At 65, I began to fear my age more and more. I only had my 8 year old grandson at home and I wanted to find a love partner – and my grandson led me straight to him.
I am raising my 8 year old grandson Max alone since his parents died in a tragic car accident. I love Max with all my heart, but I don’t want to burden him with the thought that he’ll have to take care of me when I get older. In my opinion it shouldn’t be his responsibility to put his life on hold just to take care of me.
Now that I’m 65 years old, the thought of my age preoccupies me much more. Although I once had a husband, he left me for another woman he met at a work conference. We haven’t had any contact with each other since our divorce.
I wanted to find a partner but I know that at my age it would be difficult to find a single man in our neighborhood in a reasonable age range. One day I was talking about this with my good friend Mila and she suddenly had an idea.
“Georgina, it’s a great idea for you to find company. I’m proud of you for being true to yourself and acknowledging that,” she said.
“Do you know where I can find a suitable bachelor?” I joked. “I haven’t done that in ages!”
After a short pause, Mila’s eyes lit up. “Indeed I do! One of the ladies at my gym mentioned that she found a date on this particular dating site… You can find guys there in their 60s with their full profiles. Maybe it’s worth a try?” she suggested before.
“A dating site?” I thought as I walked home. “Is that not dangerous?”
When I got home, Max was already back from school. “Hey Grandma!” he said, hugging me tightly when he saw me coming through the front door.
“Hey you,” I replied as we walked into the living room together, “how was your school day?”
“It was good. I got an A on my math test. How about you, Grandma? How was your lunch with Aunt Mila?” he asked. “My thoughtful boy ,” I thought, smiling before deciding whether or not to be honest with my answer.
“Well, Max, to tell you the truth, it was quite an interesting lunch,” I replied.
“Why is that?” he asked, trying to tease out more details.
“I was going to tell you that but I wasn’t sure how you would react. I heard it from Aunt Mila and she said it would be a good idea…what do you think about grandma finding a companion? Or a partner?” I asked.
Before I could think about his answer, Max flashed a huge smile on his face. “Grandma, I would be HAPPY for you! Does that mean I’m going to have a grandpa?” he asked.
I laughed softly when I heard his answer because I didn’t expect him to react like that. “That depends,” I told him. “Aunt Mila told me about this special dating site where I can find potential dates. Do you think that’s a good idea?”
“We can take a look,” Max said, opening his school backpack to get out his laptop. I told him the name of the site and he immediately looked it up on the internet.
“Bye Max! Wish me luck!” I yelled before heading to the garage to get my car.
“Good luck grandma! Hope it goes well. You look beautiful!” waved from the living room.
I smiled at this sudden boost in confidence from my grandson. I drove off and made my way downtown to meet him at the coffee shop.
When I got there, I immediately saw Lewis. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt, a brown vest, and a veteran’s cap. I smiled at him and introduced myself as our eyes met.
As soon as I sat down, I immediately wanted to jump up and go home. Lewis was way too uptight and never laughed at any of the jokes I tried to tell to lighten the atmosphere a bit.
At one point I asked lightly, “What’s under the hat?” Instead of trying to say something humorous, he suddenly asked if we had a date or an interrogation.
When we both finished our coffee, I thought of a reason to run away. “I’m sorry, it seems I can’t go to dinner,” I told him.
“Why is that?” he asked. “Am I too boring?”
“Yes,” I wanted to say. Instead I lied. “My grandson just texted me that football practice ended early. I have to pick him up. I had a great time!” I lied to him.
After I said that, Lewis smiled and tried to lean in for a kiss. I quickly pressed my cheek against his and stood up before he could do anything else.
“Is that all?” I heard him ask as I hurriedly walked out the door. I didn’t even look back – I just wanted to get this date over with!
When I got home that night, I told Max the horror story I had just witnessed. I told him I was tired of dating and maybe I should be alone.
“No, Grandma! You can’t let a date ruin everything for you. Maybe you just met the wrong guy the first time. Try again,” he said, encouraging me. After some persuasion from Max, we started browsing the site again.
This time, after just thirty minutes of taking the first step, I connected to a man named Jack. Jack’s profile indicated that he was a divorcee looking for companionship. He also claimed to be 62 years old, which I didn’t think was such a bad age difference.
