Installment #9 AlfredJ424

     Tucker hit the email icon and watched as his mail loaded.  He was surprised to see that someone had winked at him through his match.com site.  He had been on this dating site for 2 years and it had become his social life.  He knew he was supposed to find a woman to marry on there, but that just was not happening.  All of the women he had met through match.com were on the quest of finding a husband.  And theoretically it should work that way, but it wasn’t happening for him.  He made dates and took them out to eat and if he found them interesting, he made a second date.  Usually on the second date they brought their toothbrush and overnight bag. 

     Tucker did not like that.  He liked to sleep alone.  He liked to wake up in the morning alone.  He did not want to have to entertain some woman just because he screwed her the night before.  Sex was something he could take or leave anyway.  He had not been very active on the dating site lately, but since he paid for it every month, he felt he should check in occasionally. 

     He clicked on the wink and then clicked on “view profile.”  Truckingduck’s profile came up with her picture.  She was kind of cute.  A widow.  52 years old.  5’1” Kids grown and gone.  Pueblo.  Now that was Karma.  Not that he believed in Karma, but this was his first link to anyone in Pueblo except for George Farley and his wife Geraldine, the realtors.  She had animals.  2 dogs and a cat.  Oh, and some ducks and geese.  Must live on a farm. 

     He hit the email button.  Ok, now what?  He looked at her picture again.  She looked very friendly.  Not like those other women that had professional pictures and not a hair out of place.  Truckingduck just had a simple smile and the picture was taken by whoever had the camera.  Her face had been lifted from a picture that had other people in it. At least one person.  His work in photography told him this much.  She was kind of homely if the truth be known, but he would never tell her that.   What to say now was the stumper.  A thousand things went through his mind.  Lines that had worked on many women before were now inadequate in the scrutiny of those hazel eyes.

     He typed “Hello” and hit the send button.  Then he stared at the screen and wished he could call that back.  How stupid would she think he was?  He quickly turned off the computer and wished the world would go away before truckingduck read his email.