More Than Words(12)

“I believe in her,” Nina told her father.

She took a bite of her moo shu vegetables as the contestant, a woman named Zoe, wagered all her money on the Daily Double.

And then a video clue filled the screen. “A version of this apparatus was developed by the same man who popularized the one-piece outfit acrobats wear while performing on it,” the person hosting the video said.

“What is a tightrope,” Zoe answered.

Nina and her father groaned. “What is a trapeze!” they both said at the same time.

“I’m sorry, the correct answer is what is a trapeze,” Alex Trebek replied. “And the man who developed it was Jules Léotard, who popularized the one-piece leotard.”

“We really should audition,” Nina told her father, covering up her disappointment that he’d been right. Zoe missed the question.

He laughed quietly. “No question we’d win if they let us play as a team,” he said. “And I think you owe me some Hershey’s Kisses.”

Nina smiled, even though her heart ached. “Just add them to the balance sheet,” she said. Her father kept meticulous track of who owed whom which candy; the last time they’d paid off their candy debts was when Nina left for college. Jeopardy! Mondays had been put on hiatus until she’d moved back for business school at Columbia. The newest balance sheet had been going for ten years now.

“Acrobats are remarkable,” her father said, as he watched Zoe choose the next clue.

Nina thought about what it would be like, flying through the air, unfettered, ungrounded, and she shuddered. “I couldn’t ever do it,” she said.

“My careful Nina,” her father replied. “You should face your fears, though.”

She sighed. It was something her father had been telling her all her life. “You can’t be a good businesswoman if you’re risk averse,” he’d say. And maybe it was true. But sometimes being afraid seemed smart. Besides, he was the one who’d made her fearful—fearful of what people would think, fearful that she’d disappoint him, that she wouldn’t live up to his expectations.

“You know,” he said. “I’ve always tried to protect you.”

When Nina looked over at him, his face was more serious than she’d expected. “I know, Dad,” she said.

“Whatever comes,” he said, “I hope you’ll remember that.”

She wondered what he meant, but then the moment passed, and he was wagering a Hershey bar on a $1000 clue. Nina wrote it off as her father being her father, worrying what people would say about him after he was gone. But she couldn’t help the impression she got that he was trying to tell her something more.





12



Ever since that car ride to the Norwood Club, ever since they’d bumped into each other at the coffee shop and his touch made her blush, Nina had been self-conscious around Rafael. When they were in the same room, she found herself hyperfocused on what he was doing. She noticed tiny things, like how he sometimes bit his lip when he found something funny. How he ran his right hand through his hair, just above his ear, when he was about to say something controversial. And how his eyes often slid to hers in a meeting, as if asking for confirmation on a decision he just made.

But they hadn’t been alone again, until they found themselves together in the elevator in mid-June.

“I think we got an express,” Rafael said, as they passed floor after floor without stopping.

“Rare during lunch hour,” Nina replied. And then she cringed. Rare during lunch hour. What a stupid observation. If she weren’t so self-conscious around him now, she would have said, “I’ve always wondered why someone hasn’t figured out the technology to create a smart elevator that knows when all the floor space has been taken up.”

And then Rafael probably would have told her about a scientist he brought over to the United States on an H-1B visa who was working on something similar. And they would’ve had the kind of conversation Nina loved. But instead, there was dead air between them.

“So where are you headed?” Rafael asked, breaking the silence.

“Probably the salad place,” she answered, looking up at him. “I haven’t decided. What about you?”

“Well, my lunch meeting was canceled last minute,” he said, leaning casually against the elevator wall. “And I snuck out before Jane could give me something else to do. So I figure as long as I stay away from the office, I can get a quick breather. The diner seems appealing.” He paused and ran his fingers through his hair. He was going to say something controversial. “Any chance you want to join?” he asked.

Nina knew she shouldn’t. She had work to do. But there was something about being near him. . . .

“No pressure,” Rafael added. “I know you’ve got a lot on your plate.”

The elevator stopped at the lobby.

Rafael stepped aside so she could exit first.

“I’d love to,” Nina found herself saying. “Thank you.”

The two of them walked to the diner at the end of the block and grabbed two seats at the counter.

“Isn’t it nice to eat at a counter?” Rafael said, after they’d both ordered. “I just put in a breakfast bar in my apartment. Sonia hated the idea, but I love it, eating up high like this.”