4
“U ncle Elion!” Clara exclaimed as she came into his office. He was glad he hadn’t been working on a sculpture with the way she made him jump.
Clara never burst into his office. She always knocked, or if he were in his zone working, she’d enter quietly and wait for a pause to not throw him off or mess up his concentration. So, whatever she was coming to tell him had her overly excited.
“What is it?” he questioned, placing down the pencil he’d been using to attempt to sketch a design.
“You got a response!” she replied, hopping up and down.
Elion furrowed his brow at her. “A response?”
“To the survey I sent in for you. You’ve got a match!”
Elion sighed. He didn’t know why she was so excited about it.
It wasn’t like she would gain anything from him going on a date, nor would he.
So, he didn’t understand why she’d even brought it to his attention.
Especially since she’d seemed to have given up on it, convinced he wouldn’t receive any replies.
“Don’t sigh like that,” Clara scolded him. “You need to take a break, and what better way to do so than with someone you have things in common with.” She paused for a slight beat. “Because you and I both know the creative juices aren’t flowing. Which means a break wouldn’t hurt.”
Elion didn’t respond. He knew that if he did, it would just start a back-and-forth between them.
His niece got her stubborn streak from her mother, and anytime he thought of the discussions he and his older sister got into when they were younger, it was enough to make him decide it was not worth it.
“At least look at the profile that was sent over before you just brush it off completely,” Clara stated, placing the tablet she’d walked into the room with on the table before turning and walking out.
Elion watched his niece go before his eyes slid to the tablet she’d left behind. The screen still lit up as if it were challenging him to come and have a look, and he had no intention of doing so.
Turning his attention back to the sketch at hand, Elion picked up his pencil again, studying it before getting back to drawing.
Clara was wrong. He was tapping past the creative block in front of him, evident by his ability to work on the sketch to the point he’d gotten it to.
It was about halfway done, which was saying something; considering on the other sketches, he’d only been able to draw a few lines.
The sketch was rounding out. When starting it, Elion wasn’t sure what it would be, and honestly, he still didn’t know. All he knew was that it was turning into something, taking shape, and often, that was all you could ask for when attempting to create anything.
As he sketched, Elion occasionally glanced at the tablet. Each time he caught himself, he focused back on the sketch.
After another thirty minutes of drawing, Elion found his curiosity getting the best of him. With a sigh, he stood from his stool and went over to the tablet, picking it up.
When the screen lit up, the survey match that had been sent still sat on the screen.
Elion looked it over, finding that the two of them had several things in common.
She liked going to museums, which Elion also enjoyed, though he didn’t get to do it often anymore.
She was interested in cooking classes and trying new things.
Elion wondered how true that was. Most people who said they were interested in trying something new usually meant one or two things still inside their comfort zone. Elion believed trying something new meant stepping out of your comfort zone and pushing yourself.
At the thought, Elion couldn’t help but think of himself as hypocritical. It was true he didn’t date because he seldom had the time. However, he also didn’t do so because dating put him in a world that wasn’t like his own. He expressed himself through art, and words could frequently fail him.
Maybe Clara was right. Perhaps he needed to step outside of his creative bubble, even if it was just for a night.
He’d made it to the bottom of the page, where it asked if he would like to accept or decline a date with the owner of the profile he’d just looked over.
His finger hovered over the decline for several long seconds until he found himself pressing accept instead.
A message popped up on the screen after that.
Congratulations on your match! The plan for your first date will be sent over soon!
Elion placed the tablet down before letting out a huff of air.
He would keep his decision to himself and keep Clara out of it until he couldn’t.
He knew it would be whenever the date plan came through.
Whether she’d used her email to set it up or his, Clara would see it since she checked his email as his assistant far more than he did.
He returned to his sketch and looked at it. Elion furrowed his brow. It was…indistinguishable. He wasn’t even sure that it would be classified as abstract. He tilted his head to the side, attempting to make some shape out of it.
When he couldn’t make a picture or sense out of it. He thought about scrapping it and throwing it in the trash, which had quickly become the sketch graveyard with the other ones. However, he decided he’d keep it. There was always the possibility that he could make something out of it.
Elion exited his workroom and went down the hall. It was late afternoon, and he hadn’t eaten since early that morning. His stomach was now insisting that be known.
He was going to make himself a wrap and decided to make one for Clara as well. He could hear her in the living room. Soft saxophone music was playing, so he knew that she was doing homework or studying.
