Page 44 of Love Unexpected
Isaac put me at ease in person as readily as he’d put me at ease when we’d first started chatting online. He was, quite possibly, the easiest person I’d ever talked to, even with a silent observer filming our entire conversation. We’d only been in the car twenty minutes when we stopped at a gas station—an intentional stop at a specific chain—but I already felt ten times better about the trip. I’d learned through all my therapy that half the battle with anxiety was feeling anxious...about the possibility of feeling anxious. But so far, I’d been able to remember that I was in control, that I could turn on my inner actress and play a role for the camera.
“So here’s the plan,” Isaac said as he cut the engine outside the gas station. “In addition to whatever beverages and snacks you want, we’re going to each pick one additional thing. It has to be something that you’ve never tried before, but that you think the other person is probably going to hate.”
“Can the black licorice count as the thing you think I’m going to hate?” I asked. “Because I don’t think it’s fair that I’m going to have to tastetwoterrible things, and you’re only going to have to taste one. That is the point, right? We’re going to have to try the thing the other person picked out?”
He grinned. “That is exactly the point. But I’m not giving you a pass on the black licorice. Because I think you’re actually going tolikeit.”
I looked back at Tyler, the first time I’d intentionally made eye contact with his camera. “I’m stating emphatically, for the record, I amnotgoing to like the black licorice.” A little thrill shot through me. That hadn’t been too hard. I was doing this. And maybe not badly.
After Isaac checked in with the store manager, we wandered the store, Tyler splitting his time between us. I grabbed a twenty-ounce Cherry Coke and a bag of Cheddar Cheese Combos, a road trip snack that went all the way back to my childhood, then scanned the aisles for something Isaac might hate. Knowing that he liked black licorice made it hard to guess. At the end of the aisle, a display of salt water taffy caught my eye, one package in particular standing out. I grinned and picked it up. Pickle-flavored salt water taffy.Perfect.
I met Isaac at the counter where we unloaded our selections. In Isaac’s hands? Cherry Coke, Cheddar Cheese Combos, and...pickle-flavored salt water taffy.
Isaac grinned. “This entire store, and we managed to pick out the exact same things?”
I bit my lip. “To be fair, Combos and Cherry Coke is absolutely the best possible road trip snack.”
“Inarguably.” He held my gaze for a second longer, his eyes holding a measure of interest I’d never noticed in them before. Not that I’d spent a lot of time staring into his eyes.
Some whisper shouting sounded behind us and we both turned.
Two kids, maybe twelve or thirteen, stood a few feet away, their eyes locked on Isaac. “I told you it was him,” one said to the other, elbowing him in the ribs.
“Shut up,” the other said, rubbing at his midsection. “I never said I didn’t believe you.”
Isaac pulled out a credit card and offered it to me. “Would you mind getting this stuff while I...” He motioned to the kids with his head.
I nodded and took his card. “Sure. Go ahead.”
Tyler and the camera followed Isaac.
I watched from the corner of my eye as Isaac stopped in front of the kids, talking to them for a few seconds then leaning down so they could each take a selfie with him. Tyler kept the camera trained on Isaac the entire time. The kids didn’t seem to care; it was clearly a price they were willing to pay to meet someone they obviously really loved. The smaller kid was even wearing aRandom It-shirt.
After a couple minutes of chatting, Isaac pulled a Sharpie out of his pocket and signed the kid’s t-shirt before saying goodbye and sending them out the door.
“Will they be in the video?” I asked as I stepped up next to Isaac, the bag of snacks in hand. I handed him his card and he slipped it back into his wallet.
“Nah,” he said. “Nothing significant happened.”
“That’s the way it works,” Tyler added. “You keep the camera running just because something might.”
“Does it get complicated though?” I asked as we made our way back to the car. “Don’t you have to have permission to put people in a video?”
“Only if they can be identified in the shot,” Tyler said. “Sometimes it’s worth it to get the consent forms signed; other times, it’s easier to just edit out anything that shows identifying characteristics.”
It was crazy to think about all the moving parts, the back-scene stuff that viewers never had to think about when they were watching. I was beginning to recognize that the magic ofRandom Iwasn’t so much magical as it was a lot of people doing a lot of tedious things that all added up to something thatfeltmagical. Of course, Isaac’s magnetic personality didn’t hurt matters.
“Did we get everything we need?” Isaac asked Tyler, his hand resting on the open driver-side door.
Tyler stared at the digital screen on his camera. “Actually, can we get one more shot of the two of you walking inside? The first take has a few people in the background that will be hard to edit out.” He looked from Isaac to me. “You don’t have to go all the way inside. Just walk from here to the door. And go quick while there isn’t anyone else around.”
I fell into step next to Isaac as we crossed the short distance to the gas station door. “It’s not too late to slip back inside and pick out somethingnotflavored like pickles,” I said dryly as we approached.
Isaac shot me a sideways grin. “And ruin the fun?”
“Why is it that YouTube personalities have such a penchant for eating disgusting things?”
“Because it’s funny,” Isaac said without missing a beat. “And making people laugh is a lot of fun.” He looked back at Tyler. “Did that work?”
