Getting love off to the best start

Put your first-date nerves aside and follow these simple rules to ensure it goes smoothly

Are first impressions indelible? The first time I met the man who eventually became my husband was in the Clark Hatch gym at the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel. It was the 1980s and since there were no movies or shopping, pedaling on a stationary bicycle to Madonna's Like a Virgin was the height of entertainment at the time. Lucky for him I was wearing the same short-shorts popular with NBA players and Jane Fonda aerobic devotees, but unlucky for me no makeup.

My limp, sweat-soaked hair did not in any way add to my very limited natural allure. The next time I saw him was on the way to work. I was waiting for a taxi when he stopped and offered me a lift in his car. He must have thought me rude as I spent the entire time looking away from him, my face to the window. Who knew this was the morning I planned to pluck my eyebrows and put on my makeup on the ride over?