Once the wraps were ready, Elion placed them on plates before taking two bottles of water from the refrigerator.
He grabbed everything and took it into the living room.
He placed one of the plates and a bottle down on the only empty space on the table beside his niece.
She threw out a soft thank you with her eyes still on the textbook in front of her.
Elion sat on the couch, enjoying the sounds of the music while he ate his late lunch. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t wonder what his upcoming date would be like.
O lani locked up her office building and went to her car.
She’d stayed late putting in the information of a last-minute walk-in.
She had planned to stay late and do a clean sweep of employees who hadn’t checked in as needing employment within the last sixty days.
One of her staff took the woman’s application when she walked in, but Olani volunteered to input the information so it wouldn’t have to wait until Monday.
Slipping behind the wheel, Olani pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards her house. Her usual Friday night plans consisted of a bubble bath, ordering takeout, and finding an old movie that she hadn’t seen before to watch.
She pulled into her driveway, grabbed her bag, and got out. One of her neighbors’ kids was outside playing. The little girl yelled hello to her and waved excitedly. Olani smiled, waving back at the little girl.
Once inside, she placed her bag down and took her shoes off. Picking them up, she went into her bedroom and placed them inside her closet. Olani entered her en suite. She started the water in the bathtub and added some essential oils and bubble bath.
She pulled her phone from her suit jacket pocket and placed it on the dock on her sink. She started soft music and began to undress, putting her suit in her dry-clean hamper and her undergarments in the other.
When the bathtub was filled, she turned the water off and stepped in.
She always enjoyed a long soak after a week of work.
Not that her job was overly taxing because she didn’t deal with disgruntled employers or employees.
She tended to drop them, never willing to put her staff in an uncomfortable situation if she could help it.
The soak was always her way of letting go of whatever the week had put her through, whether it was stressful or not. Starting her weekend off relaxed always worked out well for her. Olani always felt that they went smoothly.
After enjoying her bath, she dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of lounge shorts after moisturizing. With her phone in hand, she went to her kitchen. She had a bottle of white wine that she’d placed in the refrigerator before she’d left for work. She wasn’t a fan of warm or room-temperature wine.
Olani poured herself a glass before going into her living room. She’d gotten a few email notifications on her phone while she was at work about replies to the survey she’d sent out.
After placing her glass of wine down, Olani grabbed her laptop, tucking her feet underneath her. Before checking the responses, she decided to order takeout. She opted for sushi from one of her favorite places.
Pulling up the website, she looked at the responses to her survey. She’d sent them out to seven men she’d run background checks on, which seemed a bit interesting. Of the seven, four of them accepted her survey. Four out of seven were good odds.
Olani had decided when she sent her survey that she would not include a photo of herself.
She hadn’t requested one of the men who filled out the survey, and other than running background checks, which wouldn’t yield photo evidence of them unless they were criminals, she hadn’t searched for the men on any social media sites.
She’d already decided the first date would be the standard dinner date.
She wanted a public place where there would be people, but where they could also talk and get to know each other a bit more.
That was what the first date was for. From there, both parties could decide whether they wanted a second date.
Olani decided to make a form to send to see what type of restaurant they would prefer and on which day.
She knew that she wouldn’t be up for four dates in one week.
So, for one, she offered the upcoming Tuesday or Friday.
For another, she offered the upcoming Wednesday or Saturday.
For the other two, she did the same, except for the following week.
She was sure to add a space for them to place restaurants they would like to go to. She would pick from their recommendations and then send over how they would identify each other once they were there.
Olani’s doorbell rang, and she placed her laptop aside. She grabbed her wallet from her bag to tip her delivery driver. Once she had her food, she settled back on her couch, turned the television on, and flipped through until she found a movie.
She was halfway through the movie when her phone buzzed. She looked at it and found that it was an email notification for the site.
Turning her laptop towards her on the couch, she checked it and found that one of the men, Samuel, had sent in his response. She checked his restaurant recommendations and found that he listed two restaurants and chose this coming Tuesday.
Olani went back to watching her movie, deciding that she would send him the date information tomorrow afternoon once she had everything planned. She had plans in the morning to go to a spin class with Xola and then brunch afterwards.
After finishing her sushi, she took the container to the kitchen and threw it into the trash before pouring herself another glass of wine. She found another movie to watch and tucked her feet under herself. She felt relaxed after her bath, great food, and second glass of wine.