She was wrong. She was so wrong. Her parents not only brought up the topic of her marriage, but also asked me to convince her!!! ME!! The guy who was crushing on her!! You can see the irritation on Lucy's face. She had already subtly tried to change the topic, but her parents were not ready to give up.
"So Jack, you will put some sense into her head won't you? You understand we're growing old and there are some things we wish to see before we grow old." says her father looking at me.
"Dad.....please stop. I invited him from dinner, not a lecture." says Lucy whining.
"In fact, Lucy we had something in mind for you. You know last week we went to Oakwood, and we ran into Uncle Jim! You remember Uncle Jim don't you? He was there for your first birthday!"
"Yes Mom, I remember him. From when I was a baby." Lucy replied sarcastically.
"Oh good!" Her mom didn't get the sarcasm. "You might also remember his son, Jonathan? He was there for your birthday too. He was too afraid to come near you because you were crying the whole time." Her Mom and Dad started laughing. I couldn't help but smile pitifully at Lucy.
"Well anyway. Jim told me how Jonathan is going to be coming here to Toronto this week on a business trip. He'll be staying here for a week, and guess what?" asked her Dad.
Lucy just stared impassively at her dad. Oh no, this must be the guy her cousin told her about. No no, please don't tell.......
"We arranged for a small get-together! Just you and Jonathan!"
NOOOO!!!
"Wow, that's amazing. I'm so happy." said Lucy, clearly not happy.
"We're happy too honey. You'll be meeting him after so long." said her mom. Her parents seriously don't understand sarcasm. "We also got his number for you, so you could talk and fix a date. We were thinking both of you could go get lunch maybe? I'm pretty sure you can take a day off tomorrow, right sweetie?"
"Maybe." said Lucy, sighing. Dammit, she's giving in. I thought she'd convince her parents that she didn't want to go. "Can we go have dinner now?" she asked.
"Yes sure sure. Come Jack, let's go see what Lucy has prepared for us." Says her Dad winking at me. I just smiled back weakly. I wonder if I could tell her parents that I like, no love, her. Maybe they'd talk to her and, no. That would be just like what is happening now. Her parents will be forcing her into something she's not ready for, or is simply not interested in. I don't want to force Lucy into anything. Furthermore, since I am convinced that we two are soulmates, I'm prepared to wait any amount of time for her. I just hope this Jonathan guy doesn't ruin anything.....
All through dinner, Lucy doesn't say a word. She silently munches on her lasagna, which I must say is delicious. I try making her talk but all her answers are monosyllabic. Her parents, however are too excited about the fact that she agreed to meet Jonathan, that they don't notice her gloom. They tell stories from Lucy's childhood and how Lucy and Jonathan could've become best friends, if they had not moved here Toronto. But now somehow due to fate, they're destined to meet again. They talk highly of Jonathan. He's the CEO of Bostin Communications, and earns a handsome package. He's been to almost all the metropolitan cities in the world and has friendly relations with very influential people. Donates to charities every month, he's adopted 2 dogs and 1 cat, he's given interviews for many leading channels, etc. To put in a nutshell, he's way better a match for Lucy than I am.
After dinner, Lucy's parents get ready to leave.
"It was lovely meeting you Jack."
"The pleasure was mine Sir." I reply, shaking his hand. I see her mom wiping away tears and hugging Lucy.
"Honey, you know we're doing all this for your own good. We want you to be happy and have someone in your life. We don't like seeing you shut yourself like this. Please don't be upset with us."Okay maybe they noticed her gloominess.
"Yeah. I understand. I'm not upset. I was.....just thinking of what to wear tomorrow." Lucy replied mustering a smile.
"Haha, okay. We'll leave you to do that. Jack shall we drop you home?" Her dad asked.
"He came with his car, Dad." Lucy butted in. I did not come by my car. In fact I didn't even have a car. Wow she wants me to stay.
"Oh, okay. Bye honey. Bye Jack." We waved her parents goodbye, and as soon as they were inside the elevator, Lucy slammed the door shut.
"I don't want to go meet him!!!!!!!" She screamed like a teenager who was grounded. "URGH!!"
She clutched her hair in her hands and slumped down against the couch. She laid back her head and looked at me.
"Do you think I should go?" She asked me more calmly.
No, of course you shouldn't. You should wait here for me to muster the courage to tell you I love you and then we'll fall in love, get married and make cute babies.
"Maybe you should. Your parents are right, you shouldn't keep shutting yourself in like this." I am a dumb person. I shouldn't be encouraging her to go. I'm seriously such an idiot. I slumped down next to her.
She stared at me for a long time, probably considering whether to go or not. I stared back too, lost in her beautiful eyes.
"Yeah, I think I should."
There. There goes my chance of ever confessing to Lucy. I know how everything is going to from here. She'll go meet Jonathan, he'll charm her, she'll fall for him and then they'll get married and make cute babies. And I'll remain forever alone, and get invited to the swanky parties Jonathan and Lucy will host as a couple. I'll be looking at them kissing and being "couple-goals", and I'll be drinking myself away. Lucy will pity me and set me up with one of her friends and......
"Earth to Jack!! Hello?" Lucy is waving her hands in front of me, snapping me out of my nightmare.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"I asked how you are going home."
"Umm, I'll be taking the bus. Unfortunately I didn't come by my own car." I say smirking at her. She smiles back, for the first time this evening. And because of me!! Woohoo!
"When do you plan on leaving?"
"The next bus home is in 30 mins. So you'll have to put up with me till then."
"More like the other way around. Come help me choose what to wear tomorrow." She says getting up. Wow, I thought girls usually asked their girlfriends what to wear. I must've unlocked a new level of friendzone.
