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“So,” he said, “what’s the asking price?”
“Actually, the table is the only piece in the showroom that’s not for sale,” I said.
“Because it could cause injury?” he said.
“Exactly,” I said.
This was when he smiled. When Owen smiled. It was like the title of a bad pop song. To be clear, it wasn’t that his smile lit up his face. It wasn’t anything as sentimental or explosive as that. It was more that his smile—this generous, childlike smile—made him seem kind. It made him seem kind in a way I wasn’t used to running into on Greene Street in downtown Manhattan. It was expansive in a way I’d started to doubt I’d ever run into on Greene Street in downtown Manhattan.
“So, no negotiating on the table then?” he said.
“Afraid not, but I could show you some different pieces?”
“How about a lesson instead? You could show me how to make a similar table for myself, but maybe with slightly kinder edges…” he said. “I’ll sign a waiver. Any injuries acquired would be at my own risk.”
I was still smiling, but I felt confused. Because all of a sudden I didn’t think we were talking about the table. I felt fairly confident that we weren’t. I felt as confident as a woman could who had spent the last two years engaged to a man whom she’d realized she couldn’t marry. Two weeks before their wedding.
“Look, Ethan…” I said.
“Owen,” he corrected.
“Owen. That’s nice of you to ask,” I said, “but I kind of have a no-dating policy with clients.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I can’t afford to buy anything you’re selling then,” he said.
But that stopped him. He shrugged, as if to say some other time, and headed toward the door and Avett, who was pacing back and forth on the sidewalk, still on his phone call, yelling at the person on the other end.
He was almost out the door. He was almost gone. But I felt instantly—and strongly—the need to reach out and stop him from leaving, to say that I hadn’t meant it. I’d meant something else. I’d meant he should stay.
I’m not saying it was love at first sight. What I’m saying is that a part of me wanted to do something to stop him from walking away. I wanted to be around that stretched-out smile a little longer.
“Wait,” I said. I looked around, searching for something to hold him there, zeroing in on a textile that belonged to another client, holding it up. “This is for Belle.”
It was not my finest moment. And, as my former fiancé would tell you, it was also completely out of character for me to reach out to someone as opposed to pulling away.
“I’ll make sure she gets it,” he said.
He took it from me, avoiding my eyes.
“For the record, I have one too. A no-dating policy. I’m a single father, and it goes with the territory…” He paused. “But my daughter’s a theater junkie. And I’ll lose serious points if I don’t see a play while I’m in New York.”
He motioned toward an angry Avett, screaming on the sidewalk.
“A play’s not exactly Avett’s thing, as surprising as that sounds…”
“Very,” I said.
“So… what do you think? Do you want to come?”
He didn’t move closer, but he did look up. He looked up and met my eyes.
“Let’s not consider it a date,” he said. “It will be a onetime thing. We’ll agree on that going in. Just dinner and a play. Nice to meet you.”
“Because of our policies?” I said.
His smile returned, open and generous. “Yes,” he said. “Because of them.”
* * *
