Chapter 4: The Beginning

She slipped the strap of her stiletto around her ankle and sighed. Gabriela Bartolome just knew this date was a bad idea, but she'd let her daughter talk her into it. The man worked with Nicole and she'd met him while picking up her daughter for lunch one afternoon. He'd been polite even though they didn't talk much then. Apparently, he'd asked Nicole about her later. Now here she was getting ready to go to dinner with him when she would prefer to curl up on the sofa reading a book.

Her date wasn't too happy when she pleaded a headache and declined his offer of dancing. She didn't want to make things difficult for Nicole so she did as all good mothers do. Gabriela took the blame for the two of them not hitting it off. In the end, he was very understanding and the evening ended on a pleasant note.

Gabriela knew there was someone special out there for her. He just wasn't the one. Her life might not be the most exciting in the world but it was all right. She was forty-two, divorced and alone but not desperate. Nicole seemed to think her mom needed a man in her life. Thus, it wasn't uncommon for the young woman to attempt to find dates for her.

Relaxing in bed with a book, Gabriela thought about calling Nicole. A quick glance at the clock changed her mind. She decided to wait until the next day to fill her in on the date and went back to her book.

The following morning, Nicole showed up bright and early.

"Mom, check this out!"

"Well good morning to you, too." Gabriela chuckled as she greeted her daughter.

"This is perfect for you," Nicole said as she gave her mom a hug.

"What's that?"

"I picked these up at the salon yesterday when I had my hair done. One of the girls there swears by this place, Mom."

"Nicole, it might help if you tell me what it is," Gabriela said with a laugh.

"Here, look at it yourself."

Gabriela caught the brochure as Nicole tossed it her way. The caption made her gasp.

"Are you crazy? There's no way I'm using one of these."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun. I'll help you even."

"Nicole, dating services are for desperate and loose women."

Peals of laughter came from her daughter until Gabriela blushed.

"I'm not either of those."

"Mom, you haven't had a steady man in your life since you and Dad divorced. Don't you think it's time you found someone to spend the rest of your life with?"

"Dating services are so risky. I've heard all these stories..."

"This one is pretty cool, though. You can list criteria for who gets to view your video. So someone my age won't be sending you e-mail asking for a date," Shelby explained.

The two talked more about the service as Nicole pitched the idea to her mom. Gabriela was hesitant but soon she found herself giving in to her daughter's enthusiasm. Nicole called the dating service when they opened and made an appointment for her mom for the following day. Next, they looked through her closet and chose an outfit. Gabriela let her daughter do it all since she was enjoying it so much. They spent the morning together, relaxing and just chatting, before Nicole said she needed to go.

"I'll pick you up at one tomorrow, Mom."

"Okay, I'll be ready." Gabriela chuckled when Nicole stuck her tongue out.

All evening Gabriela debated whether to cancel the appointment. She never did anything spontaneous or fun, yet this was a bit out there. Once she realized how boring her life was, she sighed. Sitting home wasn't how she envisioned spending these years. Maybe Nicole was right, she concluded as she slipped into bed. It was time she found someone.

Her resolve didn't waiver until they walked into the office and she gave her name. Gabriela frowned at her daughter, who only grinned.

"It'll be fine, Mom. Just wait, you'll get tons of handsome men asking you out."

"Just remember this was your idea that I do this," she said to Nicole as she sat in front of the camera the next afternoon. All around her bright lights glared, making her squint to see her daughter.

"Look over there and pretend the man of your dreams is watching. Tell him something special about you that he should know," Nicole said.

The bored dating service employee gave them a list of tips earlier. Gabriela studied them but felt they all were too generic and not her style. So now she struggled to think of things on her own instead.

She turned toward the camera and found the square on it to look at when being filmed.

"If you want a girl that wears lace and never gets her hands dirty, then you'll have to look elsewhere. I enjoy watching pro football on the weekends and relaxing with friends. My favorite outfit is a pair of jeans and a sweater. Pleasing my man includes..."

Nicole jumped up and hugged her mom when she'd finished. "That was awesome!"

"Right," Gabriela said, "uh huh."

They waited to be sure the clip met their approval before heading to the exit. Gabriela hoped this was the last she heard about it. Somehow, she didn't think so, though.

"Seth, check this out, man," Erik Corlett said.

"What do you have?"

"Something that I think you'll like, Seth." Erik looked at the computer screen and grinned.

It was Saturday afternoon and both men were working at Seth's real estate company. Seth knew he didn't have anything better to do, but he wondered about Erik. Forty-five, divorced and tired of the dating scene, Seth often filled his time here even though he owned Flynch Realty and Land Development. He rolled his chair over, expecting to see a listing on the screen.

"What is that you're looking at?"

"It's a dating site and she is your match." Erik tapped the edge of his monitor and nodded.

"I'm not using a dating site, Erik. Only desperate and perverted men use those places."

"Seth, people all over the world use places like this. They have good luck with them too."

"I've heard the stories, Erik. All those creepy men that can't get dates check this kind of place out. There's not a decent woman that would use one of those."

"My sister used this place and she swears by it. I'm telling you, boss, this is the woman for you," Erik said. "Look at her eyes. She's real, not fake like so many others are."

Seth wanted to look away, but something about the picture on the screen captivated him. It was almost as if there was an instant tug on his heart, a connection somehow. He slid closer and read the bio provided. He tried to tell himself things like that didn't really happen. No one 'felt' something just from looking at a picture and reading about a person. He was smarter than that, he knew.