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“Tell me why I said yes to this?”
Hermione looked in the mirror at the mess style Luna had created from her hair.
“Because you love me.” Her blonde friend smiled as she added another twist to her creation. “And it’s been forever since you’ve been on a date.”
“But a blind date? I’m not that desperate.”
Luna cocked an eyebrow in clear disagreement, and Hermione sighed.
“I’ll probably be forced to sneak out when it turns out he’s a troll. You can’t even tell me anything about him since you haven’t met him.”
“He comes with Alice’s recommendation, and that’s all I need.”
“Edward. It’s such an old-fashioned name. So formal. He’s probably uptight.”
“You’re not exactly the queen of relaxation.”
She wasn’t wrong.
No matter the objection, Luna stood firm, letting Hermione expel all her anxieties as she fiddled with her hair.
“There. Now, I’m leaving, so you have enough time to take this all out and do what you want with it.” She gave Hermione a knowing smirk. “I may not have met Edward, but I know Alice and I trust her. She wouldn’t set her brother up with just anyone. And I think you know I wouldn’t misplace the trust you put in me.”
“You make it sound like I had any choice in the matter.”
“My dear Hermione, you always have a choice. I just hope you gather that courage that I know lives deep down inside and let yourself have a good time.”
“He’s probably desperate.”
“From where it sits, how would a pot ever recognise its relationship to the kettle?”
Hermione zipped her lips. Luna’s statements might be cryptic, but not so cryptic that she didn’t understand.
Her friend collected her belongings and wrapped a scarf around her neck as she walked to the door. “You’re wearing the blue dress. I’ll know if you don’t. And try to have a nice time. You deserve it.” She stepped over the threshold, then leaned back inside. “And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“But that’s literally nothing.”
Luna gave a knowing smile. “I said what I said.”
As soon as she heard the door click, Hermione sighed and raised her hands to her scalp to undo the elaborate hairstyle that didn’t at all work for her hair.
“Tell me why I said yes to this?”
Edward stood stock still as Alice continued her primping. If he’d learned anything in all their years together, it was that Alice did what she wanted, and one only prolonged the inevitable in trying to put a stop to it.
“Please. It’s not like you have anything better to do. What? It’s been ages since you and Tanya broke up. Besides, you’re not getting any younger. At some point, you’ve got to put yourself out there and see what else the universe has in store for you.” She tied a tie he was perfectly capable of tying himself. And then she undid it and tied it again. “And you’re doing it because you owe me.”
“I owe you? For what? If anything, you owe me for going along with this ridiculous charade.”
“You’ll see,” she smirked. There literally was no winning an argument with her. She had an uncanny touch of prescience — or maybe she saw patterns where no one else bothered to. Maybe that was why he’d finally agreed.
“What’s her name again? Hildegard? Hieronymus?”
Alice tugged a little too hard, and he bent over so as to not be strangled.
“Hermione. Midsummer Night’s Dream. You think you’d like that. It probably means she reads books and stuff.”
“How can you tell that from a name?”
“Clearly her parents did.” Alice patted his tie and stepped back to look. “I’d say a jumper, but you’re prone to spilling. So, maybe a jacket instead. That way, you can close it, if you make a mess.” She was already halfway to his closet.
“I do know how to dress myself, you realise.”
“Debatable.”
“And what makes you think this is a good idea?”
“Call it intuition. Or a hunch. Or maybe I just want you out of the house so Jasper and I can be as loud as we want this evening.”
Edward groaned, trying to erase that mental image from his mind as Alice emerged with a camel-coloured leather jacket that complimented the rest of the clothes she’d dressed him in.
“But you’ve never met her.”
“Nope. But I know Luna, and I trust her judgment. She and I, we’re like kindred spirits. I was commenting about you-”
“You were complaining about me? I’m literally the best flatmate you could ask for.”
