Deer in the Headlights

My roommate and his sister recently decided to start a dinner group so that a few people could get together once or twice a month to have dinner and try out new places to eat throughout the city that no one has tried before. I like trying new places to eat and I think it was a great idea. Last night was the first time we got together and we ate at this Middle Eastern place on 9th and 9th called Mazza. It was different, but I liked it.

I also had a blind date that I needed to take care of (not Tony Soprano “take care of”, but just get around to taking out), so I invited (let’s call her) Whatshername to come to our dinner group to kill two birds with one stone. Whatshername was a good sport and agreed to come.

As Roommate and I got to the restaurant, we found Whatshername standing outside waiting for us. (I know what you’re thinking, and yes, I did offer to pick her up, but she preferred to meet us at the restaurant.) The three of us were the first ones there, so we decided to get seated while we waited for the others to show up. We perused the menu for a few moments and soon my roommate’s sister and brother-in-law showed up. In an attempt to be courteous, I said, “Sister and Brother-in-Law, this is Whosherface. Whosherface, this is Sister and Brother-in-Law”. To which Sister and Brother-in-Law respond, “Nice to meet you”, and to which she replies, “It’s nice to meet you too, but my name is actually Whatshername”. After a moment of that deer-in-the-headlights look, my eyes widened in terror at the realization that I got her name wrong. I turned to try to apologize to Whatshername as Roommate falls over on his side in laughter, Brother-in-Law almost falls off his chair roaring, and Sister turns red as she tries her best to hold it in. I made it through as far as “I’m s-“, before beginning to crack up myself.

She was kind enough to laugh it off and not take offense. Still though, it was hilarious. This wasn’t the first time I’ve forgotten my date’s name, but it was the first time I’ve introduced my date using the wrong name. The first one is much better, because you can actually get through a night without having to say someone’s name, unless you have to introduce them to the crowd. And then it is worse, because the whole crowd is there to witness your blunder.

The best part of blind dates is being able to tell people about the train wreck afterwards.