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#NowPlaying 松下 誠 - This is All I Have For You (2018 Remaster)
https://music.apple.com/jp/album/this-is-all-i-have-for-you-2018-remaster/1447532396?i=1447532408

The Cynic's Club: A Love Story That Started with a Laugh About Divorce
After a long and difficult divorce, 52-year-old Mark was not looking for a fairytale. He was a realist, a pragmatist, and, if he was being honest with himself, a bit of a cynic when it came to the topic of love. When he created his profile on a platform for https://www.sofiadate.com/type-dating/divorced-dating, he skipped the romantic clichés entirely. His bio was short and brutally honest: "Survived one marriage. Have the scars to prove it. Looking for a good conversationalist with a sense of humor about it all."

An Unconventional First Message
He was scrolling through profiles one evening, unimpressed by the endless talk of "soulmates" and "happily ever after," when he found Irena's. She was a 49-year-old from a beautiful European city, and her profile had the same sharp, witty, and slightly cynical tone as his own. Her bio ended with the line, "My last husband said I was too sarcastic. I consider it one of my best qualities."

Mark laughed out loud. He didn't send her a compliment. He sent her a shared, cynical observation. "Sarcasm is just the body's natural defense against absurdity," he wrote. "It's a sign of a healthy immune system."

Her reply came back almost instantly: "In that case, I must be the healthiest woman you'll ever meet."

The Laughter of Shared Experience
Their conversations were a breath of fresh, honest air for both of them. They didn't put on a performance or try to present a perfect, idealized version of themselves. Instead, they bonded over the absurd and often hilarious realities of starting over in middle age. They shared funny, cringe-worthy stories of their first forays back into the dating world. They traded sarcastic remarks about the clichés of romance.

Their shared, dark sense of humor about their pasts created a powerful and deeply authentic bond. It was a relationship free from the pressure of romantic illusion. They were not trying to be perfect for each other; they were simply being real with each other. This radical honesty was more intimate than any poetic declaration of love could ever be.

A First Date Without Illusions
When Mark flew to her city for their first in-person meeting, there was none of the usual first-date anxiety. He wasn't worried about impressing her, and she wasn't worried about living up to a fantasy. Their first date was at a quiet, unpretentious wine bar, and their conversation was just as easy, honest, and funny as it had been online.

He saw in her a woman of incredible strength, resilience, and a brilliant wit that she used as both a sword and a shield. She saw in him a man whose cynicism was not a sign of bitterness, but of a deep-seated honesty and a refusal to tolerate anything less than the truth.