Jack’s coming toward me, so I redirect my eyes, running them along the lines of the carpeting and up the nearest bookcase. Finally, after enough time has passed, I look back at Jack, but at his eyes this time.
“You’re early,” we both say at the same time.
“Did you know that man at the door?” Jack asks with a quizzical expression.
I peek back toward the entrance, where fate did not have plans for me. “You saw that? I don’t know him. I was trying something out,” I explain. “In my head, it was supposed to be more romantic than that.”
“That didn’t look even the slightest bit romantic, I’m sorry to say,” he says, looking like he’s holding back a laugh.
I groan. “That bad, huh?”
Jack smiles and points at me. “I’ll say this: you have a great reflex.”
I tug at the neckline of my cropped knitted red tank top and distract myself with a soy sauce bottle ornament, focusing on the shine of the red glittery cap. We walk slowly through the store, picking up small items here and there.
Jack turns to face me, looking excited for some reason. “Speaking of stringmates, if I may… or is it too soon?”
I huff out a tight laugh. “You have something to say about stringmates? I have to hear it.”
“I watchedSerendipity—” he starts.
“Wait. You watchedSerendipity? Without me? That’s my favorite.”
“It was in the name of research,” Jack explains. A flash of what looks like regret crosses his face. “Sorry. I didn’t know. But I got an idea from it.”
I sigh. “Don’t tell me you want me to write my name on a dollar bill,” I say at the same time he says, “You should write your name on a dollar bill.”
“Jack,” I say, crossing my arms, “really?”
“Okay,” he says. “Maybe not a dollar. Statistically speaking, there was no way Kate Beckinsale would’ve ever gotten her money back. But for the purposes of this, we can find something unique to you and put your number on that. See who calls. I was thinking it could be Fate Test 6.”
“Look, I’ve been thinking about these Fate Tests, too, and I don’t want to do them alone. I’ve clearly proven how awkward it is,” I explain, gesturing toward the door. “I’m only going to do them if you come with me. This is how you’re going to learn how to inspire. Didn’t your boss say you needed to be better at that? So guide me through these tests. You’re too much on Earth. You need to thinklike you’re on the International Space Station looking down at Earth. I’ve been working on space figures of speech for you to use instead of your forest one.”
Jack smiles, his crescent moon scar rising up with it.
“Let me put it this way: If you join me on the Fate Tests, then both of us will benefit in our work,” I articulate, giving him a taste of his own hypothesis.
Jack’s eyebrows pinch together. “This could be a fertile sandbox to test and practice my motivational skills.”
“It might mean spending time together outside of work,” I say hesitantly.
Jack thinks for a moment. “This is work, though, right? You can’t do what you do unless you’re inspired.”
“Exactly. So we’ll do Red String Theory together. The Fate Tests will hypothetically creatively unblock me. I’ll design installations that will make everyone happy. Ideally that brings exposure, I get more shows, make money, and buy backBaby Being Born. If we pull this off, you’ll have successfully inspired me, and we’ll have worked together to do it. I’m your experiment to do with as you see fit.” I frown. “I just heard that out loud.”
Jack clears his throat and lifts a mug that looks like a terra-cotta pot. “Okay. I want to help.”
“Great! So Fate Test 2 is checked off the list. Seems a little short-lived.”
Jack sets the mug back down on the shelf slowly. “The day is still early. Maybe that guy in the blue shirt will come back for some more sweet romancing,” he says, finally releasing his laugh about it.
“Hilarious. I’d love to see you out there sparking up conversation with a stranger.” I say this with an attempted tone of confidence, but I find I’m failing at that. “How will this work? How do we handle the other Fate Tests?”
“We don’t have to go in order. There might be a natural progression that we can follow. I may have an idea for ‘Fate Test 3: Return a lost object.’ Others we can act on whenever we want, like the interacting-with-someone-online test.”
Heat rises in my chest as I notice his use of “we.” “That works. What’s your idea for 3?” I ask.
“This guy I know, Bennett O’Brien, is having a birthday party for his daughter in a couple of weeks. She’s turning one,” Jack says. “I wasn’t planning on going but apparently they’re doing something with objects. I was thinking you could come with me?”
