Collecting Sunsets

Actually, I do not understand why Mary has organized a meeting with him. I have no trouble at all finding dates. My problem with men is that they always end up being only a couple of dates before they start to realize that they get bored, or do not take me to bed quickly. Others are intimidated by the fact that I'm a strong, independent working woman. And what takes the prize for the best of excuses: they don't want a serious relationship, or at least not one with me. The most depressing, and perhaps the more overwhelming of starting to date someone, is precisely that. Start.

If a woman is asked out by a guy who approaches you in a nice, funny and gentle way --and she accepts--, that woman, perhaps unconsciously has already established a relationship with him even if he did not even feel it. When she gets to tell his group of friends that a boy --and it's worse when it is one extremely handsome-- has asked her out, and her friends gossip about him wildly, that woman would be reinforcing a bond, an expectation of what she might expect with this man, although he's just thinking about the film he would like them to see.

When she comes home and checks her closet to exhaustion trying to use the perfect outfit to give a perfect impression, she might even (unconsciously talking) begin to feel affection for him, when he's just wondering if shaving is a good idea . When it finally comes time to their first date, they look at each other... He might be just nervous about making a good impression and not leave forgotten his manners. But she is a nervous wreck, fresh and treacherous, and to see him just reaffirms the strong bond that she has been creating unwittingly by a stranger.

The result: discomfort, complaints with friends, and a never requested second date. In the worst cases is followed by a interminable restlessness, suffocating and frustrating feelings accompanied by a couple of conversations with friends --whom less than one day had encouraged all the potential stories with the now absent boy. She began to wonder what has gone wrong, and could fail. Then a sudden wave of enthusiasm arrives, and she decides to wait. But the wave goes as fast as it comes, and then, a boy who was only a stranger  three days ago, now is a man she despises. She promises not to create herself illusions with a man she just met, while trying to comfort one of her friends who is going through the same thing. They make a blood pact and vow never to fall into that kind of situation.

Some time later, in a cafe, a man approaches to their table and invites one of them on a date. He retires after setting the date details. Heated by the situation, they all start laughing and gossiping about what happened.

That is the endless cycle. And for many women, inevitable.