Blind Fate

“I hate blind dates, I hate blind dates, I hate blind dates,” Lycoris chanted in her head as she walked through the cold to Chez Luc, clutching her trench coat close around her. She hated living in the city in the winter almost as much as she hated blind dates. It was too damn cold! Wearing heels and her nicest green dress was torture in this freezing weather. Chez Luc wasn’t too far from the closest t-stop, so she didn’t think to grab a cab, but even this block and a half in the cold was miserable.

It had been a month or so since she’d even gone on a first date, so Lycoris had gone all out with new shoes and her most glamorous look. She was even wearing red lipstick. She hated red lipstick. Not as much as she really hated blind dates, but it was a close one. She knew it looked good on her though, so tonight she went for it. She didn’t want to admit it, but Lycoris really wanted this date to go well… All her friends were starting to get married and she hadn’t even had a long-term relationship in… Longer than she’d like to admit, at least.
Maybe Aunt Thaliana was right. She was decent, for an Aunt that tried to meddle in your love-life. Lycoris had always been close with Aunt Thaliana, even before her mother’s death when she was fourteen. Since then, Thaliana had practically been Ly’s surrogate. She nagged and let Lycoris cry about boys and took her bra shopping—the works. Lycoris might love her family more than anything, but this blind date bullshit had to stop. Ly had only finally agreed to a date this once to show Thaliana that this stuff never worked.

“Finally!” Ly breathed as she saw the candlelit windows of Chez Luc. She rushed inside and relished the warmth seeping into her fingers and nose... She caught her reflection in a mirror and gasped, “I look like Rudolph!” She covered her nose with one hand to warm it more thoroughly and glanced at her wristwatch. “Looking like a reindeer and late too—fantastic.”

Lycoris took a glance around the dimly lit restaurant before heading to the host.

“How may I help you, miss?” the young man asked courteously.

“I have a blind date,” he cringed with her, “yeah, I know. Have you seen a man—about six foot, dark hair—wearing a burgundy scarf and blue shirt?”

“I think he’s the one at table three, give me a moment, miss. Let me make certain he isn’t dining alone tonight.” He scuttled off to what Lycoris assumed was table three and spoke briefly to a man Ly couldn’t quite see before waving her over. She thanked him and watched him head back to his station before extending a hand to the man at table three.

He stood to take her hand and motion to the seat. “Lycoris? Am I saying that right? I’m Jake.”

She nodded and smiled, “Nice to finally meet you, Jake. Thaliana’s told me all about you. Oh, and ‘Ly’ is fine.”

“Ly it is, then,” he said. “And Thaliana’s told me an awful lot about you as well.” His dark blue eyes met hers with a twinkle.

“Oh no,” she lamented. “I hope it’s nothing too terrible! No naked baby pictures, right?” She grinned.

He didn’t smile. “I’m not sure I should tell you. I might get her in trouble.” His eyes sparkled again at the joke.

By the time their waiter came to take their order, it was clear they got along. Almost too well, even. They shared the same sense of humor and both enjoyed a good bit of witty banter, especially if there was a joke or two at the other’s expense. When Lycoris pointed out a rather tall woman in a massive brown fur coat, and asked him which Wookiee he thought she looked like, he laughed so loud that Chewbacca herself turned around and revealed an amount of facial hair that only reinforced the comparison.

Another comparison she couldn’t help making was between Jake and her very first crush. They had the same jet black hair, blue eyes, and sweet nature. Unfortunately her first crush was a character in an animated Disney movie. Prince Eric might be her first love-interest, but she was finding Jake irresistible. Somehow they just clicked. Maybe Thaliana wasn’t quite the interfering Aunt she thought she was. Jake had worked for Thaliana at her law firm for three years, and Thaliana had always insisted that they would like each other. Ly was starting to wonder why she hadn’t given in to a blind date sooner.

“I can’t believe I didn’t take Thaliana on her word about how much we would like each other!” Jake exclaimed halfway through their dinner, which Ly was barely paying attention to.

“I’m a little embarrassed to say I thought you would be a loser...” Lycoris admitted.

Jake blushed, “Frankly, I thought about the same. Blind dates never, ever go well. I can hardly believe I’m not dreaming, you know? I keep waiting to wake up.” She chuckled. “Okay, that was sort of lame.”

She gave him a half-smile. “A little, but lame can work when you’re as cute as you are.”

They both blushed. Lycoris was not used to herself being this forward.

Unfortunately, that was when the magic ended.

