But as the dinner entrees were being finished, Joey Fate appeared out of nowhere at their table with a devilish smile strewn across his face. “Would you care for dessert?”
Payback. He had never asked about dessert before, so the fact he was asking it now meant that he’d observed the awkwardness of their date. After all, how could he not, with how blatant Eric’s social inabilities were to anyone nearby? This was payback alright for what Nikki pulled just a couple days ago on her date with Ryan –ordering omakase and fermented seafood plates.
Even though she knew Joey was toying with her, the fact this was payback for her date with Ryan lingered a bit in her mind. Ryan. Seeing how bad things were with Eric made her wish she was back on the date with that confident, handsome man … or anyone, really. Even that mystery man named Luke who had to inexplicably dart out seemed like heaven compared to what she was experiencing tonight.
But those thoughts were interrupted by Eric’s response to Joey: “Yes, I think we’ll have…”
Once Nikki heard Eric, she knew she had to put a stop to this. “Actually, Joey,” she said, looking at their waiter, “why don’t you give us the check.”
Joey rolled his eyes in jest, knowing that his prank wasn’t going to work. But as he turned around, Nikki winked at her waiter-friend to let him know not to take it personally.
Eric sat across the table with a confused expression. “Was that a bad idea?”
“Eric, I think we need to talk.”
Then the look which Nikki had sought to avoid all night on Eric’s face quickly manifested. He knew. But, still, she wanted to try to give him confidence instead of having him focus on being let-down.
“Look, I’m going to be honest with you.”
Eric now looked earnestly at his date, as if the engineer in him was studying to find out what was broken and needed to be fixed. It was almost like an equation that needed solved, so he was attentive.
“You seem like a great guy, but I think we’re just too different.”
“How so?” He questioned.
“Well, I think we’re just different people.”
“How’s that?”
“You see, all night I listened to you talk about engineering – which was fine, it’s interesting and you seem good at it. But you didn’t ask anything about me.”
“I can do that. I’d like to learn things about you.”
“Well, it’s been forty-five minutes and you don’t know anything about me yet.” Another awkward moment filled the air as Eric was computing in his head what he thought would be the best way to respond, to help him still have a chance with her. Nikki didn’t want there to be awkwardness, so she tried to kill it with a joke. “For example, you don’t know that I’ve just been let out of jail after completing my murder sentence.”
Nikki could tell that her joke fell flat from the sudden look of shock Eric radiated.
“That was a joke, Eric.”
“Oh good – I didn’t take you to be a felon, Nicole.”
“And that’s another thing, I said my name’s Nikki.” But she just kept talking, trying hard to ride the fine line of shooting him down while leaving him feeling okay about who he was. “Listen, I want to help you out. You’re a good looking guy. If you’re thinking I’m out of your league, that’s just not true. I just didn’t feel a spark tonight, okay?”
Eric again pushed his expensive glasses up to his eyes while nodding.
“You’re attractive,” Nikki continued, “you’re smart, and you have a job. Those are three big things that women like. And frankly, they’re hard to find in one guy, here in the city.”
When Nikki saw Eric smile like he’d been given a blue ribbon at a state fair, she knew she was being successful in her goal. So, she continued: “I’m sure – absolutely sure – that you will find someone, but it’s just not me. Okay?”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything,” she blurted out in relief. Finally, he was asking her something after she’d been carrying the heavy weight of conversation all evening.
“What do you think I can do better?” He asked. There was the mechanical engineer, looking to fix something to improve it. Nikki knew this type of question was actually rare, as most men would resort, upon being dumped, to either quivering in self-doubt and pity, or putting on an afront of manliness and ego. Those common reactions to being dumped were very different ends of the personality spectrum, but still had been experienced many, many times by Nikki.
So, Eric’s scientific approach was a relief. Nikki just knew that she had to make things as simple as she could for him to improve. She took just a moment to think about how to respond.
“I’m just a person.” She finally said.
“Yes, I know you’re a person,” Eric stammered, not fully understanding what Nikki meant.
“No, I mean – think of me just as a person. Think of all future dates you have that way. We’re not on a pedestal. We’re not women to win over. We’re not computer programs or machines. We’re not teachers wanting the correct answer. We’re just … people. Just like you.”
Eric squinted his eyes, but Nikki couldn’t tell if that meant he was understanding what she was saying or not. But he was still listening. So her lesson continued, only more directly.
“And just like you want to be listened to and to talk about yourself – just like you have interests – just like you may have insecurities – so do I. So does everyone, no matter how hot you think they are. We have emotions. We have weaknesses. When you approach a date that way, you’ll see them as a real person. And, for me, that’s what I’m looking for. Someone who sees me that way. I know you’ll find your girl one day, just as I will find my future husband.”
As Nikki kept talking, she found herself no longer saying what she thought Eric needed to hear. Instead, she found it relieving to say things about herself out loud – who she was looking for, and that she’d find him one day.
But with that, Nikki didn’t have anything else to say. Before she could give Eric an opportunity to try and have another chance with her, she got up from the table. She didn’t want to, but she knew that she had to do something else before their date ended.
She went over and kissed Eric on the cheek – actually, just a simple peck, because that was all Nikki could muster up. But to Eric, it sent a beam on his face, which was the only reason she did it. He’d have the confidence for his next date now, and Nikki knew she’d succeeded in her goal of giving him that confidence.
“I’m glad to have met you, Eric. Good luck.”
With that, Nikki walked away. But it wasn’t just Eric she’d given confidence to. Having said the words aloud – “I will find my husband” – she now had a newfound confidence as well. She smiled as she exited Fate’s Kitchen. Looking at the tall surroundings of the alive city, she repeated the words again to herself.
“I will find my husband.”
Chapter 6
“Hi, I’m Nikki.”
As Nikki got up from her dinner table at Fate’s Kitchen to greet her new date, the man didn’t reach out to shake her hand. Instead, he walked right up to her, put both of his hands on her shoulder, and pecked her cheek.