Dating by Wegs: COVID Stories Part 3 – Contact Traced

It’s been just over 11 months since the COVID shutdown has taken place. In the beginning, we all had to learn about terms like social distancing, contact tracing and testing protocols. Well, dating during COVID is no different.

Dating by Wegs – Contact Traced

I’m a pretty lucky guy. For most of the last 11 months, I have lived alone. I did have my daughter with me a week on and a week off until she went to college. So, my daily/weekly contact group is extremely small. I had not gotten a COVID test or needed one for that matter. Of course, as I’ve written before, I’m an extremely social person, so I do get out. That has included dating.

At the end of the year, I was lucky enough to match with this incredible woman on Tinder, which has not been my experience of the women on that app. We matched, and from the start, the text conversation was easy and genuine. After a couple days, we did a FaceTime call, which she is a stunner, to boot. We set up a date.

Now, you all know how I roll. I was most definitely going to find something fun to do. So, I found one of the first bars to advertise Curling as an outdoor winter activity. Kaiser Tiger is the spot in West Loop, which in the summer it has bocce pits on their rather large patio. In the winter months, they freeze over the bocce pits for curling stones. Now, Kaiser Tiger has a true open air approach. The patio does have a roof and some heaters, but it is not fully enclosed, which makes for a chilly day. I met my date in the mid-afternoon and the temps were at least manageable.

After a few drinks and conversation, I most definitely was more than interested. She is bright, beautiful and extremely easy to talk to. Plus, she proceeded to kick my ass at curling and wouldn’t let me forget it, and my readers should know how damn competitive I am. That made her even more attractive, to be honest. The one reservation about her I had was she is recently separated, and from experience I know dating right away can be difficult.

We got together again, the second time about 5 days later at the top of the Lincoln Hotel for drinks. That bar is called the J Parker. If you haven’t been there, the J Parker is one of the only places in COVID times to not take reservations. Plus, it has a great view of Lincoln Park and the Lake. We had a deep conversation learning about each others’ families and more. Despite my reservations and attempts to calm my feelings down (which falling in love quickly is my MO), I was definitely taken by her. At one point, I had to stop the riveting conversation and tell her – “This is not normal conversation for a second date!”

We continued to communicate regularly, but we did not set up another date until 2 weeks later. This time I wanted to try something different – like I always do. I had heard about a couple of city drive in movies. I tried the one in Pilsen, which was playing their “Bring on the Summer” series, and for our viewing pleasure, we would see – “Jaws.”

https://www.chitownfutbol.com/chitown-movies

My date was great. She was open to the idea, and excited to see me again. One of the cool things about this place is that you can order both food and beverages (including alcohol) directly to your car as you watch the movie. The selection is not robust, but we both had a canned Monaco cocktail, some wings and popcorn. We watched the movie together, and after we finished our first round, we ordered another. After the movie, I dropped her off at her car, which was parked just outside of the drive in area. Another great date.

After that, I was really fighting those feelings again. I really liked her, and so I knew what she is going through mentally, but that didn’t stop me from connecting with someone great. A couple days later, I had bought tickets to the Maggie Daley Skate Ribbon for the next weekend, mainly because I really wanted to skate again and those tickets are really hard to come by. I texted her about it, and strangely did not hear back right away. I even called her the next day, which we spoke briefly while she was working and needed to call me back, but she didn’t end up calling me back to discuss.

I was really confused. I was thinking – did I do something wrong. Was it something I said? Didn’t we have a great time again? I was perplexed at best. However, I’ve learned over the almost 3 years being single – the worst thing you can do is over-text or call. Think about the scene from Swingers when Jon Favreau’s character calls the girl 15 times leaving messages only to have her tell him to bug off you creep. Every guy has been there. I was there, but I stayed strong and just waited.

A couple days later on Friday, I was having a rough morning. I didn’t sleep well. My daughter came home from school at the last minute. I had to do this health screening for work, plus another friend needed my help first thing that morning. I was frazzled. Something was definitely in the air. My blood pressure reading was way higher than normal. Still, I had things to look forward to – my Skate Ribbon tickets for Saturday night and I was going to play indoor sand volleyball for the first time in months Saturday morning.

When I got back from my screening (with garlic extract pills and a BP cuff to combat and monitor my BP), my date texted me. She apologized for not getting back to me, but she was sick and tested positive for COVID and thought I should be tested……..

Ugh. Well, that explained it. I was relieved in a way that it was not something I did or said, but now I had to scramble to find a rapid testing site. I had no symptoms, however I made an appointment for 4 PM that afternoon at CVS. When I rolled to the drive thru site and self-administered the swap up my nose for 15 seconds or whatever, I learned that it was not a rapid test. I would have to wait 2-3 days for the results…….Grr.

I canceled my volleyball slot, and I made a contingency for the Skate Ribbon tickets (which cannot be refunded or rescheduled to a later date). I was upset, not at her. Just how all this testing protocol works. I woke up in the morning to learn that indoor dining just opened up in Chicago to 25% again. Yet, here I was needing to quarantine until I knew my fate. I gave away my Ribbon tickets to my co-worker. The only good news that afternoon was my cholesterol and other blood readings were great.

At about 8 PM (the time of my Ribbon reservation), I received my negative test result. HOORAY!!! I texted my date, and luckily her loved ones were fine, too. She just had to get through being sick herself.

I checked in with her periodically over the next 10 days or so. She got back to health and normal life. However, when I reached out to see if she was ready to go out again, she told me that she had reconsidered dating right now.

I was obviously disappointed. However, I understood. In some ways, it is better. I know firsthand how important it is to focus on yourself after such an experience. I appreciated her honesty with me. I told her so. We agreed to stay in touch, and that is the way it is goes sometimes.

For me, I urge every dater to enjoy the time you have with people. Make connections, even if they are fleeting, as in times of COVID or otherwise, we do not know what lies ahead. I can say that my date is a genuine person. I know she will be much better off after some time to herself, and if I’m lucky enough to spend time with her again, then I will be blessed.

Enjoy your weekend and happy swiping.

Wegs