I Know Him

I know him like no one else.

I know just about every single thing there is to know about him. I know that he brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch every single day up until the ninth grade. I know that he switched majors twice in college and graduated a year late because of it. I know that he goes back to his apartment every evening at 7:00 PM by bus, and that he always had a glass of wine at 7:30 PM. I know that he does his laundry on Thursday evenings, and that he uses the broken drying machine along the back wall that accepts 50 cents less than it should.

I know that in the past three years he’s dated four different women, all of whom were blonde. I know that two days ago, he tripped on the sidewalk and got a scratch on his right palm. I know that on the subway ride here, he dropped his keys and a beautiful woman picked them up for him. I know that he’d been getting stood up on all of his dates in the past two months. I know that he had a blind date tonight with yet another blonde woman.

I know that I am the one for him.

He sat three tables down, checking his watch every minute or so and kept his eye on the restaurant entrance. It had been half an hour already, but his date wasn’t here. And she wasn’t going to be; I’d made sure of that.

I took a deep breath and pulled out my pocket mirror, checking myself for any imperfections that might get in my way. I smoothed out my freshly bleached, honey-blonde curls, and reapplied a fresh layer of my favourite crimson lipstick. Tucking the mirror neatly back into my purse I stood up and made my way down to his table, where he sat defeated, head in his hands.

I paused at his table. “Oh, my goodness! Jason Lee, is that you?”

He looked up slowly, confused. His eyes met mine, slowly widening with shock and recognition. “Lindsey? Oh my god! I haven’t seen you since grade six!”

I flashed my most winning smile. “So good to see you, Jason! I’ve missed you! We have so much to catch up on.”

You’re the one that has to catch up, I thought to myself, I’m all caught up.

I started to slide into the empty seat but stood up quickly, blushing my prettiest pink. “Oh, I’m so sorry! Are you waiting for someone?”

Jason glanced at his watch, then at the door, and turned back to me with a little laugh. “Nah, I’m just here alone tonight. Would you care to join me for dinner? It’ll be my treat.”

“If you say so.”

My heart beat like a drum as I slid into the seat. All these years, and never once had I been this close. I was so, so close.

I clasped my hands on the table. “So, what have you been up to all this time?”

He ran his fingers through his gelled hair and laughed nervously. “Man, where do I even start? It’s been so long. I work at an accounting firm these days. I’ve been there for a few months now. Hmm…I—oh! I went to the Netherlands this Spring. Oh gosh, I’m sorry, Lindsey, I’m a mess. I can barely think of what to say.”

I giggled. “That’s okay. Did you go to the Netherlands in April?”

“I did, actually. How did you know?”

“That’s when the tulips bloom. I figured maybe you’d go to see the tulips.”

His eyes widened. “Yeah, I did go to see them! That’s crazy. You must be psychic.”

The waitress arrived, a tall, busty young woman with platinum blonde hair. I felt the blood drain from my extremities, and I couldn’t rip my gaze away from her as she flashed a smile at Jason. She introduced herself as Mandy and asked to take our order, and my voice came out strained as I suggested Jason choose something to share. Jason agreed, but I barely heard what he ordered. I hated the way she leaned down to catch his words, and I hated the way her long hair fell over her shoulders and framed her chest. When she turned to me, all I could manage to ask for was a glass of merlot. She sashayed away, her perfect hourglass figure disappearing behind the kitchen doors.

“Are you okay?”

I snapped back into focus. Jason looked at me, his eyebrows scrunched up with concern. “Oh, I’m fine. I’m terrible at ordering things. I never know what to choose.”

He smiled. “You ordered a merlot. You like wine?”

I tolerated wine, but I knew he loved it. He even had a subscription box for the stuff from some company called Bright Cellars. There was always a box outside his door on the fifteenth of every month. “I have a glass from time to time. You love wine, don’t you? You were asking Mandy about them for a while.” I smirked playfully. “You’re probably one of those people who drink a glass every day. I bet you even have one of those wine subscription boxes.”

Laughing, he threw his hands up in the air in defeat. “Wow, you are really something special, Lindsey. I don’t know how on earth you knew that.”

“Lucky guess.”

Mandy came back with the food and the wine, and—luckily—left quickly after. I eased back into my seat and carried on the conversation, smiling and laughing where appropriate. Jason didn’t say a single thing I didn’t already know about him, but I pretended to be amused and asked lots of questions. I told him about where I’d gone after university and about my recent art works. My mind leapt with joy as our conversation flourished on, confirming the one belief I’d clung on to all these years—that Jason and I were meant for each other.

Mandy came back to check on us, but it seemed to me like she was really just checking on Jason. As she flashed another one of her pearly white smiles at him I knocked over my glass of wine and sent the dark, swirling contents flying onto her cream-coloured blouse.

I gasped and tried to dab at her shirt with my napkin. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that—God, how could I be so clumsy?”

“O-oh, that’s alright, Miss. I’ll have Susan over there bring you another one.” She stepped back and briskly scuttled back to the kitchen, whispering something to another waitress on the way. Mandy ought to count herself lucky she only got away with a wine stain on her shirt. Not like those other girls.

I turned to Jason with tears in my eyes. “That was so embarrassing!”

He squeezed my hand and offered me a tissue. “Hey, hey, it’s alright. It was an accident. It’s okay.”

Susan seemed to materialize out of thin air with my glass of merlot and the dessert menu. Jason loved sweets. Every year on his birthday he ordered a tiramisu from the bakery down the street from his apartment.

I wiped my tears and glanced up a Susan. “Do you have tiramisu here?”

Jason looked pleasantly surprised. “You like tiramisu? I love tiramisu!”

“Yeah,” I smiled, still sniffling, “it’s my favourite dessert.”

Pleased, he ordered one to share. It came quickly, and we continued on our conversation whilst digging into the soft dessert with our tiny spoons. When we finished, Susan whisked the dish away and refilled our glasses. When she left, Jason slowly leaned into the table and glanced at me shyly.

“Hey, Lindsey, are you free on Saturday?”

“Yes, I am.” I answered sweetly. “Why, what do you have in mind?”

He scratched his back of his head and laughed nervously. “Oh, I was just wondering if you’d like to go out, maybe?”

I could feel my heartbeat in my toes. This was it. This was the moment I’ve been waiting for. “Yeah, I’d love to.”

“Alright then, it’s a date!” He took my hand. “I’m really glad you came by tonight, Lindsey.”

I swirled the glass of merlot in my hand and took a slow sip. “You are?”

“Yeah. I just feel like we really clicked, you know? I’ve never really felt that way with anyone before. Besides,” he grinned playfully, “it feels like you already know me so well.”

I squeezed his hand and leaned in close. My lips brushed past his cheeks, leaving a baby smear of red. His hair tickled my cupid’s bow. “Oh, Jason, you have no idea.”