We walked into her room which pleasantly smelled of her. I had to restrain myself from taking a huge sniff. I expected her room to be messy, but it was very organised and neat. She had put up a few pictures, her medals and certificates from school and some stuffed toys. Her clothes were also very neatly arranged.
"Please ignore that." She said waving to her innerwear piled in one corner of her cupboard.
"Hard to." I replied winking. It actually was hard to look away, now that I'd seen them. So this is what hugs her body every day. I was jealous of them. Okay enough pervert thoughts. Focus, she's saying something.
"Should I wear jeans or a dress?"
"Umm, I don't know. I think you should wear whatever you feel comfortable in." I say looking at her helplessly.
"This was a bad idea wasn't it? I shouldn't have asked you to help me choose." She says laughing.
"No, no. It's okay. I'll give better suggestions. Come on, ask me the next question." I reply, rubbing my palms together.
"Okay, hmm, what would you have wanted me to wear if you were going out on a first date with me?"
"I honestly don't think I would have noticed what you were wearing. I'd just be really happy that I'm on a date with you." Okay, this is a little hint at what I felt for her. Though I want her to understand that, I don't want to make things awkward right now.
She stared at me, with her mouth slightly open. I think she understood. But she quickly snapped out of it.
"Yeah, maybe. But I....I..umm, have to make a good impression right?" She says running her fingers through her hair. There, I just made it awkward.
"Well...umm....I think you could wear the dress?"
"But then I'd have to sha....Nevermind. I'll figure out something tomorrow. Let's go have some juice?"
"Yeah. Sounds good." She was going to say shave, wasn't she?
As we were having some lemonade, she got a text from an Jonathan. She read it out.
"Hey it's Jonathan here. I guess your parents already told you about our little 'date' (if you allow me to call it that ;) tomorrow. I suggest we go to Raintree? For brunch? Let me know of a suitable timing."
"Where is Raintree?" I ask.
"It's in Iowen. It's a pretty posh place. They also have a rooftop restaurant." Obviously he'd take her somewhere like that. The only place I've taken Lucy to is the hotdog stand.
"I guess I'll have to wear the dress then, to look a little sophisticated." She says shrugging. She replied to his text saying brunch was fine and she would come at 11.30.
After a little more chit-chat, I decide to leave as it was getting pretty dark outside. As I'm leaving Lucy thanks me for staying and gives me an awkward hug. That just made my day. All through the bus-ride, I think of different ways to get rid of Mr. Fancy which don't involve murder. I don't want to end up in jail.
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
Next day : Lucy's POV
I've never been more stressed in my life. I wasn't this stressed on my first day of high school, nor on my first day at work. But here I am, stressed about meeting a guy, who I know I'm never going to contact again. I think it is because I do want to make a good impression. He seems uber fancy and sophisticated, and such people have always intimidated me. I text Jack asking him to wish me luck. He replied almost immediately.
"Chill Lucy. You're not heading for an interview. He's just an old 'friend' (if I can call him that ;)."
That made me smile. I spray on some perfume and head out and get a taxi. All the way to the hotel, I stalk Jonathan on different social media's trying to decipher what kind of a person he was. Well puberty did him good. He was quite handsome. And I was right, he does lead a pretty fancy life. Almost all of his Instagram pics were of him with some celebrity at some posh place, or were of him vacationing somewhere like Hawaii. I don't see any intimate pictures of him with any girl, so I'm assuming he's not had a girlfriend for a long time. I guess that's why Mom and Dad thought we'd be a good match.
We reached Raintree in 20 mins. After paying the taxi, I headed inside to ask about our reservation. Yes he made a reservation for us. I was directed to the rooftop restaurant. There was a stunning view of almost entire Toronto. I was served champagne and some exotic starters, whose names I'd never heard of before. This went on for 10 minutes until Jonathan arrived.
"Hey Lucy! So good to see you!" He said shaking my hand.
"It's good to see you too, Jonathan."
"I'm so sorry you had to wait. I was wrapping up a conference call."
"Oh no it's fine. These wonderful people kept me occupied." I said smiling at the waiter standing nearby.
"Ah yes, Raintree is famous for that. They have an amazing staff. So have you ordered your meal?"
"No I wasn't able to decide on anything. Everything here looks delicious."
"Hmm, okay I'll select something for you. I'll have a Fattet Hummus and for the lady, hmmm, what about the Stir Fry Mongolian Chicken? Okay?"
"Yeah! Sounds good." He placed our order and turned to talk to me.
"So tell me Lucy, how's life been treating you?"
"It's been nice to me. No major issues. Not as good as for you though." I say smirking at him.
"Haha maybe. I am quite grateful for my life. It's comfortable, easy and most of all the fruit of my hard work and the blessings of many people. So I don't take any of this for granted." He said spreading out his arms. Nice, he's humble.
Through our meal, we talk a lot about each other and how we grew up. He is actually really nice. He's not stuck up like I expected him to be. He's still down-to-earth and charming. He would definitely make for a good friend. And for some wack reason, I find myself comparing him to Jack. I was really surprised with myself when Jonathan made a joke, and I found myself thinking that Jack would've made a better joke. That was something really out of the blue.
"Lucy, you do know what our parents actually set up this date for, right?"
"Yeah I know."
"So, what do you think you'll be telling your parents?"
"Ummm, I'd tell them that I had a wonderful time with you today."
"Will we be having more dates like this?"
"I.....don't....know." I say squinting at him.
"Okay Okay, take your time. I won't rush you." He replied smiling.
After we were done, Jonathan walked me down and asked his P.A to send one of the company cars to drop me home. He gave me a hug and told me he would love to meet me again sometime. I didn't know what to say that. I really did enjoy his company, but I don't want to lead him on. I just smiled back and got inside the car.