The Voice of Reason

Jessica breezes into my office like a sweet-smelling whirlwind. She looks as if she has just won the lottery and can’t wait to start spending her winnings.

“I want all the details, now!” She demands authoritatively and settles herself on one of the chairs in front of my desk. “Go!”

I laugh. “Calm down, Jessica Rabbit. It’s not that serious.”

“Don’t call me that. Now, start talking.”

“I’ve already told you everything that happened.”

“No, you didn’t. Start from the very beginning. From that part about you running into him at the restaurant and you two kissing.”

“Ugh…” I groan.

“Girl! How did that happen? Who kissed who first? Why did the kiss even happen if you two have never met before? Am I missing something in this story? What haven’t you told me, Nicey?”

Jessica’s excitement over my about-to-be-revived love life amuses me. She and I are similar in many ways, and that is why I gravitate towards her more than the other ladies in our friendship circle.

I feel like she’ll be the best to understand my predicament right now more than anyone else. I clear my throat playfully before speaking again.

“As I said on the phone, the first time we met was at the restaurant during my ‘freedom party’, which you guys threw for me. We sort of had an eye contact moment in the restaurant, and then we ran into each other at the lobby.”

“Wait, what’s an eye contact moment?” Jessica asks seriously.

She seems to be soaking up every single word that comes from my mouth. It’s as if  I’m dropping some wisdom nuggets for her to learn from.

“Well, you know… our eyes met across the room and we just sort of stared at each other for a couple of seconds,” I explain.

“Ooh… I like that,” she squeals and rubs her palms together gleefully. “And then what happened?”

“And then we kind of bumped into each other in the lobby as I was returning from the restroom. He told me his name, I told him mine, and when I turned to leave, I tripped, and he caught me. And then I, you know, I kissed him.”

Jessica gasps and bolts out of the chair. She does a weird dance in front of my desk while cackling like a maniac.

“Now, that’s what I’m talking about!” She laughs. “I love it. So romance novel-ish.”

“I know, right?” I agree. “It was ridiculous. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been waiting my whole life to experience an impulsive, sexy moment like that, and here you are, living my fantasy and complaining about it. Come on, girl, get it!”

“Listen, Jessica,” I begin calmly. “I know every woman has at one time or the other fantasized about randomly meeting a handsome billionaire who will kiss them till their knees buckle and their insides turn to jelly, and then they’ll fall in love and live happily ever after.”

“And it has finally happened to you, Eunice. You’re living every girl’s dream!”

“This is real life, my dear, and I think I’m way in over my head here. And speaking of dreams…”

“Uh-huh? Go on, what happened?”

I tell her the dream I had the night after I met Sam. Jessica listened intently, and when I finished talking, she did her stupid dance again.

“This is it, my darling Nicey,” she says joyfully. “This is the meaning of the dream.”

“You think so?” I ask uncertainly.

“I know so, honey,” she replies confidently. “The man literally combed all of San Francisco to find you. That’s why he wouldn’t let you go in the dream. He wants you.”

“I don’t know…”

“I don’t understand your hesitation. Men don’t go after the women they don’t want. That should tell you everything you need to know already.”

“But – “

“Leave the buts, Nicey. Don’t kill the vibe. We should celebrate this and tell the others too.”

“Let’s not tell them yet,” I say quickly. “It’s too soon.”

Jessica rolls her eyes and returns to the chair. “OK, Miss Party Pooper.”

“What if Sam is messing with me?”

“Why would he do that? Isn’t he too busy to be playing games with a random woman he literally moved mountains to find?”

“Be honest, Jessica. Why would a guy like Sam Ewing want to date a woman like me? We’re not from the same social circles or tax brackets. What’s the catch?”

“I think you’re overthinking this.”

“As if him showing up here wasn’t crazy enough, I went and stupidly agreed to have lunch with him tomorrow. What am I doing, Jessica?”

“What you are doing is getting your life back,” she replies matter-of-factly. “I know this thing with this billionaire guy seems too good to be true, but so what? It’s not like he’s going to ask you to marry him tomorrow.”

“I hope not,” I reply with a nervous giggle.

“It’s just a lunch date, and if it blossoms into something more, so what? Eunice, you seem to have forgotten that you are single now.”

“Yeah, that’s going to take some getting used to,” I admit.

“Walter made you miserable for most of your marriage to him, and now the universe is giving you an opportunity to have a slice of happiness, and you’re hesitating. Girl, what wouldn’t I give to be in your shoes right now?”

Jessica’s words put me at ease a little. It appears that I might truly be overthinking this thing with Sam. This is probably just a chance for me to have a little fun and then carry on with the rest of my life.

My friend is probably right. This thing isn’t worth all the far-fetched conspiracy theories that I’m creating mentally. As Sam had said, it’s not that deep. I need to chill out.