Oath of Merlot

A tall woman, about five feet seven inches, with caramel silky locks of hair that tumbled down her back in gentle waves, was gazing out her bedroom window into the rosy sunset. She was lost in her own world and did not see the rows of houses in her view. She was suddenly brought back to reality by the sound of her texting ringtone. She sighed and pulled out her phone to unlock it and open the message. It was her friend, Rima, from college that she sees several times a year to get together and hang out.

Hey Mimi. Are you busy this weekend? Rima asked.

Hi~ No, I don’t have anything planned for this weekend. She replied.

Great. Wanna Hang out?

Sure. What time and where?

How about this Saturday around two in the afternoon? At Emily’s Kimbap, it’s a Korean restaurant. There’s soups, traditional dishes, and also Korean barbeque.

That sounds great! I love Korean food. Can’t wait!

See you then.

Cya.

Mimi smiled at her smartphone as she closed the Messages app and turned her phone to lock mode.

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“Heyyyyy” Rima smiled and waved as Mimi walked towards her. Her golden tresses of hair swaying at her moment.

“Heyy” Mimi said replied cheerfully, hugging her friend.

“Come on, let's go in. I want to introduce you to someone.”

“Ooh. Your boyfriend? Are you finally seeing someone? Is it that Michael guy?”

“No, no, not that guy, but you're right. I am seeing someone and he is one of the two that I’ll be introducing you to today. The other guy is my cousin’s friend. He’s funny and nice—I think you’ll like him.”

Mimi stared at her for a moment, and followed her five-foot five friend into the restaurant. “That’s great that you found someone. I’m so happy for you. You’re playing matchmaker now?”

Rima laughed, her gray eyes dancing in amusement, “Well, we need to find you a boyfriend. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be playing matchmaker. You’re so shy and friendzone any guy anywhere near you, so I have to help.”

Mimi laughed. “Well...yeah, but that was college. I’m not friend zoning guys I meet now, but I don’t go out much so I don’t meet any guys, and all the guys at my workplace are either married or in a relationship. I tried online dating sites, but they all be just sending emojis or saying that I look good. I don’t want a guy that I don’t have a connection with. I want to meet the one for me.”

“Well. I hope that this guy will be the one then. He's smart and nice. You two will get along very well I think.”

“Well, let’s see then. If we get along, I’ll give him a chance—that is, assuming that he likes me too.”

“Oh, he’ll like you. For sure. I don’t think anyone would dislike you. You’re too nice and beautiful.”

“I think you think too highly of me. You're beautiful too.”

With that they came to a table where two guys were sitting there waiting. They were both tall and fairly good looking. Both guys stood up as the girls approached them. One had medium skin with short, honey coloured hair that had tints of gold and brown. He had a roundish face and a small beard. He about five foot nine inches, and was wearing a long sleeve tan shirt and black dress pants. The other guy had very fair skin and hazel-green eyes with a rectangular face. He had medium long chestnut locks and was clean shaven. He was wearing a white dress shirt and black dress pants, towering with a height about six feet two inches.

Rima introduced them to her—her boyfriend, Matt, was the one with the beard, and Walter was the tall guy. Mimi was a little nervous, but soon became at ease due to their genuine friendliness.

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It had been a couple of weeks since Rima had introduced Walter to her. They had exchanged phone numbers and texted each other almost every day. Walter had asked her out a couple of times, but she didn't accept it until now. She didn't want to jump into a relationship until she knew him a little better and realized that they got along very well. This would be the first time they've seen each other in person since the time Rima introduced them.

It was about fifteen minutes before the designated time for her to meet Walter there in front of a clubhouse restaurant. It was solid black on the outside with many large windows. You could see the that there were chandeliers and many wooden tables. Not the cheap kind of normal light beige brown wood, but rich wood with a mixture of mahogany, chestnut, and caramel brown lines that were faded into each other. Miki was wearing a simple A-line emerald green dress. It complimented her beautifully, bringing out the shine of her hair and making her skin seem pale and glowing. Her large eyes were bright and her cheeks slightly flushed with excitement, and her lips were rosy with tinted hibiscus lip balm.

"Hi. Sorry, did I make you wait?" Walter said as he walked up to her, his hazel eyes drinking in her elegance. His hair was swept into medium waves mostly to one side, like grass waving in the wind—that is if grass were chestnut brown coloured. He was wearing a light blue dress shirt with the first two buttons undone, and a pair of black dress pants held by a cinnamon coloured belt.

"No, I just came way too early because I didn't want to be late."

He grinned and opened the restaurant door for her, "I would have waited even if you were late.”

