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“Let me rephrase that: This is definitely better than pretty much anything I’ve done lately. Do you like that better?”
“In that case, why don’t you forget the whole Bellamy thing?”
“Oh come on, Pete,” I said, taking a sip of my wine. “Are you really that threatened by it?”
“I didn’t say I was threatened. I’m just wondering what we’re doing here.”
“You’re overreacting. Don’t you want to watch me on TV? Why do you get to be on TV but I don’t?”
“So now it’s just a game?”
“Well, in a way. I mean, it’s a show. A game show. Reality TV. Not necessarily reality.”
“If that’s how you feel, why are you doing it? Are they going to pay you?”
“Do I seem like I need or care about money?”
“No.”
“They’re not paying me. Although I think I might get some jewelry and a couple of free evening gowns out of it. That would be exciting.”
“So why are you doing it?”
“I don’t know. For Bellamy, I guess.”
He looked down. “Okay.”
“Come on, Pete. Let’s just have fun. Let’s talk about something else. Anything else.”
“What if he falls in love with you?”
“He’s not going to, but if he did, that would be cool.”
“I think he will,” said Pete.
“I don’t even know for sure if I’m on the show. It’s possible I’m the alternate. How about if we worry about it when it happens.”
“But you’re going to quit your job tomorrow?”
“I’m not going to quit it unless I know for absolute positive that I’ve made it on there. Do you think I’m that irresponsible?”
“You know what?” he said with a shrug. “You’re right. I’m just going to be ‘in the moment.’ That’s how I do things normally, so I’m not sure why I’m getting off track now. Have some bread,” he said, offering the basket to me.
“Don’t mind if I do,” I said, taking a piece.
“I’m surprised you don’t have any pets,” he said, between bites of his bread. “You seem like you would have a cat. Or maybe a dog.”
I considered reminding him about Bellamy’s animal rescue work, but instead said, “I’d love to have a pet, but I’m not home enough.”
“I’m home quite a bit. I could help out with it.”
“So we’re moving to the co-parenting step already? I can handle that. Since you’re stepping up, let’s get a higher maintenance pet, like a raccoon, or a monkey.”
“Here you go,” said our waitress, abruptly appearing in front of us. She set our food on the table, and then, sighing deeply, sat down beside me in our booth. “I’m so tired,” she said. “I’m just going to sit here for a sec. My boss can’t see me from here. I’ve been working for four hours.”
Pete and I exchanged baffled glances.
“You can eat,” she said, annoyed. “Pretend I’m not here. I just need to sit down for a minute, you know?”
