13Jan

Mastercard’s Got Nothin’ On Us

We sit nose-to-nose in the tiny stone room that some say is the highest point in the city. We share a completely fantastic pizza made from ingredients that should never be put on pizza, like salad. (Daring, no?) We drink imported beer out of thick glass goblets–wine glasses on testosterone, basically–and laugh. We talk about the past and the future and mostly all the bits in between, and when dessert comes, we shut up. (Chocolate soufflé. You understand.) We wind our way through the cobblestone maze of Centro in the rain, holding hands and flirting shamelessly, and when we find ourselves back home, we smile.

This is date night, post-children edition. It is exactly like fine wine–rare and luxuriant, complex and lingering, inhibition-loosening and too expensive to indulge often. Yet as most indulgences are, date night is worth every penny… and then some. (Babysitter: €25.50. Dinner: €40. Half a liter of gasoline: €580.18. A whole evening to feel sexy and pretend to discuss things in an intelligent manner and remember why we like us: Priceless.)

Dating before kids was fun too, though usually less… sophisticated. We used to go to the wondrously horrifying dollar theater about once a week to watch movies we only cared $1 about and contract interesting diseases through the ripped plush upholstery. Afterward, we’d make out in the parking lot and grin when passers-by yelled at us to get a room, because hey, we’re married, even though we don’t look married because married people don’t make out in parking lots, and we already have a room, and ha!

Now that we’re parents two times around and legally Responsible Adults (to elaborate on a previous point, ha!), we tend to do more date-ish things on our evenings out. Dress up, eat at restaurants with real tablecloths, that sort of thing. But we still make out in the parking lot afterward, and I’m reminded every time why I wouldn’t trade our relationship–with its sparks and sand pits, its whimsicality and profundity, its ins and outs and especially the whirling in-betweens–for anything in the world.

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10 comments

  1. After children date nights are different and get better when you don’t have to pay for the sitter. We have built in now.

    Well written, I loved it, felt like I was there.

    Penelope Anne
    http://wannabeawritersomeday.blogspot.com/2008/01/sunday-scribblings-date.html

  2. what would a “mini-date” look like? a walk around the block? 10 minute massages?

  3. Date night is expensive – but isn’t it worth it? Very well written. I enjoyed it!

  4. Glad to hear ya’ll have a healthy relationship! 🙂

  5. It’s especially comforting you enjoy date night, knowing it means you have to put up with my knack to pick exceptionally bad music (i.e. Ace of Base, and Boyz II Men) for our time together. Nothing like setting the mood!!

  6. You have such a great way with words, I really enjoyed this! Beautifully written and a fun read. I loved the picture too, by the way!

  7. Thanks for the kind words!
    Penelope – I’m afraid it will be quite a few more years before we have a built-in babysitter, though our two-year-old considers herself perfectly capable of taking care of the baby. (Her babysitting philosophy: Make sure the baby is awake at any cost. Play. Repeat.)
    Jennifer – Mini-dates? Do you count cooking dinner together or snoozing an extra 5 (or, um, 75) minutes in bed in the morning? Because we’re GREAT at that!
    Forgetfulone – Somehow, the more expensive dates usually end up feeling the most worthwhile. Maybe that’s just some latent female instinct to squander money though…
    Jesse – I’m not sure you’d still think our relationship was healthy if you heard Daniel’s date-night music selection. Yeah, on our first not-accidental date in college, before we were officially liking each other, I got into the car and he turned on N’Sync. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or run screaming. (Maybe I should have done the latter; now I have to listen to things like the Titanic theme song and “Chick Magnet.” Oh the travesty!)
    Daniel – “Nothing like setting the mood” indeed… the mood for bleeding from my ears and asking myself why-oh-why we didn’t include a clause in our wedding vows prohibiting you from making playlists for me, ever, as long as we both shall live!
    Bella – Would you believe that picture was taken one night while we were chaperoning a high school senior banquet? We did put effort into being boring and responsible, really, but it just didn’t last. 🙂

  8. What a pleasant read – laughs and fun! Keep on keepin’ on!

  9. I loved your unique take on ‘date night’! And these words have stayed with me:
    -with its sparks and sand pits, its whimsicality and profundity, its ins and outs and especially the whirling in-betweens-
    Have a cappuccino for me!

  10. Thanks! Maybe I’ll have two…

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