Nancy's Boy Friends

After the divorce, Nancy said, “I couldn’t wait to start dating again.”

She remembered the fun she had as a young college girl during World War II, dancing with officers from a nearby U.S. Air Force base. To her the forty years since were a mere interlude. After all, she was still slim and attractive.

Nancy paid over $2,000 to join a dating service that sent her lists of ten or twelve eligible men each month. She told me about the interesting men she met for coffee. She was charmed by a tall, dark Spaniard. One night as we entered a restaurant, she spotted him sitting at the bar. She ran up to say “Hello.” The man looked over his shoulder, said, “Hi”, and turned back to sip his drink.

Nancy and I went to our table. As we picked up our menus, I asked, “What age men did you ask to meet, Nancy?”

She said, “Why. . ?” She fumbled with her fork before saying, “In their fifties. Older men don’t do anything but watch television. I’m still active. I want to go places and do things.”

None of the men she met through the dating service asked her for a second date. Finally she confessed, “I was getting lists of men’s names, and the men were all getting lists naming other women.” She canceled the dating service and joined “Parents Without Partners”.

Through “Parents Without Partners” Nancy met a series of boy friends. One lasted over a year. He was good-looking, slim, and young enough to be her son. He brought her flowers and sent her love poems and cards with tender sentiments. She bought theater tickets and took him to tea at the Ritz-Carlton. She also paid for repairs on his car and even helped him pay child support.

When this man went to Springfield to see his children, she invited me to spend the weekend with her. All night she sat up in bed complaining. She did not understand why he wanted to see his children when he could have spent the weekend doing fun things with her. “Why does he want to spend so much time with little kiddies?”

He said he wanted to buy her a ring. They went to a jewelry store, and Nancy picked out a pretty opal set with small diamonds. He forgot his credit card. Nancy paid for her own ring.

Shortly after that, they broke up.

Nancy was never daunted. Soon she was again dancing at Parents Without Partners, always confident she would soon meet “Mr. Right”.