Jekyll and Hyde | Plank Stories
As you all know by now, not every crazy date happens on date one. Sometimes, people are on their best behavior for the first few dates…and then they let their freak flags fly. This story is one of those…
I met Eddie on JDate, back when that site was decent (it has changed a great deal in recent years). He was a divorced dad with two girls, and he lived near me. Eddie worked in the city in a sales capacity and always seemed very busy, so our first two dates were quick drink dates.
We met for the first time at the bar in a local restaurant. I remember thinking he was smart and funny, but a little snarky. (I don’t really like snarky…in my opinion, it can be mean-spirited. But, since some people are nervous on the first date or two, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt.) Eddie had a lot to say, and one of those tidbits was about a guy I had dated in the past…the relationship was very hot and heavy at the start, but the breakup was devastating.
Eddie: Did you ever date a guy named Mike?
Me: From East Rockaway?
Eddie: Yes.
Me: Yes. Why?
Eddie: It seems that one of my good friends is your ex-boyfriend Mike’s older sister.
Me: Really? Interesting. Mike and I broke up a while ago. (I think it was over two years ago, at this point.)
Eddie: I remember talking to her about you.
Me: About me? When? Why?
Eddie: Oh. It was probably a year ago. She mentioned you as someone she had really liked. She said Mike’s family thought you were the best girlfriend he ever had, and that they felt terrible about not being honest with you.
Me: What were they dishonest about?
Eddie: About Mike. They felt bad that they didn’t tell you that he was still very much married…and was still seeing another woman.
Me: Oh. Interesting. I did know about his girlfriend after we broke up but I didn’t know he was still with his wife. That’s news to me. Not sure why I want to know this now, though. I’ve moved on…
Eddie: Just thought you’d want to know.
Me: Ok. Well, thanks for the info, I think.
I changed the subject and we talked a little longer. It was a week night, so we finished our drinks and got up to leave. Eddie asked me out again, for the following week. I accepted.
Our second date was at a different restaurant bar…again only for drinks and during the week. The next red flag started to show up when he began bad-mouthing his ex-wife. I was able to get him to change the subject by saying his divorce was really none of my business. He agreed and moved on to more pleasant topics. And, he brought me a gift…a sample of make-up that he got through his job. It was actually very nice. So, when he asked me to join him for dinner the following weekend, I said yes, hoping the trash-talking was just an anomaly.
Eddie convinced me to let him pick me up at my home since (he said) the restaurant was very hard to find, even with GPS (this was before Waze.) He arrived at my house with a bottle of champagne. He insisted I open the bottle and pour each of us a glass. I was surprised because we still had to drive to the restaurant a few towns away. I nursed mine but he quickly drank his first glass, and then another.
Me: Eddie, why don’t we save the rest for another time?
Eddie, a little belligerent: Why? It’s good champagne.
Me: It is, but we still have to drive to the restaurant. You shouldn’t drink before driving.
Eddie: I’m fine, but ok. I won’t drink any more of it. We can have it when we get back.
Me, knowing we would not be finishing it tonight, but needing him to stop drinking: Sure. Sounds like a plan.
We got into his car, in hindsight I should have insisted on driving. But, I didn’t think he’d go for it. (I know, you can be mad at me right now…I am older and wiser now…and would never stand for that.) We made it to the restaurant safely, and went inside. Eddie knew the owners and they were thrilled to see him. They greeted me warmly and showed us to a table in a corner of a small room off the main area of the restaurant.
We sit down and the waiter comes over to take our drink order.
Me: I’ll have a chardonnay, please.
Eddie: Bring me a scotch on the rocks with a twist.
(He didn’t say, “please”. That bothered me.)
Me: It seems like you’ve been here a lot. What would you recommend?
Eddie: Yeah. The owners and I go way back. I’ve known them a very long time. They always take care of me. Everything here is good.
Me: That’s great. It’s always nice to have a place like that…like “Cheers”.
Eddie: It is.
We place our dinner order with the waiter, and I notice Eddie has already finished his scotch. He summons the waiter over and orders another one.
Eddie: Excuse me for a minute. I’ll be right back.
Me: Are you ok?
Eddie: Yes, I’m fine. I’ll be back.
And, with that, Eddie leaves…I’m assuming to go to the bathroom. So, I wait. About 15 minutes go by, and I see Eddie walking towards the table.
Me: Are you ok? (Again, the same question.)
Eddie: (Sniffing and rubbing his nose.) Yes. I’m fine. Just had to use the men’s room.
Me: Ok. (But, it was strange…and I was wondering what was going on here.)
Our appetizers arrive and we eat, and talk. He mentions something about a difficult time in his past, when he had a problem with drugs and alcohol. I try to press him for more details, but he changes the subject. When the waiter comes to take away our plates, Eddie asks him for another scotch. And then he gets up again.
Eddie: Excuse me. I’ll be back.
Me: Again?! You sure you’re ok?
Eddie: Yes. I said I was ok before. I’m still ok. Just sit tight. I’ll be back.
So I wait…again. Truthfully, if I had my own car or if Uber existed then, I would have left. But, he was my ride…
Eddie finally returns, sniffing and rubbing his nose again. Now, I may be naive (very naive about this stuff), but even I can tell when someone is using cocaine. I didn’t want to bring it up though, because I wasn’t sure how he’d react. So, I pretended everything was ok and tried to have some light-hearted conversation.
Dinner finally ended and I couldn’t wait to get home. I told Eddie I was going to call a cab, but he again insisted on driving. When we arrived at my house, I asked Eddie if he wanted to take his champagne with him, as I knew I was never going to see him again. He came into my kitchen while I went to retrieve the champagne and all of a sudden, he has his arms around me. He starts kissing me and I push him away.
Me: What are you doing?
Eddie: This is date 3. You know what that means.
Me: No. I don’t. What does it mean?
Eddie: It means we have sex. Date 3 is the sex date.
Me: Not for me, it’s not. I don’t subscribe to that rule.
I know. I have a lot of rules, but this is one I don’t adhere to…
Eddie, getting angry: You must be kidding right now. I bought you dinner!
Me, starting to feel scared: NO. I’m not kidding, at all.
All of a sudden, Eddie has his arms around me and is forcefully trying to touch my breasts.
Me: You need to leave…NOW.
Eddie: Nah. I’m not leaving. Let’s have that champagne.
Me: No! YOU HAVE TO LEAVE, NOW!!
Eddie: You must be kidding me.
Me: No. I’m totally not kidding you. Leave now or I’m calling the police.
Eddie: Ok, ok! You don’t have to be so nasty about it.
Me: GET OUT! (And, I push him towards my front door.)
Eddie opens the door and walks out. I run to lock it behind him and notice that I’m visibly shaking. I never heard from him after that…thankfully.
Years later, I ran into his ex in town. I didn’t tell her that I briefly dated her abusive husband. I’m glad for her that she got divorced from him.
