Page 12 of The Life-Changing Magic of Falling in Love

There’s a surprised smile on his stubble-chic face as he stands in front of the montage of famous Oscars that I helped to hang on the back wall of the bakery. The inanimate golden Oscar trophy looks like it is sticking absurdly out of the top of his head and on either side of him are decoupaged life-size cut-outs of Oscar Wilde and Oscar de la Renta.

I can’t believe a guy that looks this sane (even with a trophy sticking so phallically out of his head) would be single and have agreed to go on a blind date.

‘Okay,’ I say.

‘Okay?’

‘Sure, why not?’ He doesn’t look like a serial killer. He looks friendly and unthreatening.

‘Great. Third one’s the charm, right?’

‘Right.’ I wince, flashing back to last night’s date. ‘But this time, let’s make it a foursome. You and Oz. Him and me.’

‘If it doesn’t work out, I’ll date her,’ announces the guy third in line.

Carlos swivels to regard the guy so graciously offering himself up to me. ‘How much money you make?’

I dribble some of the coffee I’ve just gulped. ‘You can’t ask him that,’ I splutter and turn to face the guy also. ‘He can’t ask you that.’

‘I make enough,’ he says confidently, which immediately puts me off because these days I make enough to make rent and buy all the home-decorating magazines I’m addicted to. Naturally, it’s made easier on a steady diet of ridiculous hours and ramen, but whose life doesn’t feel richer for near exhaustion and noodles?

Carlos narrows his gaze thoughtfully. ‘What’s the size of your?—’

‘Definitely do not answer that,’ I beg Third-In-Line Guy, shooting the woman behind him an apologetic look.

‘I was going to say credit score,’ Carlos insists, with a grin. ‘How many times you been in our shop?’

‘Every day,’ replies Third-In-Line guy.

‘Ha. Every day since…?

Wow. I’ve never seen Carlos like this. That cockapoo is going to be in safe hands if the endless Dad interrogation is anything to go by although now I’m sort of wondering how Bony-Ankle Guy got past the interview process.

I would love to stay and watch the whole interaction unfold but I can’t be late for work. Getting up from the table, I tune back into Third-In-Line Guy as he admits, ‘I’ve been coming in every day since last week when I moved jobs.’

Carlos’s mouth makes an unimpressed downturn. ‘We’ll talk again when you’ve been coming in every day for a couple of months and Oz and I feel like we know you.’

‘So, this is like a business thing for you two?’ I ask Carlos. ‘You tell all these guys to come in every day and buy something before I even get a look at the photo?’

Carlos winks and produces a wicked grin that he’s cultivated to perfectly match his sun-kissed Brazilian blow-out.

‘Unbelievable,’ I mutter before adding, ‘Make me up a box of those beignets, will you?’

* * *

On the walk to work, I try convincing myself I’ve made such progress lately that going deeper and actually allowing myself to get to know someone properly – allowing someone to get to know me properly – won’t be as panic-inducing as it sounds.

It’s going to be fine.

Really it is.

To reinforce the feeling, I close my eyes and raise my head to the blue sky. I breathe deeply, embracing the gentle breeze and, concentrating, ignore the jarring combination of cars hooting their horns, dogs barking, people shouting and intermittent blasts of motivational-yet-somehow-angry-sounding music. And suddenly, there it is and I smile as I feel cherry blossom kiss my skin.

When I open my eyes and everyone else around me is marching head down, phones out, earbuds in, I want to shout at them to stop so that I can share the petals wafting around in a kaleidoscope of confetti.

But I don’t shout. Or even whisper. Can you imagine the response if I started waxing lyrical about nature on a crowded thoroughfare of commuters heading for the subway? I’m pretty sure my boss won’t stand for me being carted away by men in white coats as a reason for not attending the weekly meeting to get our rotas, so instead, I focus on how lucky I am to be in a job that allows me to notice the small things.

Life is good.

---