Page 20 of Love Redesigned
“We’re really good at avoiding each other,” she said. “But it’s more that we just can’t relate. It’s like there’s this fundamental difference of understanding that we’ve never been able to overcome.”
“Understanding about what?”
“You name it. Life, work, everything.” She ran her hands up and down her arms. The temperature had dropped during dinner and while it was still mild, she was obviously feeling chilled.
I shrugged out of my suit coat and offered it to her. She shook her head no and increased the speed of her step, lengthening the distance between us.
“Dani, just take it,” I said. “You’re cold. I can tell.”
She hesitated, but finally turned back and reached for the jacket. She draped it over her shoulders without slipping her arms through the sleeves. “Thank you,” she said, a definite edge to her voice.
We walked in silence a few more moments before she asked, “Was it really his idea?”
“Was what his idea?”
“The Compassion Experiment. I mean, I don’t mean to discount what he’s trying to accomplish, but Alex, your fingerprints are all over it.”
Before graduating and taking a job working for Alicio in New York, I’d spent a semester abroad in London interning for a nonprofit. I hadn’t been an actual part of the event planning, but we’d been a small team. We had all been involved in every aspect of the organization. Dani knew my history there. She’d see right through me if I tried to deny any influence on Isaac’s event. “Isaac did say he hired me because he knew what his weaknesses were and hoped I could compensate for them.”
“So, what? His weakness is that he’s shallow and self-centered?”
“His weakness is that he has zero business experience and has no idea how to build a positive brand image.”
“So he called you? An accountant? To help him with hisimage?”
I stopped. “My undergrad degree was in business. I took marketing classes. You know all of this about me. Why does this matter so much?”
She turned to face me. “It just feels so unlike him.”
“Just because a charity event was my idea doesn’t mean Isaac didn’t have a desire to make a bigger difference. He’s the one who has figured out all the details. I might have planted a seed, but he’s doing all the work.”
She scoffed. “That feels even more unlike him.”
“Dani, can I say something as a friend?” The minute the words came out of my mouth, I regretted them. I was asking for more than I deserved.
“No Alex, I don’t think you can,” she said, her voice cool.
“As Isaac’s friend, then.”
She raised an eyebrow, which I took as encouragement to press forward. “I want to preface this by saying that obviously, I am also very different from your brother. We have different opinions on everything, from what we find entertaining to what we feel constitutes appropriate work attire. But even acknowledging those differences, I don’t think you give him enough credit.”
She took a deep breath. It felt intentional, like she was measuring her next words very carefully. “What makes you think I don’t give him enough credit?”
“He does,” I answered without hesitation. “He wears your disapproval on his sleeve. I think that’s why he hesitated to even tell you the details of this event. He’s really excited about it, and he didn’t want you to—”
Her shoulders slumped. “Do exactly what I did? Doubt him? Squelch him? Rain on his shiny YouTube parade?”
“See?” I said. “You really don’t like what he does for a living. And he feels that. Keenly.”
She closed her eyes, one hand clutched around the edges of my jacket, the other pressed to her head, thumb and forefinger rubbing her temples. “Did Isaac ever tell you he was accepted into MIT?” she asked.
My eyebrows shot up. “No, he didn’t.”
“He was also offered a full ride to Clemson,andGeorgia Tech,” she said. “I used to hate it. How hard I had to work when it was always so easy for him. He was so smart. Test scores higher than everyone else we knew. And for what? For a little bit of YouTube notoriety? How long is that going to last? When all of his subscribers grow up and turn into adults who no longer want to watchRandom I, what then? He could have done so much with those smarts.”
“Okay. I see your point.”
“It’s not so much that I disapprove. I’ve watched a few of his early episodes and I almost get it. I don’t always understand the randomness, but he’s funny. I’m willing to give him that much. And I like that he’s always challenging people to be kind. But I can’t stop thinking about what he could have accomplished had he gone to college.”
