Rustin Youngblood

Okay, who is this Rustin Youngblood? He's a friend of a friend from Phoenix, AZ and I was out with him and our mutual friend last night and he told me his horrific Valentine's Day date story and now (without his permission) I will post it here for all to enjoy.

Rustin drove out to San Diego from Phoenix to go on a V-Day date with a woman he met online through match.com. Her name was Banessa (yes, she spells it with a B) and she has 3 daughters (2 teenagers and 1 pre-teen). Rustin had been out of the game for a while and jumped at the first opportunity for a date. Anyway, they went to Olive Garden (Rustin's fav restaurant and his suggestion) and it was pretty packed he said. He brought a bottle of non-alcoholic red wine (they are both recovering alcoholics) and said he got a couple of "awws" from some of the women waiting for a table. He was looking for Banessa to be wearing a white ensemble, but noticed a woman looking lost and approached her and sure enough, it was Banessa, in a green coat. He went in for a hug and she put out a hand for a handshake which kicked things off akwardly.

They moved to the bar after putting their name on the waiting list (1 hr and 45 min wait) to see if Rustin could get his bottle of wine uncorked. They finally get two glasses poured and Rustin actually likes the wine with no alcohol. He said that Banessa said it tasted like dishwater (I say, how much can you expect from a $5 bottle of wine?). So awkward hug and thumbs down on the wine, Rustin's batting 1.000 so far. After about 20 min of uncomfortable small talk, Rustin's luck changes and a table in the bar area opens up. They're seated and more awkward small talk ensues (apparently this Banessa chick let her 15 yr old daughter go on a date with a 21 yr old cop). Their entrees come and the conversation had been on life support for quite a while, so Banessa pulls out a little notebook and proceeds to ask Rustin some questions she had prepared for just this occasion. Most of the questions were already answered, but the last one caught Rustin off guard, "Would you be willing to move to San Diego?" Rustin actually liked Banessa at this point and said that if the right situation presented itself, then yes, he would move to San Diego.

Rustin and Banessa start asking eachother about work and family and find out that they are both shift managers (him at Hollywood Video and her at Barnes and Noble) and also that they're both originally from AZ. Apparently Banessa still has family there, but is estranged from them because of her alcoholic past. So they start to wonder if their families know eachother and if this was in fact fate that brought them together. Rustin tells me that his biological dad's last name was Lopez and that he took his step father's last name because that's the man that raised him (I wondered why he felt the need to tell me that, but I went with it). So come to find out that Banessa's mom's maiden name is Lopez and now they are both freaking out a little. Rustin asks Banessa what her mom's first name is and texts his mom to ask if his biological dad knew a Serafina Lopez. A few anxious moments later his phone vibrates and he opens his mom's text: "Yes, I think he has a cousin named Serafina...why?" So now Rustin could potentially be on a date with his 2nd cousin! Yes, he drove all the way from Phoenix and ended up on a date with his cousin. The mood at the table immediately changed, Banessa says, "This is inappropriate" and excuses herself to the restroom. Rustin asks for the check and pays. So needless to say, there are no plans to move to San Diego anytime soon for Rustin.

The moral of this tale?: Apparently when you go to Olive Garden you REALLY are family and don't bring a $5 bottle of wine to a first date.