Nikki fumbled with her words a bit as she tried to divulge the reason for her uneasiness. “… it’s just that …”
Sara walked across their workplace kitchen area and put her hand on Nikki’s shoulder. “Hey – whatever it is, I’m here for you.”
Still, Nikki stuttered her words before finally mustering the courage to reveal the reason for her reluctancy to actually trust men. “It’s just that … well … my last real boyfriend, er – fiancé, really ….” Nikki’s stuttering continued as she was verbalizing now for the first time something that she had never admitted to anyone else out loud. The terrors she had endured – and somehow survived – in her prior relationship now flooded her mind. Though her parents eventually found out about it, she never actually had admitted it to her parents. Rather, they only found out during the criminal process.
But the bond between the two women allowed Sara to pick up on what was going on. Nikki found Sara’s ability to read her tone to be the confidence that she needed in a relationship, as Sara helped by finishing the sentence out loud for Nikki: “You’ve been in an abusive relationship, haven’t you?” Sara’s tone was one of understanding, rather than criticism or seeking drama.
Nikki nodded her head, grateful she didn’t have to verbally say it. “How did you know?” She asked Sara.
“I didn’t until just now. I always wondered why you never wanted to give guys a second date – even some of the ones that didn’t sound so strange. But it all makes sense, now.” Sara paused for just a moment. She wiped a small tear away from the corner of her friend’s eye before just simply saying, “I’m so sorry Nikki.”
Nikki cracked a half-smile, like she was still coming to terms with her best friend having discovered some type of weakness in her. Nikki knew the fact that she had been a helpless victim to abuse wasn’t really a weakness, but it still had held bondage over her emotionally in the couple of years since that drama had come to an end. And now, she was ready to put that history even more behind bars by moving on. She’d promised her dad she’d try to move on, and she knew that eventually she’d have to if she was going to actually find love in her life.
“It makes so much sense now,” Sara continued. “But what happened to the guy who abused you? Is there any threat with him still?”
“My prior fiancé? Oh no,” Nikki was quick to cut that thought off. “He’ll be in jail for a very, very long time.”
“Good.” For just a slight moment, a pause filled the air as Sara thought of how best to cheer her friend up. “Now, no more about the past. Only the future from here on out. Tell me about the candidates who would be so lucky to get a second date with you!”
Nikki was in the middle of telling Sara about her recent dates from the last couple of weeks, when their boss suddenly burst through their kitchen door.
“Hey ladies, how’s it going in here?”
“Doing great, Nikolai. Ready for the big event tonight?” Nikki asked.
“Well, that’s one thing I wanted to tell you both about,” Nikolai replied.
“Whatever it is, boss-man, we got your back.” Sara chimed in.
“So, don’t be mad at me …” Nikolai began. The girls just eyed him suspiciously, wondering what it was that he was holding back from them.
“Let me guess, it turns out that everyone at the wedding are vegetarians and won’t be needing our fabulously-cooked roasted chicken over garlic root vegetables?” The way Nikki said it was mocking the fact that the plate was really just chicken and vegetables – nothing unusual and nothing especially up-scale.
“Oh, no – not that at all,” Nikolai said.
“Well, what is it, Nikolai – tell us already?” Sara pressed him, having fun with seeing her boss uncharacteristically nervous.
“Ok then, here it is. We actually need double.”
“Shut up,” Sara said in disbelief.
“That’s impossible, Nikolai – we can’t get it done before tonight’s rehearsal dinner,” Nikki warned.
“No, no – that’s no problem,” said Nikolai. “See, that’s what I’m trying to say.”
The two girls just stared at him, waiting for Nikolai to actually say what he was having such a hard time expressing. Neither of them understood how it wasn’t a problem that they’d only cooked half of what was needed, since the wedding party’s rehearsal dinner was about to begin very soon.
“What I’m trying to tell you is that we’re not the only catering company tonight. The wedding party is so large that there’s been two catering companies hired to help with both tonight’s rehearsal dinner as well as the actual wedding in a couple weeks.”
“Oh, that’s all?” Sara said. “I mean, it’s a first for us to do something like that – but nothing you need to worry about. We’re good.” Sara smirked as she taunted her boss, who until then had always presented with a tough-guy persona. Nikolai had always been sure to treat his workers with respect and friendliness, but he’d still maintained the gruff demeanor which was needed for the owner of a kitchen in New York City. His nervousness just now was definitely a first.
Nikki was just relieved they weren’t being rushed to hurriedly try to complete the impossible by doubling in ten minutes what they’d just spent the last several hours doing. So, she turned to her natural humor. “How is there such a large wedding party? Haven’t they ever seen your tiny wedding hall before?”
Nikolai realized that the girls were now over-indulging in teaming up to make fun of him. So, he cut the joking short by abruptly turning back to leave through the doors to greet his wedding guests. “Ten minutes, ladies! The dinner begins in just ten minutes!”
Sara and Nikki turned back to begin placing their dishes of entrees on the catering carts.
“Ok,” Sara said, getting them back on the track of their conversation before Nikolai had interrupted them, “so we have the candidates. So far, I’ve heard about Ryan – the handsomely dark, intriguing one who only blew it at the very end by asking to go to your apartment. The jury’s out on if he’s a womanizer, I get it. Then we have the definite womanizer, and probable nudist, Leaf. And then we have the engineer who would probably satisfy you financially for the rest of your life, but definitely not leave you emotionally or socially satisfied. Am I forgetting anyone?”
Nikki was about to shake her head no, when all of a sudden the thought of her fourth date from the last couple of weeks popped into her head. “Actually, yeah.”
That date had been so abrupt and mysterious that she’d all but forget about him. “Luke,” she said out loud, barely audibly – more to herself than to Sara – as she recalled that she’d went on a fourth date recently.
“Who?” Sara asked, not having heard Nikki.
“Luke,” Nikki now said more directly.
“Ohh – I like the sound of Luke. Good name. Tell me more….”
“Well, I can’t, really – he left in like the first two minutes.” Nikki knew there was more to their conversation than the fact that he’d left so quickly. She knew something pulled him away quickly, and that she still had no clue what that was about. She also knew that he was the one who first planted in her mind the seed about fate. Right off the bat, he’d cut through the pleasantries and spoke to her as if he was really listening to what she had to say – when he’d asked her if she believed in fate.