[BenefitOfTheDoubt]

Same ol' story ...

Our first date was last Wednesday, and it went very well. The conversation was great, lots of laughing, and appropriate first date affection at the close of the evening -- he put his hand in the small of my back to steady me as I walked down the stairs of the restaurant where we'd met, asked to see me again, and gave me two bigs hugs and kisses on my cheek as we said goodbye.

He called the Friday afterwards to say hello and to talk about going out again. We didn't set anything in stone, but he said he'd call Monday when we both knew our schedules for the week ahead a little better. He did call on Monday, and we agreed that we'd go out Saturday and that he'd call me on Thursday to firm up our plans. Thursday rolls around, he calls, we make our plan, and he says he'll touch base Saturday afternoon before our date. And sure enough, around 3:30p.m., the phone rings, and it's him. We chat for a couple minutes, everything's very friendly and comfortable, and we're on for the evening ...

Till the phone rings again 2 hours later, and it's him sounding very rushed, apologizing that he had to take care of a "family matter" and had to cancel our date. He's out of town all next week (leaving tomorrow) for work, but he said he'd call me from out of town "if I still wanted to talk to him." I told him I was disappointed, but what are you going to do. He apologized again, said he'd call next week, and that was really that. My phone shows the length of call when I hang up, and it was literally just under a minute.

So at this point, I know I'll have my answer soon enough, and it's just a matter of waiting ... but patience isn't my strongest suit. Blah. Any thoughts out there?