Still, I’m really glad I came. And nobody is more surprised about that than me.
Sometimes, things are better than you imagine.
As we leave the convention center, Duffy is practically walking on air. “That. Was.Incredible.Wasn’t that incredible? That might’ve been my best con yet.” He grins over at me. “Did you have an okay time?”
“I did, actually,” I say. “Thanks for bringing me.”
“I’m glad you came.” He reaches over and takes my hand. “I’ve never brought a date to one of these before. But my friends told me that any woman I’m going to date deserves to know what she’s getting into.” He gives me a quick side-eye. “Not everyone is as cool about it as you are.”
He squeezes my hand and I hold my breath, searching for any sign of flutters.
There are none.
“I didn’t mean to stay so long, and now we don’t have time for dinner.” He opens the door to his sensible Toyota Camry.
“That’s okay,” I say. “It was worth it.”
He closes the door and runs around to the other side and gets in, pulling on his seat belt and adjusting every mirror like he wasn’t the last one to drive this car. “I have a Sunday night ritual I can’t break.”
“You do?” I’m imagining meal prep or laundry or something practical.
He starts the car and backs out of the parking space.
“I moderate an online forum,” he says. “And we have weekly discussions.”
“What kind of forum?”
“Conspiracy theories mostly,” he says. “Like things the government doesn’t want you to know. Alien abductions. Elvis sightings.”He pauses for a three-count, then chuckles. “Just kidding. We know Elvis doesn’t go out anymore.” He goes silent for a beat, then starts laughing again. “You should see your face. I’m kidding!”
After today... that was not obvious.
My laugh is strained. “Oh.” I mean to say more, but I can’t find any other words. Duffy is kind, but he is odd.
Can I get on board with “odd”?
“Actually, I go over the schedule for the week, pull up patient charts, and make sure I know every kid’s name. I try to make it all as laid-back and easy as I can because kids are usually terrified of the dentist.”
“Some adults too,” I add.
“True.” He smiles. “I find that if I know a little something about them, it helps. So we ask the parents a few questions when they make the appointment. You know, ‘What’s your kid into right now?’ ‘Is there anything they might be able to talk about that would put them at ease?’ That sort of thing.”
I look at him. “That’s really sweet.”
A self-deprecating shrug. “My patients are really important to me.”
He reaches over and takes my hand.
Not a single flutter.
Duffy turns on a jazz playlist, and the sound of mellow music fills the car. We drive back to my apartment, and he parks in the little lot at the end of the street, then shuts the car off.
“I’ll walk you in.”
“Oh, you don’t have to,” I say, not wanting to face the lingeringat the door.
“Don’t be silly,” he says. “I’m not sending you out into the darkness alone.There could be orcs out there.” He laughs quietly and opens his door, meeting me around the other side of the car.
We walk in silence toward the building, and I say a silent prayer that nobody is in the courtyard, thankful to find it empty. Thewhite string lights and exterior building lights cast a warm glow over the space, and in different circumstances, this might actually be a very romantic setting for the end of a date.
