I put on a smile and greet Worth’s wife, Sophia, and Worth’s two sisters. I’m grateful the three of the women seem deeply ensconced in some debate and go back to it as soon as we’re all seated.
“What’s going on?” Worth says.
“I’m not sure,” I reply honestly. How I’m feeling doesn’t make any sense to me. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to explain it to someone else.
“Okay,” he says. “That’s out of character, for a start. You’d normally reply that everything’s great.”
“Because most of the time, everything’s just fine. Most of the time I don’t have any complaints.”
“Not even about your mother?” he asks.
“That’s just everyday background noise. Nothing to report in about.”
“But today’s different,” Worth says.
Today is different. At least I thought it was going to be.
“I met a woman,” I say. “Last night.”
Worth is one of the few people who is as comfortable with silence as I am. I scan the menu as I think about last night. About first spotting her in the audience—her long, elegant neck. I could see the softness in her—her kindness—even before we’d exchanged a word.
“At the ballet,” I go on. “I saw her and…” I shake my head because the thoughts that are running through my mind seem too far-fetched to say out loud. “I felt something,” I say. “I know that sounds stupid, but?—”
“It doesn’t sound stupid. If you felt something, you felt something.”
I nod. “I definitely did. And then I got to speak to her.” I leave out the bit where I threatened to fire Greg if he didn’t get me seated right next to her. Somehow he got the entire row cleared out. He deserves a raise.
“She was… it was as if I’d known her before. As if we’d known each other our entire lives. It was…”
“And she felt this too?”
I nod. “At least I think she did.” Was I kidding myself? Was I projecting my feelings on her? I don’t think so. My feelings felt entirely reciprocated last night. But maybe I was imagining that.
“And the sex?”
“I didn’t sleep with her,” I say quickly. “Not because I didn’t want to, more that I didn’t want her to think that’s what it was between us. I was sexually attracted to her, but I was also drawn to her down to my soul.” I realize I’m talking out loud rather than just having thoughts, and I clear my throat and shift in my seat. I sound certifiable.
“You don’t need to feel uncomfortable, Jack. You don’t need to pretend otherwise or hold back. I’m your friend. And you know how I fell in love with Sophia the moment I met her.”
I sigh and then let out a half laugh. “Yeah, I always thought you were full of shit when you told that story. I’ve seen plenty of women and wanted to sleep with them the moment I met them, but it wasn’t until I met Iris that I thought it was possible to feel real, raw emotion for someone you’ve only just met.” I pause. “I hadn’t even spoken to her, but I knew I had to. And when we talked, I just wanted more. And she seemed to know me.”
“So what happened this morning?”
I tell him how I didn’t get her number last night. “I think we felt so connected that a phone number seemed unnecessary. God, I sound like an idiot.”
“And she just disappeared into the night, without even leaving a glass slipper,” Worth says.
I narrow my eyes until what he’s saying comes into focus.
Cinderella.
That’s who Iris was.
“Maybe she got the time wrong. Or couldn’t find your meeting place,” Worth suggests.
The waitress comes back to the table with our drinks and, after setting five Bloody Marys onto the table, she pulls out her pad, ready to take our order.
“Sophia, do you want to go first?” he asks.
