Page 62 of Paradigm

“I know, but I still wanted to make it special,” Arlowe replied. “Gabi actually gave me an idea, so I can’t take full credit, but I did it a little differently than what she suggested, so maybe I can give myself partial credit. Are you ready to go, or do you need a few minutes?”

“Oh, I should show you around, at least. You’ve never been here. This is the living room. The kitchen is in there, and I should probably put this flower into some water before we go. Do you want–”

“I don’t need any coffee before we go, no,” Arlowe interjected.

Eline smiled and blushed a little.

“I was going to ask if you wanted water or something else to drink.”

“I’m okay. Can I get the tour later, though? I don’t want to be late. I did a whole thing for tonight.”

“What whole thing? Arlowe, I thought it was going to be dinner at a restaurant.”

“It’s dinner, but not at a restaurant.”

“What? Should I change? Is–”

“Eline, you look perfect. Do not change. Put the flower in water, stop worrying about everything, and let’s go so that we can have a nice night.”

“So, I shouldn’t change? Arlowe, I’m not good at surprises. You know that.”

“I do know that, but I’m asking you to trust me on this when I tell you that you’re dressed fine, and that it’s going to be okay. Do you trust me?”

“I’ve always trusted you,” Eline said seriously.

“Then, put your tulip in water, and we’ll go.”

“I don’t have a vase. I’ll have to use a glass.”

Eline walked over to her open kitchen.

“I’m glad I didn’t get you a dozen, then,” Arlowe joked. “I kind of like the idea of one flower. I don’t know why. I guess I feel like it somehow means more than a whole bouquet. Am I wrong on that? I should know your thoughts on flowers before I go buying you more.”

“You know I love tulips.”

“Yes, but how many tulips should I get for you on our second second date?”

Eline turned on the faucet, but she was looking over the counter at Arlowe when she said, “You might want to consider getting me a vase, too, if you’re going to get me more flowers. And while I love the gesture, flowers aren’t required. You can pick me up for our second second date without any, if you want.” She placed the flower into the glass of water delicately because she wanted it to live forever and then walked around and back into the living room. “So, we’re going on another date, even though this one hasn’t even started yet?”

“I think so, yeah. I feel pretty confident that we’re going to have a good time tonight and that you’ll want another date with me based on previous experience.”

“Are you taking me to a university bookstore so that we can touch the same book and act like we just met?”

Arlowe shook her head and said, “No, I could never act like we just met. And I definitely wouldn’t want to do anything to mess with how we met the first time. It was perfect.”

Eline smiled, held out her hand, and told her, “I’m ready when you are.”

Arlowe took it and entwined their fingers. They hadn’t held hands like this in over twelve years, and Eline’s heart already had not stopped racing since she’d heard the doorbell ring, but now, it was going even faster because this was the moment. Everything had been leading up to them getting back to this place where they could hold hands and maybe let go of parts of the past while hanging on to the parts they never wanted to forget.

“After you,” Arlowe said, nodding toward the door, and then she walked them toward it and pulled it open with her free hand.

Eline walked out first, waited for Arlowe to follow, and she swallowed, trying to get her nerves to calm, as she locked the door behind them. Then, she turned to look at her date, gave her a smile, and off they went.

CHAPTER 19

Arlowe hadn’t meant to get dating advice from Gabi, but Gabi had gone to the office kitchen to get a quick snack at the same time Arlowe had, and they’d talked a little about how nervous she’d been. Gabi had shared with her how nervous she’d been about her first date with Sarai, wanting it to be special, too, and since Arlowe hadn’t been sure that Sarai had ever told them what they’d done on their first date, she’d asked. Gabi had told her that she’d gotten them this riverboat dinner cruise because it had been the closest she’d been able to get to a canal in Amsterdam around here, and that had given Arlowe an idea of her own.

“Where are we?” Eline asked when Arlowe pulled into the parking lot.