2006-11-15 - 9:02 a.m.
In 2023 you go to a �social mixer for single professionals in their 40s and 50s�. You usually wouldn�t be caught dead at some sort of singles dance for old fogeys like yourself (indeed, your first reaction when you saw the flier on your office�s public bulletin board was: sounds like all the horror of a high school prom but with extra decades of neuroses built up in every participant!), but Marty convinced you to go.
Marty is a pretty new friend and you�re not that close yet. He works over in accounting and you mostly see him in the lunchroom. But he�s about your age and one day he mentioned that he plays squash. Your usual squash opponent at the time was taking time off to rest a sore knee, so you set up a game with Marty. It worked out well � he was similarly mediocre � so you continued playing against him every Tuesday for the past few months. But you had never really socialized with him beyond post-game protein shakes at the gym.
One day he showed you an invitation he�d received in the mail to the same �mature singles dance� advertised on the office bulletin board (how he�d gotten on a mailing list to receive such a thing you shuddered to think).
�Hey, I�m thinking of going to this. You want to come?�
�Well, it�s not really my scene.�
�Ah, come on. You never know, you might meet someone. They have a free buffet, I know you�re a fan��
They served birthday cake in the lunchroom every time it was someone�s birthday (which meant almost once a week). You had joked with Marty once how much better food tastes when it�s free. Yeah, well. You looked at Marty�s face and he seemed pretty expectant, almost hopeful. You didn�t know much about his social situation, but maybe he didn�t have a lot of other friends to go with. Maybe this was a reaching out you shouldn�t casually reject.
�Oh, what the hell. I was gonna wash my hair that day, but it can wait.�
Marty broke into a grin and slapped you on the back.
�Hey, thanks! You won�t regret it. First round�s on me.�
�Uh. Thanks, but I don�t really-�
Marty�s boss loomed up, looking oddly out of place in the lunchroom. You don�t think you�d ever seen him outside his office. He was a rather grumpy old coot, rumored to be the company president�s uncle.
�Marty, can I see you for a minute?�
�Meet you in the lobby after work Friday. We�ll go over together,� Marty said as he walked off with his boss.
You thought about what had just happened. Had you just agreed to go out of sympathy? Man, you must be getting soft in your old age. Oh well. The office is usually casual, but you�ll have to wear nice clothes Friday.
� 2006 Geoff Gladstone
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