Someone Else's New Year's Resolution

I had one of the most interesting and somewhat comical experience today. As I approached the short line at the Starbucks inside Barnes and Noble about 11 am this morning, I noticed a man sitting at a table, who suddenly looked up towards the cash register, smiled, and several moments later walked over to the whomever he was looking at. I didn't pay anymore attention until I saw him come around where I was paying for my double, which chocolate mocha, and he introduced himself to this lady, which first sounded as if they knew each other. The woman then introduced to the man her niece.

I still didn't think much of their conversation until I listened some more and deduced they had not known one another. Then, what really caught my attention was the next question from the man,
"Are you a early or late person?"
"Well," She said, "Being her now should tell you."
It wasn't a cold answer, but her tone told me these two had never met.

Now, curiosity got the best of me, so I decided to watch to see what this was all about. I'm not usually nosey, but I couldn't resist.

As their conversation continued, I noticed how the man was going out of his way to be nice to her, as if he wanted to make sure she knew he wanted her to feel comfortable around him. In contrast, her body language spoke volumes, like I'm not sure about you, so keep your distance.

My coffee was ready, so I picked it up, and instead of finding a seat to wait for my friend Mike, I casually hung around the book rack and watched this interaction.
While I watched, the lady turned to her niece and told her it was alright for her to leave, and she was going to sit down with the man.

It finally hit me what was taking place. These two were meeting for the first time, and probably from one of those on-line dating services--meet first for coffee, in a public area, and see where things go from there. The clue that finally was the key, was the niece. It was quite obvious this lady was not about to meet a total stranger alone--good for her.

When my friend Mike arrived, we sat down in the same area these two potential lovebirds were sitting. It was quite comical how in about an hour the walls the woman had up, were starting to come down as she became more talkative, smiling, and enjoying their conversation. The niece showed up later, and again the lady told her all was well. The two love birds got up, and walked the aisles of Barnes and Noble.

I wonder if this was either of their New Year's resolutions. If so, I certainly hope these two enjoyed the rest of their high-tech blind date.