“Whoa...this place is...so big.” She glanced around nervously around the fancy clubhouse as they entered the restaurant. It was bright, but not too bright. There were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling above some table at one section of the restaurant. There was a bar area with a few cupboards of wines, a counter and tall bar stools. There was also a dimmer area with wall lamps and booth seating. Although it was very pleasing to look it, she didn’t feel comfortable in such fancy places. It was so much bigger on the inside.

When the waitress showed them to a window side table, she was glancing around and happened to see someone’s menu. The prices on that page were ridiculously expensive. “Um....can we go somewhere else? It’s so expensive....”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll cover all the expenses.”

“No. I’m paying for my share. I really don’t feel comfortable in such fancy places....”

He surveyed her worried face and nervousness and chuckled. “Well, if that’s how you feel, we can go someplace else you nymph. I bet you’d much prefer a picnic under a starry sky.” He joked as he signaled to the waitress that they were leaving.

“That does sound nice. I would much rather that than an overly fancy place that feels so stiff.”

He shook his head and looked at her in amusement, “You moonlit fairy. Fancy places for common people just don’t seem to be to your taste, does it?”

“No, I suppose not. I much prefer faerie lights than spotlights and chandeliers. I’d rather be roaming the meadows and gardens rather than a ballroom or party. Besides, just because it’s fancy doesn’t mean you’ll get the best food. Many great food places are at a stall or in an alleyway.”

They exited the fancy restaurant and ended up going to a cozy restaurant nearby. They were greeted by the aroma of a mixture of many delicious foods upon stepping inside the door. The smell of rich, bone broth soups, the fresh sizzling meats, the fried shallots and garlic and so on. It was a fairly small place with only several wooden tables and chairs—four per table. There were only two tables available. They walked to a table and sat down. A girl, who looked like she was a high schooler, came and gave them a menu. The menu was easy to read. It was a booklet format with dish names on both pages. There was a total of two soups, three salads, two appetizers, and four entrees.

“Why don’t we get a variety of dishes to go. We can have a picnic under the stars. It’s a clear night today. I have a blanket and some drinks in the trunk of my car.”

“Sure. That’ll be great. I’m so glad it’s not cloudy or rainy today. You can see the stars clearly tonight.”

So, after paying, waiting for, and receiving their food, they took the bags to the car and drove to a nearby grassy hill. He laid a red and black plaid blanket on the grass and they placed the bags of food beside it. He took two wine glasses and a bottle of Merlot and placed it in one corner of the blanket. He also brought several bottles of water before shutting the car trunk and locking the car automatically with a press of a black button on his keychain.

She sat on the right side of the blanket with her legs extending onto the grass, with the drinks to her left. He sat down beside her and looked at her as she gazed up into the starry sky. The slight breeze rustled her hair and dress gently.

“Come back, come back. Where is your soul off to, Mimi? What do you see?”

“I see a world where anything is possible. I see a world where people help each other and that there is no more violence, wars, segregation, abuse, and hatred. A world we won’t need to shed sorrowful tears. A world that was meant for us. Of peace and prosperity. I’m riding the wind to sail into the land of moonshine and stars, with the wind fairy as my guide. Her silvery gown is flowing like water with the wind, her translucent wings shimmering as if made of stardust.”

“I hope that you will never lose your way to Dreamworld. But I also want your soul here with me and not drifting away when I'm you.”

“Oh. Sorry about that. I just got lost for a bit while gazing at the stars. I tend to just go into a daze when I see something so dreamy and beautiful.”

“I have never met someone like you before, who lives in a world of dreams rather than the material goods of this world. I love how you're so genuine and not care about superficial things, nor act all friendly just to please people."

She looked at him for a moment and said softly, " I'm sure that there are people out there that are genuine and not care so much about worldly goods."

She sighed and looked into the distance, "I've been so afraid of people for many years of my life. My mother has always controlled me with fear, lies, and guilt-trips. She says one thing and does another. She praises people to their faces, but would say something negative about them to me. I don't want to live like that anymore—of being afraid of everything and everyone. Fear and doubt are uncomfortable feelings. It’s taken me a long time, and many attempts to come out of my shell. I'm finally realized that I had walls up and it’s time to let them down. Sorry, I'm ranting aren't I. I don't normally talk so much. I don’t know why, but I feel at ease when I'm with you."

“I’m glad you told me more about yourself and that you feel comfortable around me,” He gazed at her. “Let me make an oath to you. I promise that I will always be honest and true to you.” He held up his glass half-filled with Merlot and smiled.” Will you accept my oath of Merlot?”