Being stood up...

Phil was her perfect match, at least that’s what the dating app said, but as she waited for him at the bar, Sue found herself connecting with someone very different . . .

“Can I get you a drink, madam?” Sue smiled at the barman and gently shook her head. “No, it’s all right, thank you. I’m just waiting for someone.”

The barman gave a discreet nod and walked away to serve another customer as Sue checked her watch again. Phil had said he’d be here at eight and now it was 20 past.

Maybe he was having trouble parking, Sue thought. Or maybe he’d decided not to bring his car after all and had travelled into town on a bus that was running late.

Another five minutes went by, then ten. Sue checked her phone but it was all quiet on the Phil front, with no messages or texts from the man she was due to meet; the man she’d been looking forward to meeting for weeks.

“Are you sure I can’t get you anything while you wait?” the barman asked.

Sue watched as he straightened bottles of spirits on a glass shelf before he turned back towards her.

“I could rustle up one of my special cocktails for you, if you’d like?”

Sue shook her head.

“No, thank you,” she said, checking her watch yet again.

When she saw it was quarter to nine, her shoulders dropped and she let out a long sigh.

“Oh, go on, then,” she said.“i might as well. I’ll give him the time it takes me to drink one of your cocktails and then I’m going home.”

“Your boyfriend, is it?” the barman asked, then quickly shook his head, looking flustered.“sorry. That was nosy of me. What I meant to say was . . .”

“No, he’s not my boyfriend.” She laughed. “Although I was kind of hoping he might become my boyfriend. I met him online, you see, and tonight was going to be our first proper meeting.”

Sue checked her phone but there was still nothing.

Well, she wasn’t going to message him if he couldn’t be bothered to let her know why he was running late. She’d been certain he’d turn up, ever since they’d agreed to meet after finding each other on a dating app.

He was the man she had been looking forward to meeting for weeks

She’d been using the app for months, but Phil was the first man she’d met who had ticked all her boxes. The app pronounced them a perfect match.

According to the app, theirs was a match made, if not in heaven, then certainly online.

She liked the way he looked in his profile picture, with his strong, handsome face and his muscled shoulders. He said he liked the way she looked, too, although it was an old picture that showed her in her favourite dress and in a flattering light.

After the mutual attraction came the online questionnaire they’d both had to fill in. And Phil’s questionnaire was an exact match to her own.

He liked all the things she did, even the walks in the country, the horse-riding and visiting art exhibitions. And she liked all the things he did, too.

He even had a dog called Freddy, and Sue loved dogs. He couldn’t have been more perfect. But where on earth was he?

Why hadn’t he turned up for their date?

They’d been chatting about their meeting, messaging and texting for weeks now, planning exactly the kind of date that Phil said was his favourite – and one that Sue agreed she loved, too.

They’d planned to meet in the new wine bar in town, have a drink and a chat, then move on to the Italian place for a bit of romance over two plates of risotto, their favourite food.

Sue had even bought a new dress in the

exact shade of pink that she and Phil both agreed was their favourite.

She checked her phone again. It was almost nine o’clock but there was still no message from Phil, who was now officially an hour late.

“Madam?”

The barman offered Sue a booklet with the pages inside covering all kinds of wonderful cocktails. Some of them she recognised the names of, but many of them were new to her.

She laid the menu down on the bar and settled into her seat for the first time that night before removing her coat. She laid it on the bar stool next to her.

“There’s so many to choose from. I don’t quite know where to start.” She smiled. “Surprise me!”

“Perhaps you’d allow me to create a new cocktail especially for you,” he suggested. “It’s a passion of mine. I love creating new cocktails and naming them.”

“That sounds wonderful,” she replied. “Just one thing, though: none of that liquorice liqueur, please. I’m not keen on that.”

“That’s one of my favourites,” he said. “But I’ll leave the liquorice well alone.”

The barman set to work, pulling a large flat glass from the shelf, then he stood back from the bottles of spirits and liqueurs, stroking his chin, wondering which ones to use.

“Let me know what you think,” he said at last when he slid the glass along the bar towards Sue.

“Sorry,” Sue said.“i was miles away there, wondering where my date was.”

“Has he stood you up?” the barman asked.

Sue nodded.

“It appears so,” she replied.“and we seemed to have everything in common, too. Do you know how rare that is these days?”

She lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip from the cocktail within.

The barman watched and waited for her response. But she couldn’t speak at first, as the sweet, fizzy liquid played on her tongue and dazzled her taste buds.

“It’s beautiful,” Sue said at last.“what did you say this one’s called?”

