On a Date - With Your Cocktail

You are at a new restaurant. You order your typical drink. Or maybe you try a drink you don't usually get, just because you feel like mixing it up.

Have you ever noticed that when we take our first sip of a drink, we pull back, and stare directly into the drink as we assess it's worthiness? Even as we speak, we can't pull our eyes from the drink. Your companion asks, "Is it okay?"  And you study the drink and contemplate its flavor and concoction and maybe nod a little bit while licking your lips, all the while looking into the depths of the icy cold glass.

It's as if you are saying to your drink, "Hello. I think I like you. But you are different than I'm used to. My usual bartender is heavier on the cranberry in this drink, and lighter on the lemon. But just give me a minute. . . . . yes, yes, I can see how that would be, mm-hmm, interesting. I'm willing to get to know you better, let's move forward." And if you really like your new friend, your hand rarely leaves the stem of the glass. As if holding hands while you stroll down the street. "I won't let go, until the end!" You say to your Cosmo as lovingly as Rose did to Jack in Titanic.

But if it goes badly . . . . if the bartender butchers your drink beyond recognition . . . .it's more something like this: "Is it okay?" companion asks. You grimace and pucker your lips, staring at the beautiful thing in the glass that suddenly has turned ugly. How could it be so two-faced? "Oh. No. No. It's. . . I don't know, it's . . . . oh it's just NOT RIGHT. This is NOT OKAY. Who would do this to a Vodka Tonic? I mean, it's just WRONG." You withdrawal your hand and you push the glass further onto the table, away from you. "It's not going to work out," you say. "I'm just not that into you."