Our Stop(40)

‘Unless the guy … is Jared!’ said Gaby, holding up a glass to signal that they should cheers.

Nadia was horrified. ‘Don’t say that! No!’ Gaby knew Jared because she often worked closely with the board of directors at work. Even joking about a man like him was a step too far. ‘Jared genuinely had tickets to Fyre Festival. Absolutely not.’

Gaby snorted. ‘I can believe that,’ she said, sadly.

‘Gang! Hello? We’re celebrating?’ Emma lifted her glass to knock it lightly against Gaby’s. ‘Here’s to love, lust and romance,’ she said.

‘To love, lust and romance,’ said Gaby, coyly.

Nadia scowled. ‘You two are laughing at me! Don’t laugh at me.’ She took a huge gulp from her glass, refusing to join them in a cheers. Was it just her, or were they mocking her slightly?

Gaby looked away and directly to Nadia. ‘Oh no, sweetie. No, no, no. No we’re not. We’re—’

No. They weren’t mocking her.

Nadia sighed. ‘Oh stop it,’ she cut Gaby off. ‘I’d be laughing too. It’s all so ridiculous.’ She was actually in a playful mood tonight, daring to get excited about her forthcoming date. She couldn’t help but think that everything she’d been through, everything she’d endured and every doubt she’d ever tortured herself with, it was all in service of this. Of course it had never worked out with anybody else, because she was always supposed to meet this guy. Right? That was how it worked, wasn’t it? That’s what all the couples she knew said – that in the end, the path was always leading to the one they ended up with. Katherine had once said, ‘You only have to get it right once, Nadia,’ and Nadia understood that now. There was no such thing as a past relationship failing when relationship success was still to play for. When the right man came along, nothing about her past could be a failure. It was all working towards the one big success that would matter. Nadia didn’t believe in soulmates so much as she believed that some people were simply worth making the effort for, and it was about finding the one willing to work as hard as she would to have something special. That one (or one in fifty, if Emma’s maths was to be believed) who truly wanted an equal – that’s what excited Nadia. From everything Train Guy had said – that she was clever and funny and that they’d have good chat together – Nadia could just tell that he had his head screwed on. That he was clever and funny too. And most of all, kind.

Emma took big gulps of her wine, almost polishing the glass off in one inhale. ‘It’s lovely,’ she said, setting down her glass and already looking for their waiter to order more. ‘All totally lovely.’

‘And just a bit scary,’ supplied Gaby. This was the version of Gaby that Nadia knew best: the slightly cynical, romantically careful one.

‘Well, if I meet him at seven, I’ll expect your phone call at … seven fifteen?’

‘When there will be a horrible emergency.’

‘And I’ll have to come right away.’

‘You’ll be terribly sorry.’

‘Devastated!’

‘And scarper so quick that you’ll forget to leave a number.’

The three of them laughed, articulating a blind date plan they’d all had for years now. In theory, it was easy enough to realize it wasn’t going to work with somebody almost right away, but amongst them only Emma would really announce, fifteen minutes into a date, that it wasn’t going to work and so they had better call it a night already. As a dating columnist she’d had a lot of practice, Nadia supposed, and when she dated like it was her job – because for a while it had actually been her job – it was easier to be businesslike about the whole thing. Meanwhile, Nadia had spent evening upon evening trying not to hurt the man across from her’s feelings, willing herself to find the thing they were compatible on, or in agreement about. That was the downside to being a romantic: by being so committed to seeing the best in her dates she’d had several that should never have happened at all.

Emma widened her eyes. ‘Oh my gosh – are you going to tell him your real name?’

‘Why … wouldn’t I?’

‘I don’t know. Safety? You don’t want him knowing who you really are, do you?’

Nadia thought about it. ‘That doesn’t seem like the best start to a relationship,’ she said. ‘I don’t think there’s any harm in telling him my name is Nadia. Right?’ She looked to Gaby for reassurance.

‘No,’ Gaby said. ‘But also, listen: I still resolutely believe that you should meet Sky Garden Guy. I promise you – he is your man. I know Train Guy is witty and fun and whatever, but Sky Garden Guy is all of those things too.’

‘Well, if Train Guy is a dud, yes, I accept your offer. That’s even if he’d still like to meet after I stood him up.’

‘I’m sure he would,’ Gaby said.

‘What are you going to wear?’ Emma asked.

Nadia thought about it. ‘I know this sounds weird,’ she said, ‘but I feel like I want to look as close as I do for work as possible. Like, that’s how he knows me. If I turned up in platforms and sequins with a full face of make-up, I’d be mortified if he didn’t recognize me!’

‘Oh my god,’ Emma said, ‘I didn’t think of that – he knows what you look like, but you have no idea what he looks like …’