Writing Prompts Contest, Week #2: A First Tinder Date
"Papa, you can't be by yourself all the time. Mamma wouldn't want that."
Mario Valenceria glowered at the phone. His eldest called every night at the very worst time, but he didn't dare tell her because she would just interfere.
"I do go out, in the morning. I buy coffee and biscotte at the groceria. When the weather is nice, I go to the park. I have the life I want, the life your mother would want for me." He knew what Gabriella wanted. She wanted him to sell the house so she could get her hands on the money. She kept telling him stories about lonely old men meeting women and being duped. His daughter was obsessed. The greed seeped through every conversation. The only thing that would put her at peace was if he sold the house--or if he died. Just so long as she got the money.
Gabriella persisted. "I'm going to get the other kids together and talk about this. We worry about you, Papa, over there by yourself. You belong with family..."
He interrupted her.
"Gabriella, I'm tired. I need to go lie down." She wouldn't mind hearing that, because it meant he was in decline. Which would bring her closer to her prize.
"OK, Papa. I'll be there Saturday, as always. Cook you some nice sausage and peppers so you'll be all set for the weekend."
"Good." The end of it. No more talking. He was busy. Speaking to her was like looking in the grave. He shook the chill off and sat back down at the computer.
The invitation was waiting for him. He had given in to temptation a few nights before and had signed up for Tinder. But not until tonight was he brave enough to engage. He was ready now. Of course, not as "Papa", as Mario Valenceria, old man. Retired carpenter who had never done anything he could brag about. No, he was ready to connect as Alessandro Magrande. From Manhattan. Forty-four years old. Writer. Artist. Divorced, no children. Hobbies: travel, hiking, theater, philanthropy.
That was his Facebook profile, using photos his brother had sent him from Naples. Photos of a nephew who had perished on a hiking adventure. Mario always thought the young man was lucky. He lived fully and died before life diminished him with its incessant demands.
Alessandro Magrande didn't talk very much on Facebook. Mostly he watched and listened. Facebook was like a soap opera. It never stopped. It had no end, no real purpose besides distraction. And that's exactly what it did for Mario. It distracted him from the death of his wife. From his own eventual demise.
The moment had come to swipe his Tinder acceptance. He did it. So easy. The skin of Alessandro had become so familiar that Mario did not have to pretend. He was Alessandro Magrande.
The young lady was beautiful, ambitious, eager to meet an attractive man of achievement.
And so it was arranged.
He readied himself for the date. Friday. 9 pm. In front of Grand Central Station. This was his idea. It suggested to both of them a lack of permanence and commitment. The element of whimsy.
What if they should miss each other? Then fate willed it and they would accede to the outcome.
Mario enjoyed the idea of being cavalier. All his life he had been responsible. Plodding. Deliberate. But not Alessandro. Alessandro risked his life on the side of a mountain. He threw caution to the wind. He reaped an adventurer's fate.
Alicia. Alicia Cooper. So perfect for his script. Blond. Tall. Athletic.
Friday he got up early. The excitement almost did him in. His heart raced. He polished his shoes. Combed his hair with gel. Shaved extra close. He had a date.
The train to Manhattan was part of the adventure. It had been so long since he'd gone to the city. Even when Marcella was alive, they rarely left Queens. But now...he was ready, like Alessandro, for his adventure.
He walked over to Grand Central at about 8:00. The crush of people was exhilarating. They were part of his soap opera now. The sinister and the proper among them were written into the script. The story of his life would no longer be, Mario Valenceria: carpenter, husband, father. He had become an adventurer, a risk taker. Even if no one else ever knew. He knew.
She came out of the crowd like a character in a movie--or a soap opera. Her picture was exact. She was gorgeous, bold, dynamic. He walked up to her, smelled her perfume. Not too strong. Brushed against her arm. Warm, with a slight down. All of it he recorded in his memory. It would be his no matter what happened.
Of course, she didn't meet her date that night. Perhaps she went on to a club and encountered some stranger who served her purpose.
