Alicekai'd 1.7: Beyond the Surface

 

I miss you

 

   Crap. Don. 

   What do I do? I don't get a chance to ponder because I get another text.

Let's go out tonight. The love festival is in town. 

     I audibly sigh. Why is he doing this to me?!

Okay. I'll meet you there? 

     I must be insane.

7 ok?

 

Yes. See you then. 

     "Hello, Alice." He looks flirty. I may be in trouble.

 

     "Don," I say laconically.

     He catches on quickly to my mood. "What's wrong?"

     "Well, you basically tell me you don't want to see me anymore, and-"

     "WHAT? Alice, no! Why would you think I said that?"

     "You told me you wanted to see other people."

     He puts both hands on his face then pulls them away. "Listen, I would like for us to have a talk, but first, the tea." He winks. "It's the main event here."

     "Don, I don't think it's a good idea to talk AFTER the tea..." I leave my statement hanging.

     He smiles. "Nonsense." Then he takes my hand and leads me to the fountains.

     "So you wanted to talk..." I remind him.

     "Do you WANT to see other people?" He watches me carefully.

     I sigh. "I don't know, Don. I'd kind of already had in my mind I was."

     He smiles. Strange. "That's wonderful, Alice."

     "I don't understand you."

     He chuckles after sipping his tea. "What I'm saying is you shouldn't tie yourself to one man. Life is short. But we can still have fun from time to time."

     I look at him incredulously. "Is THAT what you were trying to say the other day?"

     He looks away. "Not exactly. I was... feeling inadequate." Then he smiles and looks at me. "But no longer. We're okay, right?"

      I eke out a smile back. "Sure." Then I look off to the side and see the love guru lady. Hm. Wonder what she'd say to ME. I decide to give it a shot. First, I ask her about Don and me.

     She gives me a stern look. "When I look into your future, a trite expression comes to mind."

     "Okay?"

     "When you play with fire, you're going to get burned."

     "Yeah. That IS trite. What do you mean exactly?" Is it Don? Gerald?

     "The future is never perfectly clear. All I can do is warn you. It's written in your aura that you are drawn to unhealthy relationships."

      At first, I want to be impressed. She's probably right. BUT that could be said about a lot of people.

      "I thought your job here today was to make everybody happy. What you've told me really sucks." I start to walk away, but she holds up her hand. Curious even though a little mad, I wait.

 

    "I do prefer giving good news, but I feel strongly that I should also speak the truth as I see it. You gravitate to the wrong sorts of men." Is she saying this because she saw me with Don? He does have a reputation, I'm guessing. "But that does not mean that you're utterly doomed. To find real love, you need to look beyond the surface." She pauses, staring off into space. "I see it. You'll know the right one when he sends you a letter."

     "A letter," I reply, nonplussed.

     "That's all I can see for now. A handwritten letter."

      "Sure, lady." I pause then decide to get snippy. "Hey, since you're 'psychic,' how about you tell me how to get out of this game."

      She frowns. "I... do not know."

      "Yeah, thanks for nothing." I walk away. 'Wrong sorts of men.' Tuh. What does it even matter? So I'm trapped in a game and want to have a little fun. What's it to her? I take a deep breath and work at letting my bad mood go away. Besides, if I'm going to have fun, may as well do it, right?

     I put my worries in the back of my mind, and Don and I have a fun date. At the end of it, he tells me he has to get home. I leave as well, and we agree to meet again on Saturday.

     "Alice!" he says when he sees me. "You get more beautiful every day."

     A man crossing the street does a kind of double take. It's Geoffrey Landgraab, and he lights up when he sees me. I give him a smile back, and he starts over to Don and me.

 

     "Hi, Alice," Geoffrey says, running to us now. "What a surprise to see you in my neck of the woods."

     Don doesn't turn towards him. "It's also MY 'neck of the woods,' Mr. Landgraab."

     It's like he notices Don for the first time. "What? Oh. Yeah. I guess it is, isn't it?" He puts his hands in his pockets. "So what are you two up to?"

     Don grabs my hand. "We're on a date." Then he pulls me over to the nearby park bench, where we both sit.

     I try to carry on a conversation with both of them, but I get the distinct impression that Don is purposefully working at excluding Geoffrey. I think Geoff notices too.

      "Hey, uh, Alice? I'll just catch you later, okay? I wouldn't want to... intrude." He gives Don a look and then turns to leave.

      I feel terrible for how Don's been acting. "Geoffrey!" I call out to him as he walks down the sidewalk. "Give me a call and we can talk later, okay?"

      A small smile lifts the corners of his mouth. "Sure." Then he waves and continues down the sidewalk.

      Not much of interest happens with the rest of my date with Don. We find a place to go and make out, but he ends up having to leave early for a sudden job interview. Since when are job interviews sudden?

      When I get back to the dorms, I decide to go for a jog.

 

     I've been doing this more often lately as another way to stop my expanding waistline. It's working... but slowly.

     The next morning, the commons area has a surprise.

     "Okay now that's just creepy," I say aloud to the empty room. I decide to start becoming more of an exercise buff and exercise equipment just HAPPENS to show up in the commons one day? "Fiiiine. I'll get my fat ass on it." What is the sick bastard in charge of this place trying to tell me if not that?

     Whatever. I think I look cute in my workout clothes anyway.

     A man I've not met before walks into the building, looks around, and spots me.

     "Hi," he says with a beguiling smirk.