Step by Step
Chapter One — You hate anime and D&D. You’re an adult!
A blind date?
Mary didn’t know what to say but Carly had insisted that her fiancé’s close friend was a keeper.
“Charming man, handsome to boot. Mary, he’s amazing!”
So, there Mary was, slumped at a table in: “Le Cul Riche” or something equally French with her supposedly fantastic blind date opposite her and yes, this Jordan Maxwell was handsome in a GQ, underwear model, type of way. Tall, dark, urban, etc, you could tell he was the type of guy who made deals over the phone, whilst his free time was spent at the gym. Nothing wrong with that breed of man per say, just not the type Mary would go for.
Because she didn’t go for any man or woman really, not in a romantic sense at least. As a nerd in well-worn baggy clothing, Mary Roosevelt suspected herself asexual. She had said yes to this date because, well, it was something to do.
Jordan asked what she did for a living, and Mary, tearing herself away from the bewildering menu, took this as an invitation to groan over her dead-end warehouse job with its long, blistering hours. Jordan gave his sympathies as routine, before Mary asked him about his occupation.
“Me?” he sat back with some fondness “I’m an investment banker, and I don’t like to brag but I don’t go for false modesty either, so I’ll say I’m damn good at my job. I’m skyrocketing up the company ladder, believe me.”
Mary nodded, knowing she had little interest in banking.
“So, what do you like Mary? Hobby wise, TV wise?”
“I like anime, superhero movies, video games and D&D.”
There was a pause as she almost dared him to respond.
“I haven’t played a video game since I was twelve,” he chuckled “Don’t really watch superhero movies and don’t even know what anime or D&D are.”
Oh, the awkward realisation, both figuring out that they were effectively aliens to each other. Mary had to it, she wasn’t feeling much affection for this guy and since now it was clear as glass that they had little in common, she asked herself, why prolong the awkwardness?
“You know,” she said delicately “we don’t have to go through with this, if you want, we can just split right now.”
Jordan didn’t answer but rather leaned back in his chair and with a slight smile, reached into his tro pocket. Maybe he was checking his phone, Mary thought or oh god, perhaps he was going to propose but no, instead she saw something metallic emerge, a kind of grey polygon dangling from a chain.
Odd. Was it antique or an heirloom? She was amused at first but somehow the sight of this pendant swaying side to side held her attention, its gentle movement was almost…seductive.
Very seductive really, and as Mary stared at the swinging piece, she couldn’t even blink whilst the chatter and banter of the restaurant seemingly faded away, for now all she could hear, was the sound of Jordan’s soothing voice.
“Listen to me,” he proclaimed “you hate anime, video games, and superhero crap. They’re kids’ stuff and you’re an adult. You love studying finance, reading politics and you adore the opera and the theatre. Oh, and try and show more enthusiasm, okay?”
These spoken rules, echoing in her skull, felt biblical, universally true, but paradoxically an increasingly dizzy Mary couldn’t even recall what she had just been told. Her mind was spinning and flickering as the whole world seemed so foggy…
The clink of glasses snapped Mary out of her daze. Did she just doze off, right there in the restaurant? God, talk about embarrassing. She grinned sheepishly to the amused Jordan as he sipped from his glass.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she winced “Must have spaced out there for a moment, it’s been a long day.”
“Ah, don’t worry,” Jordan replied “Happens to everyone. Anyhow I’m very excited over Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” coming to town next week. From what I hear, it’s a first-rate production and call me a kid at a candy store but...”
Normally any talk of opera made Mary yawn, only now she sat up, and took note of what Jordan was telling her. “You know,” she said, “I’ve never seen the Magic Flute...”
And the night went on, with Jordan happily explaining his love of opera, how seeing a production of Don Giovanni at aged five turned him into a lifelong buff and Mary was intrigued. This guy had a ion and clearly enjoyed sharing it which suddenly made him a lot more attractive in her eyes. Plus, Jordan was an adult about his interests, not some obsessive fanboy camping out on the sidewalk for weeks!
Mary frowned at that thought, surprised at being so judgemental but at the same time, opera seemed more mature, more respectable than…
Than what?
That left her a tad confused.
Still as the evening drew to a close, and Mary reflected, sitting in the back of a darken taxi, it had been a decent one. Not that she saw a future with Jordan Maxwell, to be blunt she didn’t see herself as the romantic type, more the platonic best friend type. Hopefully when she’d let him know, he’d take it well, because he seemed like an interesting fellow all the same.
Something a little unexpected happened however, when Mary strolled into her bedroom that night. The familiar sight of her badges of geekdom greeted her, posters of her favourite anime such as “Sailor Moon” and “Cowboy Bebop” proudly hung on the wall, whilst atop her chest of draws sat her PlayStation and its mountain of assorted games. That was pretty typical for Mary, after all anime and video games had been her religion throughout her teen years, only now as she stood, a twenty-four-year-old woman, employed and living by herself, she bit her lip and cringed just a tad, because all of these trinkets seemed so…
Childish?
An irritated Mary tore down her “Cowboy Bebop” poster with a satisfying rip, before catching sight of her superhero and anime figurines littered around her computer desk. Oh god, there was a Sailor Moon statue that had cost her $200. Why would she ever waste 200 on a lump of vinyl? Shit like this just screamed arrested development!
The posters were soon rolled up and binned, with the figurines and video games piled up outside her bedroom door. And instead of browsing through her geeky websites as was her habit, Mary decided to scroll through a few news sites, wondering what life was like in the real world. It was an article on local finance that caught her attention. Never taking an interest in such a subject before, nonetheless Mary found herself drawn into the charts, numbers and predictions over what was happening to the economy in the coming months.
Before Mary would have read this as a means of falling asleep but now…
Now she was enraptured by it.
She didn’t reflect over her sudden change of heart because she was enjoying herself way too much.