Mario rode the train back to Queens. He imagined he could still smell the scent of her on him. A diffuse satisfaction filled him as he unlocked the door to his house.
No computer tonight. Nothing could top the most recent episode of his soap opera: Alessandro Magrande's first Tinder date.
This story was written for a contest sponsored by @themarkymark. The prompt for the story was:
...first tinder date. This could be a real life story, it can be completely made up.
Writing the story was fun. Thanks @themarkymark for offering this opportunity to the Steemit community.
Nice! A man who walks somewhere between stalker and tourist... Somebody skirting the edge of impropriety, and most certainly predator.. but with a somewhat harmless prize. Not precisely a gent, yet not a monster either... Somewhat both.
I dig it. =)
You can take it where you want it. It seems his fantasy life is becoming more important to him than his "real" life. Is he losing it? Is he in control? Is he just an innocent man with regrets? What would Alicia Cooper think about their "date"? I could explore this character and develop him. But I think the story is more interesting this way. I appreciate your comment--an interesting perspective.
I have no idea who Alicia Cooper is, but then again, it's a big world. Given the way his daughter treats him, I cannot for an instant fault him for this game... and certainly I understand why he is keeping a secret, only to himself. Secrets have power... a strange sort, that when shared, is diminished, and in the case of his daughter, would most assuredly have been extinguished.
I feel he is fully in control, and gaining more control by doing so.. by asserting himself rather than just declining, oh-so conveniently, in a chair watching TV. I really dig this guy. <3
Me too
Thank you for participating in the weekly storytelling contest sponsored by @celfmagazine + @sndbox. We loved your work and you have earned the first prize.
I will be delegating a small amount next week. I do love the fact that this magazine exists!
What a wonderful story! I am enchanted and delighted. To create so much effect with so little action. You let the human imagination come alive.
A very good contrast between repentance, insensitive children, the regret of a life that wasn't lived to its full bloom and the late realization that it's never too late. For an adventure that can be as exciting for an older man as a climb on a steep cliff. I want to shout to Mario that he doesn't have to regret anything. To be a man of responsibility is to be a man of appropriate action. All in good time. And: he could just as well have died that night. And we would smile anyway.
It's beautiful how you've covered the modern world with a touch of classicism, which I take to be totally positive, because I much prefer this kind of romance. How difficult it would have been on its own to actually do all this and turn Allesandro into Mario. It's a good thing you spared him this. I almost was smelling her perfume.
You could make friends with death by reading these lines:
As long as a person knows how to distinguish between carelessness and serenity, it doesn't matter how long he lives.
Thank you for your comment. When I saw this prompt, I thought, Oh, dear not even when I was young would I use Tinder. So how do I imagine a date like this? I tried to think of something more relevant to my experience. Mario was born. I couldn't be mean to Mario. He seems pretty nice, so it had to end well.
I'm glad you like him, too. I wonder how many more Tinder dates he'll go on :)
What a fun story. I was wondering how Mario/Allessandro was going to pass as what he described himself to be. That was a fun date for him. : )
There are way too many greedy family members like his eldest daughter, Gabriella in this world today. I have heard some horror stories and it is so sad.
Thank you! Writing a story about a Tinder date was a challenge, so I had to get creative. Gabriella is counting the money, unfortunately, but I also think she might have cause for concern about her father. He does seem to be drifting away, doesn't he? Hard to tell...I'm not sure and I wrote the story :))
I suppose Gabriella is a bit concerned or she wouldn't go over to his house to feed him on the weekend. Her father did seem tired with life, his life anyway. But he sure did have fun on his one way date and I had fun reading about it too. : )
The way you write, comes with magic @agmoore😊
That is the most beautiful thing to say to a writer. Thank you!
You are welcome.
This is an intriguing story. He’s a man walking a line between creepy predator and dreamy hopeful lover. In the end, he seems rather sad and lonely, choosing perfect dreams to real connection.
I had fun drawing the personality. I like to leave it open...what's really going on with his family, how far into the fantasy will he go. It's up to the reader now. Thanks for reading and commenting :)
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