Saviour at mall more toad than prince

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/02/2018 (3110 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I fell down at a shopping mall and a good-looking stranger helped me up, and actually swooped me up, carried me and sat with me on a bench.

He talked with me as I caught my breath and ascertained nothing was broken. I was shaken and he was kind and solicitous, setting me down gently and helping me examine my ankle. He said he was waiting for a friend who was going to be late. We talked for 30 minutes and it turned out we knew a bunch of the same people from high school, though he’s a little older. He gave me his phone number and asked me to call him.

Then the “friend” showed up and she gave him a big kiss. She was wearing a diamond engagement ring. I didn’t know what to make of that. He acted as if he had been sitting beside me by chance and didn’t introduce me and off they went.

I really liked him and would like to call him, but what are the chances she’s not his fiancée? Is he Prince Charming or just an engaged flirt?

— Got His Phone Number, Polo Park Area

Dear Got His Phone Number: He’s not the prince! Dump that number. That’s the move of a toad who is no longer free, though he pretended to be at first.

You’ll note he didn’t copy your number into his phone where it could be found. But more telling than that was the way he treated you when his girlfriend showed up — like you didn’t exist.

Why? Because you don’t, for him.

He was just flexing his single-guy muscle after he stopped to rescue a damsel in distress, and was feeling like a big hero. This guy forgot he was engaged to the point where he left out the fact he was meeting his wife-to-be.

Yikes! File that as a moment, not the beginning of anything romantic.

Dear Miss Lonelyhearts: I’m flustered! I became a widow last year and I just got a surprise in the mailbox at my house: an old-fashioned Valentine and little love note.

It was sent to me from an old love of many years ago.

He said he heard I lost my husband and he was taking a chance that I lived at my old address. It was in the same cul-de-sac where he used to live with his wife and children.

We had both married unwisely, had children and lived across from each other for some years. We were deeply attracted to each other and tried to hide it, but we weren’t always successful. Because of religion and duty to the children, we had done nothing other than steal a kiss on occasion. We always had eyes for each other and got together to talk about gardening, which we both enjoyed and we both took care of our yards.

His wife finally became aware there was something suspicious between us, and all of a sudden they moved back to the town they grew up in, and we lost track of each other.

But, now she has died and he wants to come and see me in the city.

The kids are off on their own pursuits, with their own growing families. Should I let him?

— Valentine Surprise, Winnipeg

Dear Valentine Surprise: Maybe you’ll see each other and feel nothing but friendship, or it could be something more and this is your chance to be together now. You brought up your two families, and now you’re both alone.

It could be time to see what is left between you. If you don’t, you’ll always wonder. Don’t look at the meeting with too much importance yet, just look at it as more as a friendship and a catching-up opportunity. People grow and change even in adulthood, so it will be interesting to see if you two still feel that spark or not. Please write back and tell us how it goes.

Please send your questions and comments to lovecoach@hotmail.com or Miss Lonelyhearts c/o the Winnipeg Free Press, 1355 Mountain Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3B6

Miss Lonelyhearts
Advice Columnist

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