Date Lab

Are older daters just more honest?

7:30 p.m. | Brasserie Beck | Downtown

Mark: As the guy, I always try to arrive to the restaurant first. I don't want the woman to be waiting. So I got there early enough to walk around the block to see if there were places we could go afterward, if we had a good time. As I was walking back, I saw a woman busting out of the restaurant and hailing a cab. The guy came chasing after her. I thought: Uh-oh. That's not good karma.

Laura: When I got there, the host said, "Mark's already here." I went to the ladies' room to comb my hair. Then the host took me to our table. We said hello, and I sat down. Mark's not my type. He had a more mature appearance, and I usually like dark hair and darker complexions. So I knew it would be unlikely for there to be a romantic connection. I thought I'd make the most of the evening, and that was as far as that was going to go.

Mark: She was above-average looking; her lips were nice and full. But the big disconnect was her eyes. I like a woman whose eyes twinkle. Hers had no life in them whatsoever. She had no vibrancy.

Laura: Right away, we had a lot to talk about. I told him about a book I'm writing that has a spiritual bent. He told me about some books he wants to write [about] areas he's interested in, like hiking. I'm on the quiet side, but I thought the conversation was give and take.

Mark: It was hard to draw her out. We jumped from topic to topic and never found anything we could cruise on for a while. I did find out she wants to write a series of books geared toward teenagers. They have a spiritual side to them. But I never found out what spiritual side she was going to, and I realized that's because she didn't want to talk about it. She cut it off.

Laura: It's a mystery story; that's why I was vague. Too much detail would give it away.

Mark: We were polar opposites. I'm an extrovert; she's an introvert. I'm active; she seems passive. Laura had absolutely no reaction throughout the entire evening to anything. Even when I told her my niece once dated a guy who has now been convicted of murder, she had no reaction. He was a saw murderer. How do you not have a reaction to that?

Laura: I just said I usually have good intuition about people. I think I would pick up on it.

Mark: [After our entrees,] I made the mistake of suggesting we order dessert. Looking back, I wonder why I prolonged it. I was trying to find something that would energize the conversation, and I was working with a dead audience.

Laura: When I looked at my watch, it was already 9:30, really late. I was thinking, I'm not going to function at work if we stay out too long. We walked to the Metro together.

Mark: I had an umbrella, and it started to rain, [so] I tried to cover her. She kept moving away. I wondered if I was repulsive to her. Then, at the Metro, she had a wait. I was going to wait with her, but she told me I didn't have to, so I left. There was no hesitation or hug or kiss on the cheek. Enough is enough. It wasn't the worst first date, but it was below average. I'd give it a 2.5 [out of 5].

Laura: I'd give the date a 3. It might have been partly unconscious, but once I know I'm not interested in someone, I put my guard up a little bit. I didn't want to lead him on.

Interview by Kelly DiNardo

UPDATE: Nada. Nix. Nuthin'.

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