“I didn’t,” the barman replied.“i haven’t named it yet. It’s a new one I’ve created. I’ve been playing around with different flavours for a week now and it’s taken me a while to get it right.”

“Well, this is stunning,” Sue said, taking another sip.“i know nothing about cocktails, but it really is fantastic.”

“Perhaps you’d like some nibbles to go with it,” the barman suggested, and he brought another small menu towards Sue.

She glanced at it quickly, trying to work out what was what, but it was difficult as it was written in Spanish and she didn’t understand a word.

“I’m terrible with menus,” she admitted. “I’m not a great cook and I’ve got no sense

of what food goes with what wine. I rely on ready meals.”

“Then let me help.”the barman smiled. “This one will complement the cocktail better than this one,” he said, pointing at the second and third items on the list.

“Then I’ll be guided by you.” Sue smiled. “Thank you . . .?”

“Tim,” he replied.

Sue sighed again.

“I can’t believe Phil hasn’t turned up. You think you know someone, eh?”

“Ah, but how well can you know them when you’ve never met them?”tim said sagely.

Sue shrugged.

“I’ve missed an episode of Eastenders to come here tonight. Mind you, so has Phil, or at least he would have missed it if he’d turned up.that was one of the things we liked about each other, that we enjoyed the same soap on TV.”

“I’m more of a Coronation Street fan myself,”tim replied.“always have been.” Sue took a sip from her drink.

“I was going to take him horse-riding at the weekend, if he’d turned up, of course.” Tim shook his head.

“Horses? I’m terrified of them. And don’t even get me started on cows!”

Sue laughed.

“What about something smaller then, like a cat or a dog?”

Tim’s hand flew to the back of his neck. “I’m allergic,” he said, shaking his head. “Just the thought of being in the same room as a dog brings me out in a rash.

“Mind you, I like sea birds. Beautiful things, flying out over the ocean. I spend most of my spare time at the beach with a pair of binoculars in my hand, twitching.” “Sorry?”

“Twitching,” he repeated.“birdwatching. When I’m not working, that is.

“Mind you, I love my work here. I help the chef create the bar menu and keep it fresh. I’ve got a knack for knowing which food goes well with the drinks.”

“Well, you’ll get no complaints from me on that score,” Sue said, taking another sip of her drink.

Then she helped herself to one of the large stuffed olives that Tim had placed in a bowl in front of her.

“They’re Spanish olives,” he explained.“i love Spain.”

“I’ve never been,” Sue said.“i prefer Italy.” “So, what do you like doing when you’re not horse-riding or waiting in bars for unreliable men?”tim smiled.

“I like art,” Sue said eagerly.“i love visiting exhibitions, seeing new paintings, discovering new artists.”

“That’s not my cup of tea,” he replied.“i don’t know anything about art.”

“Neither do I!” Sue laughed.“i just like what I see. I don’t think you need to understand what you’re seeing in an art gallery. You just have to appreciate it.

“If you don’t like it, you move on until you see something you do.”

“I don’t think art galleries are my type of place. Bit too posh for my liking,”tim commented.

“The one in town isn’t posh.” Sue smiled. “You should go. I’ll go with you if you like. I mean, if you want to.”

Tim was about to reply when Sue’s phone buzzed into life on the bar top.

She saw Phil’s name on the screen and swiped the message open.

He hadn’t even bothered to call her. He’d just sent a very brief text. “Everything all right?”tim asked.

Sue held out her phone so that Tim could see the message from Phil.

“See that? It says he’s not coming. He doesn’t give a reason; he doesn’t even give an excuse. He just says that he will catch me online soon.”

Sue pressed and held Phil’s message, then swiped it into the trash can on her phone.

“There, that’s it. He’s gone. I’ve deleted his number from my phone so I’m not tempted to ring him back.”

“Maybe I could make you another drink?”tim offered.

“Just one,” Sue replied.“then I’ll get a cab home. What a waste of a night it’s been.”

“Not entirely.”tim smiled.“we’ve got a visit to an art gallery to look forward to. That is, if you meant what you said about taking me there to show me some art?”

“I suppose we could,” Sue replied with a grin.

“Here, let me get you another cocktail,” Tim offered.“on the house this time, as you’ve been kind enough to try my new creation. It hasn’t gone on the bar menu yet, but if you think it’s good enough . . .”

“Oh, it’s good enough,” Sue said, draining her glass.

“Then I’ll put it on the specials board tomorrow night and see how it goes.”

“You’ll need a name for it, won’t you?” Sue asked.

Tim thought for a moment.

“Do you know,” he said, smiling at Sue.“i think I’ll call it Opposites Attract.”

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