I blame my friend Connie’s romanticism for my one and only blind date. She set me up with Randy, the sip and go who spent the entire night ignoring me.

Connie and I met while working at a restaurant. She had been married about one year and was a couple years younger than me.

Connie married Kevin while a senior in high school. After the wedding day at the county courthouse, they moved into her bedroom at her parents’ home. She poured over bridal magazines, planning a glamorous wedding for when she and Kevin had money to spend.

She and I spent a lot of social time together. We went to Taco Bell, the mall, and of course sat in her room looking at bridal magazines.

I cared little about dresses, cakes, or invitations. A wedding and a marriage were the farthest things from my mind. I was dating a lot and had kind of a regular fella but no real boyfriend.

Connie wanted me officially hooked up with someone. She decided it was time for me to meet one of her male buddies.

“Oh you would love Randy,” she said, shaking her bridal magazine in my direction.

I reluctantly agreed to a blind date.

She and Kevin arranged for us to meet at their house then carpool to a steak restaurant named Cattlemens.

Randy and I shook hands and said hello.

That was the last time Randy said more than a couple words to me.

During the car ride, Randy and Kevin sat in the front seat and talked. Connie and I were in the back seat.

Randy sat directly across from me at dinner, but his eyes never met mine and he barely looked at me. The restaurant is the kind that serves steak, steak, and steak. The servers wheel a little cart to the table and guests can see the meat before it vanishes into the kitchen and reappears on your plate with a baked potato.

“You know Sip and Go Girl here is a journalism major. She’s going to be huge,” Connie beamed.

“That’s nice,” Randy said and tossed a glance in my direction.

Later we all hung out in Kevin and Connie’s room and watched TV. Randy was lying face down on the bed and yukked it up with Kevin.

A couple days later Connie and I saw each other at work.

“Wasn’t that fun with Randy?” Her voice was a little strained.

“Seriously. Seriously? Connie he didn’t even know I was there,” I furrowed my brow. I was barely 21-years-old and I took his behavior personally. My self-esteem took a hit even though I had no interest in Randy.

“Well……” Connie had nothing to say. “Ok. Yeah. Nevermind.”

I did laugh a little at the night and after another few days I had all but forgotten the double date.

I never saw Randy again.

In fact, Connie, Kevin, and Randy never really hung out again either.

Connie and her husband separated the next month.