She sat near the café window, nervously awaiting his arrival, her eyes scanning the crowd. 

     Not him.  No, that’s not him either, she thought.  God I hope he’s who he says he is.

     They had met online weeks prior using an Internet dating service and before today, had only talked on the phone.  Now she questioned whether she could actually go through with the meeting, whether it was all a big mistake.  Never in her life had she done this sort of thing before. 

     Her mind wandered back to the day her sister convinced her to subscribe to the site.

     “You should do it,” she had told her.  “Think of all the fun you might have.” 

     She was only three days into her subscription when, after hours of perusing photos and profiles, she saw him.  His profile was witty, free of grammatical errors, and he had used a picture of her favorite "Muppet" as his photo.  Intrigued, but still feeling a bit shy, she sent him a “wink” and waited for a response.  A series of playful e-mails ensued and they quickly graduated to talking on the phone.  He seemed grounded, goal-oriented, and she found herself trusting him more and more.  Her fears began to subside and now here she was, at the threshold of something bigger:  a face-to-face encounter. 

     Panic gripped her and she decided to get up and go to the bathroom for a last-minute hair and makeup check.  As she stood to leave the table, she bumped it, spilling the water from her glass all over her pants. 

     This is not happening! she thought.  He’ll be here any minute!  What am I going to do?

     She rushed into the bathroom toward the wall-mounted paper towel dispenser and bumped into her sister.  Her twin sister. 

 

 

     He walked past the door again. 

     I just can't go in, he thought to himself. I knew I should have used my own picture. What grown man uses a picture of "Kermit the Frog" to get a date?

     From deep inside, he mustered the courage to turn himself around and head for the door. Unbeknownst to him, the little bell above the door of the café was poised to strike and just as his knees returned to shaking it did. It was too late to turn around now. Every eye in the place followed him as he headed to the counter. He sat down and returned to obscurity as the patrons returned to their meals and pointless conversations. A quick glance revealed all couples; he wondered if he was earlier than he thought.

     I can just wait here, see who shows up, and then choose, he thought. Why shouldn't I get to try it once? 

How many times had his roommate set these meetings up two at a time and how many potential perfect matches had gone home feeling abandoned and unwanted?

          It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now he wasn't so sure. He pulled his ball cap down a little closer to his eyes, thinking that his anonymity might need to be preserved, and ordered a cup of coffee.

 

 

    The look of astonishment was mirrored on her sister’s face.  This intriguing and unlikely occurrence completely distracted her mind from worrying about her wet pants.

    “What are you doing on this side of the city?” she asked her.

     "I have a date," her sister replied.   "With a guy I met online.”

    The odds of her sister being on the same side of the city, at the same café, at the same time made her suspicious.

    “You don’t say,” she said. “What site did you meet your mysterious Romeo on?”

    Her response sealed the deal. She knew exactly what must be going on. He double-booked! The sketchy bastard double-booked his girls so he could pick which girl he liked best!  No wonder he hadn't used his own picture.

    The horrible sinking feeling of having her hopes dashed by this guy was quickly replaced by a sly smirk at the corner of her lips.

     "He doesn’t know that we know," she said.  "Maybe we can have a little fun with this guy to make up for what he was planning. Here's what we should to do to get our revenge."

 

 

     Unaware of what was happening just a few feet away, another man and woman were having a conversation. 

     “Blind dates are insane,” he said, taking a sip of water.  “I think I'm more nervous than you are.”

     “Don’t be nervous,"  she replied, rolling her eyes.  "Everything will be fine."

     He continued to stare at her in awe.

     How come she’s so calm? he thought. I hope tonight works out; online dating is rough. 

     The waitress headed their way, pulling the pen from behind her ear, and the pad from her apron.

     “Are you two kids ready?” she asked, trying to conceal the fact that she had asked the same question 100 times that day. 

     He started to respond but was interrupted.

     “My brother is leaving and I am waiting for my date," she answered.

     “You know, maybe I'll stick around to make sure he isn't some creep,” he added with a smirk.

     "What are you going to do?" she snapped.  "Puff out your chest so that the Muppets shirt you're wearing will inflate and you'll look intimidating?  Just go home, I'll be fine." 

     As he made his way toward the exit, he realized he couldn't leave her.  He decided to sit at a table near the restrooms instead.

 

      While he was sitting there waiting for the supposed creep to show, he heard giggling coming from the women's restroom. The door opened and one of the sisters walked out. Before she could get a good look around the café, she noticed a young man sitting alone at a table. He was tall, dark, and extremely handsome, but not exactly how her potential blind date had described himself. She scurried away to the closest bar seat, hoping that he hadn't seen her.

     That must be him, who else would be wearing a Kermit the Frog shirt, she thought to herself. He seems too tall, even too handsome to be him.

     With her pants still slightly wet, she walked over to the Muppet-shirted man who had no idea what this girl and her sister had planned, much less that he was about to be accidentally involved in the blind date from hell.

     "Hello, my name is Kate," she said.

     Caught off-guard during his spying expedition, he stuttered slightly as he replied, "Uh... Umm... My name is Michael."

     His face blushed a deep rosy hue.

     Hmmm...she thought.  He said his name was Mike during our e-mails and phone conversations. Maybe he goes by Michael too.  That sounds right.

     "It's nice to finally meet you," she said.  How about I get us a cup of coffee?

     "Umm...Sure.  OK?" he replied, shrugging his shoulders in confusion.

     His mind was now preoccupied with the man who had just sat down next to his sister.

     Kate walked up to the barista and ordered two large coffees, hers with french vanilla flavoring. While she was waiting, her sister emerged from the restroom and immediately saw Michael. He was too busy watching his little sister and her date to notice that the girl he just met seemed to have come from a different place.

     "Thought you were getting us coffee?" he said. 

     "Oh I am,"  Kate's sister replied.  "I was just wondering how you take it."

     "Double cream. No sugar," he answered. 

     "Sounds good Mike,"  she said. 

     She ran to her sister, who was concealed by the mass amounts of people coming in for late night pick-me-ups. The coffee was ready and it was time to play out their revenge. Little did they know, they were about to ruin the wrong guy's night.