[Ellie's Story] Dating Deliberation

 “Sorry for the short notice,” said Sacha, standing outside the steps of my building. “I need it for some work this weekend.”

 “No problem, Sacha," I replied. "I was done stealing all of your music from it anyway. I had meant to return it to you sooner.” It was a cold, blustery Friday and I had agreed to meet Sacha outside my apartment after work so that I could return his portable hard drive. I opened the doors and we walked into the warm musty lobby of my old apartment building.

“Hey, can you come with me for a sec to the laundry room?” I asked. “I just need to post up my roommate ad to the bulletin board.” I dug around my bag and pulled out a hard copy of the roommate ad I had created last week. It had been sitting in my bag for a while and somehow I kept forgetting to post it.

Sacha took the ad out of my hand and read it aloud. “‘I’m a working professional in my mid-20’s, and a cat owner…tendency to be a night owl. Looking for a non-smoking female roommate…am generally a tidy person.’”

I snatched the paper out of his hands. “Hey, give that back. I need to post it,” I said as I walked towards the back of the building where the laundry room was located.

Sacha snickered at me. “I dunno about the ‘tidy’ part, Ellie. You might want to change that.”

“Okay, smart ass. When you come up, tell me how messy I am. I’ll prove you wrong.” I challenged him, since I had just cleaned my apartment yesterday.

Sacha laughed. “I’m just kidding, Ellie. Sheesh, someone’s sensitive.”

I shook my head at Sacha. We were in the laundry room now, and I pinned my ad up in an empty spot on the community bulletin board.

“Hello, Ellie!” said a voice behind me. I turned around and saw Mrs. Klein, who lived down the hall from me. She was walking in slowly with her laundry basket gripped in her small hands.

“Hi Mrs. Klein,” I said, walking over to her and reaching for her basket. “Here, let me help you with that.” I placed the basket on one of the large tables beside a washing machine.

“Thank you. You’re such sweet girl.” Mrs. Klein said. She looked up and noticed Sacha beside me. She smiled and winked at me. “Is that your new boyfriend?”

“No, Mrs. Klein,” I said, smiling apologetically to Sacha who was standing there awkwardly. “This is Sacha, he’s just my good friend. I’ve known him for years.”

“Oh, I’m sorry! And here I thought you had found someone after David. You deserve someone nice, Ellie. Someone smart.” Mrs. Klein adjusted the small glasses on her delicate face. Her grey hair was tied back today, different from her usual pouf of curls that I was used to seeing.

Mrs. Klein had witnessed David moving out. Ever since she heard of our breakup, she had insisted that I find someone else who was “worthy” of me. “I know there are a few new tenants who’ve just moved into the building,” she continued, “one fellow last month and another one just a couple of weeks ago. I met one of them. He seemed smart.” Mrs. Klein thought everyone was smart. Including the annoying kid on the second floor who bashed his toys against the lobby walls every time he walked by.

I forced a smile. “I’m sure he is, Mrs. Klein. And I’m sure I’ll meet all of the new tenants at the next building potluck.”

“Oh yes, you should,” replied Mrs. Klein. “You should be with someone nice, Ellie. You’re such a nice girl.”

Sacha looked at me, eyebrows raised in mild amusement.
“I should get going,” I said, needing to end this conversation before Sacha laughed out loud.

“I’ll see you later, Mrs. Klein!” I hurried out of the room, Sacha following behind me.

“Are all of your neighbours this invested in your well-being?” Sacha asked, his eyes

betraying the laugh he was trying to hide.   

“Just her,” I replied. “She knows the whole story about David.”

“Ah,” Sacha replied simply, stifling his laugh. “Nice lady, anyway.”

We were walking down the hallway back to the main elevator when my phone rang. It was Madison.

“Have you given any thought about Simon?” she asked without small talk.

I stopped midstride. Sacha paused as well and we both stood in the middle of the hallway.

“Uh…no. Should I? I thought you said I could think about it.”

“Well yeah. But he called me today, asking about you and when he could meet you.”

“He asked about me?” My voice rose up a few pitches. “Why would he ask about me?” I sensed Sacha watching me with curiosity, and I turned away to face the wall instead.

 “Well…” Madison hesitated. “When I initially met him, I sort of let slip that you were single and that I thought you two would hit it off.” She sighed quietly. “That was the only reason we exchanged numbers in the first place, Ells. I wouldn’t have otherwise. I mean, he’s a complete stranger, really.”

“You didn’t tell me that, Maddie.” I tried to keep my patience. “So now this guy’s expecting to meet me? Some complete stranger that you met?”

“Well, he seemed really nice, Ellie. And he gave me his business card, which I checked out on the internet. He seems legit. But if you want, I could call the whole thing off.”

