Page 26 of Perfect Date
“What have you got?” He takes a bite of his nachos.
“What’s your favorite vacation you’ve ever taken?” I ask.
“Well, that has to be when I took Rebecca and we went to California. We went to the ocean and had a great time.”
I know from his profile that Rebecca must be his child since he talks a lot about being a single parent on it and she’s mentioned a couple times. There aren’t any photos with her which makes sense, with it being the internet and all, but I’m hoping to see one of her at some point.
“Oh, that’s fun. I love the ocean.”
“Me too,” he smiles again and I return it. I’m happy that so far he seems to be… normal, other than his small strike. Maybe I’ll take it back. Besides, I’m lying to myself, I’m more than happy - I’m freaking relieved. “What about you?”
“Probably when my mom and I flew all the way to Florida and she took me to Disney World when I was fifteen.”
“Oh wow, I bet that was fun. I’ve never been to any Disney park, but I confess I’d love to visit one some time.”
“I’d highly recommend it. To us it was more than just a vacation, it was also a celebration. She saved for that trip for a long time. She’s a single parent, like you,” I tell him. “So that was no easy feat.”
“Oh wow, I totally understand that. Kids are expensive and forget it when it comes to extracurricular activities or buying them basic needs like food. It adds up really fast.”
“Yeah, it really does,” I smile and nod. “I was certainly an expensive kid,” I laugh and he joins me.
“Being a single parent is really hard, yes, but being a parent is one of the biggest blessings in life,” he tells me solemnly and I nod. “Do you want kids?”
“Some day,” I nod. “Hopefully. You know if I find the right person first.”
He nods, “That’s important.”
“A bit,” I laugh. “Since that was your favorite place you’ve been, where’s a place that you really want to go? Like your dream travel destination?”
“Oh, let’s see… there’s a lot of places I’d love to bring Rebecca. Sometimes I think going to a jungle would be amazing - like Costa Rica, or maybe the Amazon Rainforest. I’d be nervous I’d lose her though,” he frowns at the thought, “But I think she’d really love it.”
“Yeah, kids can get really excited and want to take off in their excitement. You can never be too careful these days,” I feel like this conversation is really weird - for me at least. I have no idea about the concerns of keeping a child safe. Perhaps he’s more mature than me, he has things to worry about that don’t even occur to me. I’m nowhere near ready to be responsible for another human being. Sometimes I feel like I can barely take care of myself.
“Her safety is my number one priority and it can keep me up at night,” he tells me and all it does is reiterate that he’s on a different level than I am in life right now.
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“What about you? Where would you like to go?” He asks.
“I really want to go to Paris one day. Or Tahiti.”
“Tahiti?”
“Yes. You want to know a secret?” I ask.
“Sure,” he smiles. “Can it wait just a minute? I want to go give my sitter a quick call to make sure Rebecca is doing okay.”
“Oh, sure. Of course. Not a problem.”
He gets up and leaves the table and I sit back with a sigh and rub my temples. I feel a slight headache coming on.
“I want to know your secret,” Justin says in my ear making me jump.
“Are you listening to my conversation?” I ask incredulous.
“Hey, I was delivering a drink to the table next to you. Not my fault if I happened to hear you.”
“If you say so.”
