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I was completely and fully using both the gossip and the press to my advantage and showing Hope who I truly was. I had wanted to put my best foot forward on our first date, I wanted to show her all the things that I could give her. I should have known she wouldn’t be impressed with any of that. She was just as happy with the simple things in life as I was.
It was one of the many things that I loved about her.
As she said, she was horrible with quizzes, which I had not expected. I thought with her schooling and having a PhD she would have been an asset, but the exact opposite was true. It turned out she knew next to nothing when it came to pop culture and unless it had to do with history or literature she was lost.
“How do you not know that was a Beatles song?” I asked her after we finished the round.
“My parents weren’t big on them, so I never heard any of their songs growing up. Grace got into all things classic rock when she was in college, but she never really shared it with me. If something comes up about seventeenth century literature or random facts about World War II, then I’m your girl. But pop culture, no,” she said.
“Were you just never into it? Did you not have time?”
“I didn’t care. Which sounds bad. It isn’t interesting to me, and it changes all the time. I didn't care who the hottest guy is or who is dating who, that’s more Grace and Faith. I think Faith only keeps up with it because it’s her job. Do you?”
“It’s fascinating to me how one person can become famous or popular simply because of one thing that they do or become a pariah for the same reason. A lot of that has to do with the publicist and how it’s spun. I’ve always been interested in how that all comes together. Plus, pop culture is fun, fascinating, how we decide what we like, what we don’t. How the trends change.”
“See, you can answer all of those questions, I’ll answer the strange obscure questions about history or literature. We can make a good team,” she said.
“I think we do make a good team,” I countered.
Reaching across I put my hand on top of hers and gave it a slight squeeze. She blushed as I did. I wanted to tell her how much fun the evening was and how much I was enjoying myself but Liam went back up to the stage and got us back to the quiz.
It was a good hour later before the quiz was done. Hope was right, between her random information about history and literature, and mine on business and pop culture, we did decently well. Matt had come over and offered a few suggestions on answers, but they were so horrible there was no way we were going to write them down.
We ordered dinner. Hope got a cheeseburger while I had some fish and chips. When they arrived, she eyed my fish and chips and I had offered her some. She had in turn shared some of her chili fries with me.
There wasn’t much chance to talk with the quiz going on, but I still felt like I was getting to know her. We were both seeing a new side to each other, and the evening passed in the blink of an eye. I was enjoying myself in a way I hadn’t allowed myself to do in a long time and I could see us doing this again. I wanted to go to another quiz night, have a meal, laugh with my friends at McCarthy’s, or even go to another play with Hope. I wanted to do all of that and more with her.
When the quiz was done, Matt took our plates and gave us another round. Hope and I sat back in our chairs and toasted ourselves again. I was in no hurry to leave, and I could tell that Hope wasn’t either. Liam and Matt must have sensed our need to be alone as they didn’t bother us.
“Thanks for bringing me here,” Hope said, placing her drink down on the counter.
“I was glad you wanted to. I like showing you a part of my world.”
“So, what other parts are there to your world?”
I smiled and looked down at my Guinness. She was inquisitive and insightful. She knew just the right questions to ask to get me talking, or to surprise me enough that I had no choice but to give her an honest answer.
“You’ve seen most of them. Family, work, my family’s legacy.”
“They’re all important to you, but they aren’t who you are. Who are you, who do you want to be?”
“Do you mean what do I want to be when I grow up? I think I have already done that,” I said with a laugh.
“A little bit. I think we never stop growing or learning, or at least we shouldn’t.”
“Is that why you got your PhD, so you could keep learning?”
“Somewhat and because I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I still don’t. We weren’t talking about me.”
“Now we are.”
“You’re avoiding the question,” she said with a laugh and took another sip of her drink.
“I’m not the only one,” I said and leaned in towards her.
Hope laughed and shook her head at me. “I will answer the question, after you do.”
“Fine. I love my family, I love my job, I love who I get to do it with, but no, it isn’t the only thing I care about. As you know, I care about the city, about the people who live in it, the youth, and helping the environment.”
