Later, he curiously asks me why I bother to flatten my curls. “You have great hair,” he says. “Do you know how many people would love to have curly hair?”
“Yeah, I do,” I say, with a smile.
The day continues, we decide to have dinner. No time to freshen up. A friend of his joins us. As we enter the restaurant, I excuse myself in search of a mirror to manage my mane. Still frizzy! I give up. I’m on my way back and tap the back of a towering man, who’s partially blocking the archway entrance to the dining room. He turns around, flashing a gorgeous smile, his sapphire eyes sparkling in the dimly lit space.
I tell myself this is not happening. Me—and my big hair—are standing face-to-face with Alec Baldwin. Yes, the actor. And yes, this is happening. Flushed and flustered in frizz, I mumble hello with my hands over my head and race back to the table, my cheeks are flushed like vine-ripe tomatoes.
I desperately seek a pin, elastic, anything to tie back my haphazard do. My date’s friend agrees my hair would look better out of the way. But my date encourages me to set it free. “It looks fine,” he says, nonchalantly.
I take his lead, forget about my hair, forget about Alec and confidently enjoy yet another great meal.
Bachelor #3: Cuban Marketing Executive
On my next date, I vow to worry less and relax more, no matter where my locks lay.
I agree to afternoon coffee. It’s a drizzly day. Stepping into Starbucks, smiles and curls abound, he spots me and waves. He has only seen a straight photo, but there’s not even a hint of surprise. We chat. I’m perplexed. Did he even notice that I look different, very different? He says he did, but wasn’t surprised. Hair—curly or straight—didn’t seem to matter.
He’s silly. We laugh. The focus turns to fitness and nutrition, which he acknowledges is very important to me. (He read my brief profile.) Then, I learn Cocoa Puffs (breakfast) and Ring Dings (late night snack) are part of his daily rituals.
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