on my communication skills. The pub was lively, and I had the accompaniment of liquid courage to drive me to act in a way I wouldn't dream of doing while sober, but the chill air and tranquility of the streets has me utterly silenced and coming down from my alcohol high.

My mind wanders, thinking about whether his intentions are heartfelt, and the stigma that accompanies the idea that men mature slower than women, making it fair for me to speculate whether a difference in age like ours could affect a possible relationship. The age gap relationship narrative we're so commonly used to hearing about is one of the younger women dating the older man and not the other way around, making it feel entirely inappropriate for me even to consider dating a younger man.

Our arrival home forces pause on my profound reflection, but I'm almost sure that it's a topic that will come up again.

"Well, this us. Thank you for the accompaniment home, Theo. I hope you're not too far from where you have to go. I'm just going to go in and let Bill know that we have arrived. I'll give you two a minute to say your goodbyes." Nancy says, kissing Theo on both cheeks, and taking short yet quick strides back into the house, and closing the door behind her.

Theo casually leans against the brick pillar in front of the house, crossing his legs in front of him, and submerging both of his hands deep into his pockets.

"Midnight stroll?" Theo raises a hopeful brow.

"Not tonight. I have an early morning, and I'm not dressed appropriately for this weather. How will you get home?" I ask curious and concerned that he may have gone too far out of his way.

Retrieving his phone from his jeans pocket, he replies, "I'm going to ring an Uber. Will you do me the honor of waiting with me until it arrives?"

"Of course, I will." I wish I could take him up on his offer of a midnight stroll, but my toes and fingers are stinging and numb from the cold. I also have to wake up early to get the kids ready and off to school, and furthermore, it doesn't seem like the soundest idea for me to be meandering around town in the middle of the night with a man I just met.