Page 37 of Hate You, Maybe
I don’t remember this on the agenda.
“For the exercise,” Bob says, “you folks are gonna divide up into two separate groups of fifteen.”
My stomach gurgles, and not from hunger. A small groanslips out of me, and Dexter leans in over my shoulder from behind.
“What’s the matter, Kroft?” His breath is warm in my ear. “Worried there’s gonna be a schoolyard pick and no one’s gonna want you on their team?”
His chuckle tells me he’s joking, but my insides torque. That’sexactlywhat I’m worried about. My cheeks flame hot as my brain floods with memories of being chosen last in elementary school. But Dex has already seen too many of my weaknesses today.
There’s no way I’ll admit this to him now.
“I’m just trying to listen to instructions,” I hiss.
“I don’t think you can win at icebreaking, Kroft.”
“SHHH!”
“We aren’t formal around here,” Hildy says, “so just go ahead and split yourselves up into two random rows, then face each other. Since there’s an even number of you, you’ll each have a partner.”
Relief washes over me. At least I can be thankful for that. I won’t have to be left alone for any of the upcoming torture.
“Go on, then,” Bob directs. “Break into your lines.”
While everyone shuffles into two rows, I move as far away from Dex as possible, taking a spot at the opposite end of his line. Tori, on the other hand, positions herself directly across from him. I guess that means they’ll be paired up for whatever this activity is.
This sends an ache to my throat, and a sour taste floods my mouth, but Tori’s done nothing wrong. So when she catches me looking at her, I arrange my face into a smile. I want to be the kind of woman who supports other women. Not someone who resents another female’s perfect hips or her perfect leggings or her perfect pout.
“Now here’s what you’re gonna do,” Bob says, and I jerk my attention back over to him. “When Hildy says ‘Go,’ you’reall going to introduce yourself to the person across from you. Name, workplace, where you live, whatever basic facts you want to drop. But we want you to include one interesting detail about you that no one else here knows.”
Interesting detail?
My palms go clammy. What if I literally can’t think of a single interesting thing about me to share?
“Every minute or so,” Hildy continues, “those of you on one side are going to slide to the left until you’re in front of a new person across from you. The people in the other line will just stay put. If you’re the one at the front of the moving line, you’ll simply shift down to the opposite end when it’s time.”
“I can see some of you looking confused,” Bob notes, “but don’t worry. The process will be obvious once we’ve started. Hildy and I will prompt you to move on every minute or so, and you should be able to meet all your fellow retreaters pretty quick. This is gonna be rapid-fire, not a deep dive into anybody.” He grins at us. “Yet,” he adds.
I raise my hand. “Will there be a test of everyone’s details at the end of the retreat?”
Good old Bob just keeps on smiling, so he must not have heard my question. Or maybe he didn’t answer me on purpose. Maybe this is all a part of the test.
The man across from me waves and winks. “This is kinda like speed dating, huh?” His name tag says he’s Chad.
“I wouldn’t know,” I say. “I don’t da?—”
“Ready?” Bob hollers.
“Yes!” Tori hoots.
Hildy blows her whistle. “GO!”
Here’s what I learn over the next twenty minutes: Chad is an EMT from Asheville who dreams of someday climbing Mt.Everest. Douglas, a single dad from Charlotte, has been divorced three times, but he still believes in soulmates. He also believes in UFOs.
Noted, Doug.
Caroline, Tori’s roommate with the friendly smile, was just promoted to the head of HR for her company. She once got kissed on the cheek by Justin Bieber at an event for the presidents of his fan clubs.
After her comes Andrew, who's young(ish), then Pete, who’s solidly middle-aged. They’re new hires at a pharmaceutical company, and they both do that thing where they high-five and fist-bump everyone. Andrew has an extra toe, and Pete once went naked skydiving.
