The Blind Date

We start reading, and some of them are really positive. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Riley’s Sunshiners.

Aliceinerrorland- You go, Riley! That’s one good lookin’ smile! Yours? His? Why not both?

TonyToniToney- Riley, I know you’re in the picture somewhere, but *all* I see is that smile. Whoo, boy.

BettieLuvsArchie- Damn, someone used his Aquafresh!

“Maybe we should get you a sponsorship with a toothpaste company,” Riley jokes, and I have to snort. Yeah, I guess I do keep my teeth clean, but no more than anyone else, I don’t think. Just morning and nightly brushing and flossing like dentists recommend.

And then things get a bit naughty . . .

MollyPops- I’mma lick that jaw, nibble them lips, and suffocate you because I don’t hover. If you die, you die. You’ll go with that smile . . . guaranteed.

“Look at this one!” I laugh, pointing at one further down.

Lemonade21167- He better have skills with that tongue because I’m going to glaze that grin like a donut!

“Hmm, I wonder what that even means?” I ask innocently.

Riley grins, elbowing me lightly in the ribs. “I think you know exactly what it means, and nobody’s glazing you but me.”

“Dirty talk some more, baby,” I tease, loving when Riley says things that make her squirm.

But my smile fades as I read the next comment.

HappiBeetz- Faker than The Bachelorette. You pay for him to sleep with you, or is he just for show? #malemodelforhire

“What the fuck?”

We keep reading, and I feel my blood pressure rise. While at least five or six comments in a row might be positive, there’s a sprinkling of one here or two there that are jealous, negative, or just plain hateful.

“How do you handle this?” I ask after seeing bboy13rize64 flat out say if he had Riley between his legs, he’d show her ‘how a real man handles his woman’ and that he’d consider letting me ‘watch and learn’. “Some of these people are plain evil.”

I keep reading as Riley talks, but she’s watching me, watching my reactions. This is what she was talking about . . . if I can handle it.

“That’s part of it. It hurt for a long time. I’d obsess over the negative ones and let the positive ones wash over me. But now, I just try to ignore the bad ones. Focus on the good.”

“That’s a very Riley Sunshine thing to say, but this is a lot of assholes or just evil fuckers,” I growl, seeing another. I’m not upset at what they’re saying about me, but rather at what they’re saying about Riley.

Comments on her swimsuit, her hair, her breasts, and her personality. It’s annihilation by commentary.

“Who’d say this to anyone in real life?”

“They probably wouldn’t,” Riley explains with a shrug, “or maybe they would in hopes of getting a reaction. So I don’t give them one. I choose to use my voice for good, to spread the sunshine and the positive vibes into the world. I’m not perfect, I know it, but I do my best to stay positive and set that example. And it works.” She points at several comments in a row from people saying that Riley made them smile, brightened their day, or even flat-out thanking her for getting them through difficult times. “They make it all worth it. Besides, mean people are lashing out because they’re hurt. They need a little sunshine most of all.”

“Or they’re assholes,” I argue. “I know I’ve been called an asshole, and I even joke about being one myself, but I’m not like that. That’s over the line, trying to hurt people for no good goddamn reason.”

Riley’s lips press together like she’s searching for words. “Once upon a time, you lashed out at me.”

“Riley.”

“No, hear me out. This isn’t about the past. We’re good, but listen . . . you lashed out because you were hurting, but ultimately, it made you learn something about yourself. You realized what you’d done, became a better person, and yeah, you’re still more pessimistic than the average grumpy bear, but you grew from that. What if that comment is that person’s a-ha moment?” She points to one of the rude comments about her shallow lifestyle. “I don’t have to react to it, respond to it, or even be involved, but what if just posting it is their turning point where they look at the words on the screen and realize what they’ve become?”

“But some people are just inherently that way, you know? They’re never going to change, don’t even want to.”

Riley laughs bitterly. “Oh, I know. Some of these people post every single day on my posts, always negative, always trolling. And that’s on them, not me. They’re responsible for what they put out in the world. But they come back for some reason, and I can only hope that one day, my message of sunshine will sink in.”