“Also debatable.” Alice helped him into his jacket and smoothed it across his shoulders. “As I was saying… You had better not come home early tonight. Or if you do, I won’t be held responsible for any mental injuries you sustain. In fact, I should have you sign a waiver.”
Her grin was infectious. Edward couldn’t help but smile with her, even as she pushed him further out on a limb.
“My darling Alice, you’re a piece of work.” He leaned down so she could kiss him on the cheek.
“Would you have me any other way?”
Hermione looked at her watch. Her date should arrive within the next ten minutes if he was running on time. And if he wasn’t, that would be an automatic strike against him. She wouldn’t wait more than fifteen — anything longer than that was inconsiderate.
She resisted the urge to reach up and fuss with her curls. They had been entirely uncooperative once she took down Luna’s braids. She’d settled on pulling it into as un-messy a bun as her hair would allow. However, the entire process had dispelled some of the nervous energy she otherwise would have felt. She didn’t do blind dates. Not that she was against them, but she wasn’t so desperate that she needed to rely on the pity of her friends.
She took a finger and slid the knife on the table away from her just a fraction, so the point of it now sat even with the spoon. Symmetry was good. Crooked made her feel uneasy. Not knowing made her feel uneasy, too — like a little ball of anticipation balanced on a wall — when you didn’t know whether it would roll off the way you wanted or not.
Trouble was, she knew which way it would fall. It might bounce once favourably. But inevitably, it rolled the wrong way. That was how dates worked. It all went fine until it wasn’t. “You’re a nice girl, but…” She was too quirky. Too opinionated. Too intense. Almost always, Hermione would be left to see herself home. That’s why it was easier to stay there with her cat and a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. And no expectations.
He hadn’t meant to run late. But then again, he hadn’t expected to have to stop and help the woman trying to get a pram up the stairs in the station. With a broken escalator, she’d been struggling. Everyone else seemed content to look the other way, but he wasn’t the type to pass by someone when he was capable of providing assistance.
But the delay meant Edward had to hurry from the tube to their meeting spot. By the time he reached the restaurant, he’d lost every bit of the careful composure Alice had sent him out with. It wasn’t ideal. The saving grace was that he’d found his appetite along the way, as his nervousness settled into resolve. He never liked women who picked at their meals like birds, as if it was un-ladylike to want a full belly. Getting lost in conversation was one thing. But eating was one of the genuine pleasures of life, and he simply couldn’t trust someone who seemed more interested in withholding the joy of food from themselves.
He looked in the window, wondering if he might catch a glimpse of his date. It was already dark out. If she didn’t suit, he could just slip away, pretend he’d never been there.
…And then have to bear Alice’s unending wrath.
But then he spied a woman sitting alone at a table, staring towards the door, worrying her hands. It had to be her. He didn’t put much stock in first impressions, but what he saw was enough to draw him in — a curly-haired brunette who looked like she may know her way around a pantry. It was a start. He breezed by the hostess and made his way directly to the table.
“You’re late.”
That was not the opening salvo he’d hoped for. He could have offered an excuse, or tried to explain, but instead, he paused and collected himself. “You’re right, I am. And for that, I am deeply sorry. I hope you might forgive me.”
Her expression softened. “That’s okay. Things happen. I’m Hermione.” She held out a hand towards him, and he took it, finding she had incredibly soft hands.
The gesture might be old-fashioned, but he raised her hand to his lips and pressed gently.
“And I’m Edward. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hermione. If you’re still amenable, I’d love to have dinner with you tonight.”
The moment stretched between them as each searched the other’s face for a sign of what was to come, what the future held, or which way the ball might bounce.
But then the waiter cleared his voice behind them. “Good evening. Can I take your drink order?”
“Sure.” Edward looked across the table. “The lady will have…”
“A glass of white.”
“Make it two.”
The waiter sauntered off, leaving them in that awkward moment when you weren’t sure what to say to get the conversation going.
“So, I never do these things, but my sister, Alice…”
Hermione threw her head back and laughed, and any remaining tension between them drained away. “I could say exactly the same.”