All the other kids with the pumped-up kicks, you better run, better run, outrun my gun... All the other ki-
“Sorry!” She yelped, floundering after her phone. She snapped open her little clutch and muted the ringtone, groaning when she saw Hayden’s name on the screen. Den knew she had a date tonight! The girl was her best friend, and if she was in need, Ly wanted to be there, but... This date! She couldn’t let a stupid phone call ruin this date! She sighed heavily. She really, really didn’t want to pick this up... But she should. “Jake?” she asked nervously, “Would you be incredibly offended if I snuck off to take this call? It’s my best friend and she knows I have a date tonight so she wouldn’t call unless it was urgent... Do you mind?” She looked, pleading, at him. Her brown eyes milking the puppy-dog look for all it was worth.
He laughed, thank goodness. “I like a girl who treats her friends well. And in that dress, I wouldn’t mind watching you walk away.” He winked, before chuckling to show he wasn’t serious.

She blushed, and even with her vaguely olive complexion, she knew she must be a tomato. Still, she managed a quick, “thank you” before strutting her way to the restroom, half hoping that he was looking and not daring to check.

When she reached the ladies’ room, she snapped open her little old-school flip phone and pressed number four speed-dial. Hayden picked up after the first ring.

“Ly? I am so sorry, I know you’re on a date, but I’m so freaking out over here.”

“What the hell is wrong, Den? Are you okay?”

“No! I am absolutely not okay! He is out on a date! It says so on his facebook!”

Seriously? She’s calling me about him while I am on this incredible date?! Hayden was an amazing friend when it came to anything but her ex. When it came to him, she was a complete mess. Like, psycho-ex-girlfriend mess. Lycoris had tried to calm it down a little, knowing that Hayden was not going to win her man back after two years of facebook-stalking and harassing his new prospects. Ly knew, too, that Hayden was still very much in love with this man—but sometimes if you love someone, you have to let go. Den really needed to let go.

“Sweetie, listen to me. I love you. You know I love you, right? Since friggin’ freshman year of college I’ve loved you like my own goddamn sister but honey, this needs to stop. You two aren’t together anymore. He’s allowed to go on dates... I know it hurts. I know it hurts a lot, but you can’t keep him from living his life. Clearly you two weren’t meant to be together.”

“But we are!” Den whined, “We have known each other since we were ten! We dated for nine years, almost! He was my first everything! You even saw my engagement ring...” This is when she started to cry. Hayden was the type of girl who planned her wedding the minute she was born and named all the children she was going to have by the time she was three. All she ever wanted was to be a wife and mother. She probably would have married her ex when she was sixteen, before he went off to college. The part that always baffled Ly was that they were apart for most of their relationship. They started dating when he was a senior in high school, all throughout his college undergrad and through his finishing law school. They only lived together for two of their nine years, once Hayden and Ly had graduated from their university in California. She moved out here to NYC to be with him. Lycoris had always wanted to live here but didn’t have the cash to come with Den. By the time Ly was finally ready to move, they were finished and Hayden was going back home to Vermont. Lycoris had never even met Hayden’s ex, though now she knew he lived in her city. The one thing Ly didn’t like about New York? Den calling constantly to check up on him. Ly had never, ever agreed to do so, but Den still called and freaked out about him every now and then. Ly couldn’t even let Hayden visit her apartment in the city because she’d want to find him.
Okay, so Lycoris hated two things about the city—being Hayden’s tracker and the cold winters.

After a minute or two of her crying as Ly make shushing sounds and tried to console her, she finally sniffled her way to a stop. Lycoris knew she’d taken too long already, “Den, I really have to go. I love you. Go eat some Chunky Munky, okay? I can’t keep my date waiting much longer.”

Sniff. “You like him, huh?” She could hear a little smile in Hayden’s voice. Den wanted Lycoris to settle down almost as much as she wanted to settle herself. “Well, get back to your date. Good luck.”

“Thanks, honey. Again, as always, I love you. I’ll call when I get back home unless it’s late, okay?”

Snuff. “Okay... I love you too.”

“Bye, girlie.”

“Bye.”

As she went to close the phone she heard Den’s “Wait, wait, wait, waitwaitwaitwait!”

“Yes?” Ly rolled her eyes. This was always where Hayden asked Lycoris to track the ex.
“Where are you guys having dinner?” Ly sighed. She could tell Den was at her computer, waiting to put in the address so she could see how far away her ex’s date was.

“It’s called Chez Luc, it’s on-“ Den cut her off.

“OHMYGOD, HE’S THERE TOO! I BET YOU EVEN SAW HIM!” Ly could practically see her jumping up and down in her chair.

“No. No, Hayden, I won’t go find him.”

“But pleaaaase, Ly?! He’s just there with some lame blind date! Jake even said on facebook that he didn’t want to go!”

“He’s... He’s at Chez Luc with a blind date?”

“Yeah, you remember what he looked like, right?”

Lycoris definitely remembered Den bragging about his gorgeous blue eyes, his thick black hair... Ly even remembered the picture of an eighteen-year-old Jake that Hayden kept in her wallet.

Fuck.