What's in a name?

As all good G stories begin....


I was having a pretty decent phone call with S, and I asked her to meet for a drink. Surprisingly, this novel strategy worked and we planned to meet up one night after work. As I usually do, I arrived early to grab a decent seat. While waiting, I looked around the room and saw a girl who was definitely searching for someone. She had some of the same features of the girl in the picture, so I stood up, walked over, and asked, "Hi, are you S?" Her response: "Hi, are you (unintelligible)?" With naivete leading the way, we went back to my table to sit down and have a drink.


We start talking and exchanging pleasantries. Strange things then started to happen and questions began to arise in my head. For example, S was complaining about the high rent in New York City. I thought to myself, "wait, aren't you from Texas."? It started to occur to me that I might be on a date with the wrong girl...


The waitress came over and took our drink orders. Since S was a very cute, younger girl, she got carded. After the waitress left, and S was putting her ID back in her wallet, I playfully asked, "Hey, let me see your ID picture. Is it a good one?" She complied and my fiendish plan worked. I did look at the picture, but was really more interested in the name. Yes, it was S ...but not the S I was looking for!

I look at S' while holding her ID and say, Oh, you're not S." Her eyes widen and she exclaims "You're not David?!?!?" Immediately, my thought was, "I need to get this girl out of here before my actual date shows up." Immediately, her thought was, "I need to get out of here before this guy's actual date shows up." She jumps up from the table and cancels the drink order. Now, please recall that S' was very cute and I know that every great couple has an amazing story of how they met. I was uncharacteristically paralyzed and could not get my shit together enough to get her number. My substitute genius idea was to give her my card. I did so, she looks at it, and says, "ooohhh ...attorney!"

After S' was safely on her way to another table, I pull out my phone and there's a text from S, "I'm outside, are you here?" I get up, walk outside, say hello, and begin my second date in 10 minutes. While having a drink with S (who was very nice, by the way), I keep finding ways of glancing back at S' and the now-arrived David. S and I decide to change locations for dinner. I tell her that I need to use the restroom and will meet her outside. I quickly call my buddy for advice and we devise a genius substitute plan to get the number I failed to get earlier. Quite simply, I will act like S' and I are old friends and that I'm running into her randomly.

I stroll out of the restroom, walk up to S' and David's table, and with a look of surprise say, "S'? Is that you? Hey, it's G ...how have you been?" Poor S' was so very confused and did not catch on to my plan. She slowly answers that she's doing fine. I say that I'm heading out but would like to give her call and ask for the number. S' tells me that she has my number (on my card) and will give me a call.

S and I go have dinner, I might have seen her again, and that was all. In the not-so-surprising post script, I never did hear from S'. I think the genius substitute plan kind of ruined things. Oh, and by the way, I don't want to spoil her anonymity by giving was details about S. But her last name was ...David.