Jack and I decided to meet at a restaurant where we could have dinner together. He had asked if he could pick me up and take me home after our date but after the horrors I experienced with Lewis I said I’d rather take my own car.
I got to the restaurant first and chose to sit in a corner booth. I sat on the couch so he could sit in the chair in front of me.
When Jack arrived I immediately realized that he had faked his profile. He was much older than 62…he looked 80! He gave me an enthusiastic wave and walked over to our table.
To my surprise, he squeezed right onto the couch instead of sitting in the chair in front of me. “Hello darling,” he greeted me, leaning in for a tight hug. It was way too close to be comfortable.
I tried my best to pull away from him to put some distance between us, but he kept an arm around my shoulders. He ordered food for both of us and started talking straight away.
He asked me so many questions – “Do you live alone? Do you have pets? How are you getting along in the city? Why did you split up with your husband?” Just as he was physically too close, these questions were very tasteless. It seemed like he was stalking me!
When he finally stopped asking me questions, I too wanted clarification. “I’m sorry to ask, but are you really 62?” I asked.
When he heard that, he laughed. “You got me!” he replied. “No honey, I’m well over 62. Twenty years older to be exact!” he revealed. My eyes widened in horror. “Why did you have to lie about your age?” I persisted.
“To get younger girls! Look at you. So fine and beautiful at 65. I would never have gotten a date with you if I said I was 82,” he said.
“Oh my goodness,” I thought. “Oh…I see. Well, you don’t look your age anyway,” I said, trying to be polite.
Before the food came, I excused myself to the bathroom just to free myself from his grip. I kept thinking about whether or not I should just go out the back door.
“I’m sorry Jack. I really have to go. I had a great time, but I still have to pick up my grandson. Thanks for dinner!” I said.
“See you again, right?” he asked me, trying to lean in for a kiss. I smiled nervously and nodded. “Sure, why not! But I really have to go. Goodbye, Jack! Good night!” I replied, standing up and pretending I hadn’t noticed him leaning forward.
That evening I told Max I was done browsing the dating site. It was exhausting meeting so many different people and I was afraid of not knowing who they really are or where they are from.
So I moved on with my life and decided to stop searching. Maybe having a partner wasn’t meant for me after all. Instead, I focused on Max and tried to be the best grandmother I could be.
One day while Max and I were at the grocery store I stumbled upon the handsomest man I have ever seen. He looked like a Hollywood star, with ash gray hair, raised eyebrows and brown eyes. “Who is he?” I wondered.
Max caught me staring at the man buying sweet potatoes and cabbage and started giggling. “Grandma, are you in love?” he teased.
“I think so,” I said, still in awe of the man’s beauty.
“Well then, approach him!” Max urged.
I shook my head. “He’s probably married. How can a man like him be single?” I told my grandson. “Come on let us go.”
I looked out the window and my eyes widened in shock when I saw the same man from the supermarket in front of my house.
On the drive home and even while we were sorting our groceries, I couldn’t stop thinking about the man. It turned out that Max hadn’t stopped thinking about him either.
“I know him from somewhere, Grandma,” said Max.
“Well it’s too late darling. I missed my chance to talk to him at the supermarket. I’ll never see that man again!” I sighed.
I thought the conversation was over that evening, but one day while I was making Max pancakes for breakfast, I suddenly heard a car horn outside the house. Looking through the window, my eyes widened in shock after seeing the same man from the supermarket outside my house.
“Max!” I yelled. “Why is the man from the supermarket here?” I asked.
Max had a big smile on his face as he leaned against the kitchen door. “Let’s just say I used my connections, Grandma,” he laughed sheepishly.
Finally my clever grandson remembered where he had seen the man. The man was one of his classmates’ widowed grandfathers. He too was looking for company, and when Max visited his classmate’s house and saw him there, he started telling stories about me.
“When Max told me that you were the most beautiful woman in his life, I had to come and see for myself,” said the man, whose name was Pierce. That’s how I met the love of my life. It was all thanks to my grandson.
Some say I was stupid to look for love at my age. Do you think my decision was right?
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