The Countdown

It hasn’t even been a week and I already know when I’ll be seeing Fred for the first time. In a way, I’m glad, because I’ll be prepared for it, but at the same time, I want to avoid it for as long as I can.

            Charlie’s parents, who live down the street from Adam and Carrie, found out about Fred moving in and invited the three of them to dinner. While it hasn’t been said out rightly, this dinner is a vehicle for matchmaking. When Hannah and Lucy’s mom came over to tell them about it, she made the dinner sound like it was for them to meet Fred, instead of the new tenants in general. And why wouldn’t he be the main focus? He’s rich and young and single and (according to their mom) handsome. Hannah’s violinist left on a tour for a show last week and won’t be back for another month, and Lucy hasn’t met anyone she’s interested in pursuing a relationship with. Their mom invited me, Charlie, and Marie as well, but I get the feeling she’s trying to keep this casual and her plan less obvious, which is why we were invited along.

            I caught Lucy googling him last night. At least, she had brought up his Facebook profile picture and was looking it. Probably checking to make sure her mom’s judgment was right on. Obviously I’m not exactly impartial, but if anything, in the past eight years he’s only become even more handsome. Maybe because he doesn’t have a military haircut anymore.

            So. Thursday night. Thursday night I will see him again. And there’s the question of what he’s said about us. Will he say he already knows me? Should I say something? What if he has been telling people about our past and I look like an idiot for not bringing him up? And then, we will have dinner together. With other people, but, you know, in the same company and all of that.

            It doesn’t seem real that he’s coming back. That I’m going to see him. And that Hannah and Lucy will be turning on their best flirting when it comes to him. And why wouldn’t he flirt, too? He’s single, and they’re great people, very pretty and vivacious and young. He could do a lot worse, and so could they.

            And I have three days to prepare for this.