The great expectations

At the table next to mine a man and a woman are going through the horror of the first live date after online relationship. Both are in their 50s (encouraging), both are intelligent (lucky me for I can't help but listening to them). I wish them luck. I’ve been there once, you know, many years ago. Back then I was only looking for a friend, and I thought I had found one. Well, future proved me wrong. However, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise - I could forgive his faults in a friend but not in a romantic partner. He, on the other side, must have had already all the friends he could use because he ended it the moment he realized that friendship was the only dish on the menu; apparently he had an apetite for more. Anyway, it's all water under a bridge that is no longer there. For their sake I hope these two are on the same page, or the same book at least. I feel a bit like a chaperone who observes other people's lives just to create the illusion that she has a life of her own. And that's OK, really. An illusion is all I have the energy for anyway.