THE CURSE OF
THE FOURTH DATE Coco St. George
I
n hindsight, showing up in a wedding gown to our fourth date might have been a mistake, as Tracey warned me. A big mistake. Yes, it was a faux pas, but totally justified. Who could blame me? After all, it was our fourth date. And if you know what happens on the third date, then you will understand what my train of thought was.
Besides, he was the one who told me to meet in front of the church. Did I say church? No, it was a Cathedral with a capital C. The Cathedral of Amalfi, Italy, no less. If you have been to the Piazza del Domo in Amalfi, you should know why I say so: a massive medieval building, built in the 9th and 10th centuries, and rebuilt and remodeled several times throughout its history, to include now Arab-Norman, Gothic, Renaissance, and Byzantine elements. An architectonical jewel if you know what that means. And if you haven’t been there, you should visit the virtual reconstruction in SL and see for yourself. But before I go further, let me tell you where I met him. I met him at a club; one of my favorite places in SL. That night they were having one of those “Best in” contests; I think the theme was red, so “best in red”. Who doesn’t have something red in their inventory? Red hair, red dress, red shoes, and you’re set and poised to win a juicy prize in Lindens. You vote for your friends, your friends vote for you, and everybody splits the loot. “I voted for you, you know?” he IM’d me after the winners were revealed, with my name at the top of the list thanks to the alphabetical order. I must admit, as pick-up lines go, that wasn’t the worst I’ve heard. And he was easy on the eye, if not outright cute. He didn’t have the widespread macho-looking avatar, you know? The one with the overly broad shoulders, arms that barely touch the THE FOURTH DATE
waistline, hips so meager that makes you wonder how they can support the huge torso, and a rather small head with an angry look. A look you would expect to find more in the club bouncer than in the guy asking you out. Anyway, a quick scan to his profile, where he avoided the usual tropes you see everywhere (the eternity feelings for his friends and a death threat to those who dare to cross them), convinced me, and I decided to give him a chance. Next thing I knew, I accepted his friendship request, and we were dancing together. That amounted to our first date, I supposed, since the couple dances at that place didn’t leave much to the imagination. For our second date, he invited me to the most romantic place I had seen. We took a boat ride where we could cuddle, chat, and get to know each other. If you ask me, we could chat all the same standing on the sidewalk of a dilapidated neighborhood. But, hey, we are visual beings, and our surroundings play a big part on how we understand the world around us. Besides, who was the guy who said that Second Life was nothing more than a glorified, graphic-environment, 3D chat? If that’s true, then we should pay close attention to what we see. And what I was seeing was great. This guy was really interested in what I had to say, made me feel safe and comfortable, and even before we left the boat, I knew something was going to happen between us...