I shook my head in frustration. “Geez Maddie. I don’t know what to think. Anyway, can I talk to you later about this? I’m just with Sacha right now.”

“Yeah, sure. Sorry Ellie. Call me later.” Madison replied in a low voice.

I hung up the phone.

“What was that all about?” Sacha asked.

I sighed. “Madison’s being…Madison.”

“Uh…okay. I’m not sure what that means, but it sounds like you’re in some kind of trouble.” Sacha paused, and then he peered at me strangely. “Madison’s not trying to hook you up with a loan shark or something, is she? Because honestly, if you need the cash, I can spot you, El.”

I gave Sacha a hard glare. “Really, Sacha. You do think highly of me sometimes.” I shook my head. “Madison’s just being a brat,” I muttered. “She’s trying to set me up with a stranger that she just met off the street.”

We walked the rest of the hallway, returning to the main lobby area. I pressed the elevator button.

“Ah, good to know it’s not the loan sharks,” said Sacha, “but just some unfortunate bachelor off the street. And you’re obviously hesitant.”

 “Of course I’m hesitant. I don’t know this guy. All I know is that his name is Simon and he works at a law firm. Would you go out with some stranger named Simon?”

 “Simon at a law firm,” Sascha repeated, a smirk creeping on his face. “Sounds…sexy,” Sacha joked. “Well, for a dorky name.”

“Exactly,” I agreed. The dorky part, anyway, I mentally thought.

“Well, you should at least meet the guy,” Sacha said, looking at me seriously. “If you’re…you know, desperate.” He looked at me ominously. “Maybe he’s The One.”

The elevator doors opened and we stepped in. There was already a man in it, dressed in a nice blue dress shirt and dark grey tie. I noticed that the elevator smelled much better than the musty lobby – like vanilla somehow. I pressed the button to my floor and scooted over to the side of the elevator to make room for Sacha.

Cognizant of the man in the elevator, I lowered my volume.

 “I’m not desperate. It’s only been two months. And who knows if there even is a One.”

“But you’ve always believed in things like true love and The One,” replied Sacha, his volume unchanged.

I flinched and decided that maybe it was best act nonchalant. “I’m not sure what I believe anymore,” I said, still trying to keep my volume low - but not too low as to sound secretive.  The elevator stopped at my floor, and we exited the elevator. When the doors closed behind us, I resumed my normal volume. “Especially since David left,” I added. "My faith's a bit shot right now." We walked the short stretch of hallway before stopping at my door. I reached for the keys in my bag and opened my door.

 MoMo was already waiting in the hallway, tail lifted up and head nuzzling against my leg. I leaned down to pet him.

“Well, just because David wasn’t The One doesn’t mean there isn’t a One,” Sacha reasoned.

“Right, and you’re such a big believer in The One, Sacha, what with you dating so many girls all the time.”

“Hey, you have your dating philosophy, and I have mine.”

“And are you happy?” I asked, studying him.

“Don’t I look happy?” he replied, deliberately putting on a stoic expression.

“Not like that, you don’t,” I laughed. “Here, let me get your drive.” I dropped my purse on the floor and went in search of Sacha’s portable hard drive.

“Hey, you’re right. Your place isn’t as messy as I imagined,” commented Sacha. “Except for all the nail polish bottles.” He picked one up off the floor. “‘Rescue Beauty Lounge’,” he read. “I like how this is marketed to make women feel like they have inadequate nails unless they paint them with this. Rescue in a bottle…man, I totally should have thought of it first.”

“Stop analyzing my stuff.” I handed Sacha his hard drive, squinting my eyes at him. People got free smiles at McDonald’s. Here at Ellie’s, people got free evil eyes. Especially Sacha.

“Sorry, occupational habit.”

“Did you want something to drink or eat?”

“Nah, I should get back. I’m meeting up with Deborah tonight. Thanks though.”

“Who’s that?”

“This girl I met at this networking function last month.”

“Ahhh,” I said, extending the word, eyeing Sacha with lifted brows. I waited for him to elaborate. He didn’t. “Okay then,” I said, too lazy to prod, “have fun with Deborah then.”

I had stopped keeping track of Sacha’s dating history since 2009. I promised myself that I would start keeping track again if any of his dates manage to pass the 3-month mark.

“So what are you going to tell Madison?” Sacha asked. “Are you going to meet this Simon?”

“I don’t know,” I pondered. “Maybe. I’ll see how I feel later,” I decided.

“And Ellie, your living room looks barren. When are you going to get a coffee table?”

“I dunno, Sacha,” I replied, giving him yet another evil glare, which was hopefully my last of the evening. “I’ll see how I feel later.”