Date Lab

This aviation lawyer is eager to connect. Will his moves fly?

7:30 p.m., KINKEAD'S, FOGGY BOTTOM

Sandy: I got to the restaurant early, as is my wont. I had brought some flowers, three different colors, and I'd written a little card that explained their significance. I thought it would be a great icebreaker, a little romantic without being over-the-top. I also had [my contact information] in the little card. Yvonne showed up on time. She was very cute; she has a presence, a wonderful smile.

Yvonne: It wasn't love at first sight. He's a little taller than I am, with gray hair. A little on the heavy side. There were three roses lying on the table. He said, "Which color do you like best?" I said the peach. [The card said,] "It seems fun to use these three roses to be a mood ring for our first encounter. The general rule is the darker the color, the warmer the attraction." I was glad I picked the middle one.

Sandy: The roses just sort of flowed into "What do you do? Where do you live?" Yvonne and I share political views, so that was fun, and we both love dogs, and we talked about our children. You didn't have to think, Okay, what were the 25 questions that I prepared? The conversation moved naturally. We didn't order for a while.

Yvonne: He's a Navy brat, and so am I. Another area of commonality: We both had a long marriage that did not end in a lot of recriminations. [We exchanged information] within the first hour. We were talking about what I do; I design logos and magazines and things like that. So he pulled out his card and said, "Well, tell me what you think of my card?"

Sandy: It was sincere. It wasn't a prepackaged move. We laughed a lot, and there were a couple of poignant moments. We shared some things that matter to both of us.

Yvonne: We did talk about divorce a bit. Both of us intended to stay married forever. [When we took photos,] obviously we were liking each other. In one of the pictures he's kissing my cheek. It was fun. He ordered dessert and insisted that I have a bite. We left about 10 p.m. He [walked me to the car]; I was very pleased with that. [I said,] "I think I have an allergy, but it's possible it might be a bug, and I wouldn't want to give it to anybody." He said he didn't care, and he kissed me anyway. It was sweet, really.

Sandy: I took the risk. I was very drawn to her from a physical standpoint, and I was very pleased that she was interested in kissing. The date was definitely a 4.7. When you have a first encounter and conversation never lags, that's a very good thing.

Yvonne: The date rated more than 4. Maybe 4.5. He was very natural, very sweet. We will probably see each other again.

Interviews by Elizabeth Chang

Update: Sandy and Yvonne have been to the theater and a grape stomping, and plan to go out again.

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