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“If this woman isn’t my match. My one true love.” I chuckle. She’s not the one, I know it deep in my soul, but I lock that down.
She lets out a long sigh. “Oh, Cole. You aren’t going to disappoint me if she’s not the one. Will I be disappointed if you don’t try? Yes, but you can’t make the heart want what the heart doesn't want, darling.”
I blow out a deep breath through my mouth. “Yeah.”
“Cole, is there something else going on? You don’t sound like your normal, charming self.” And I shouldn’t be surprised that she caught on. We’ve always been close. She knows me well.
“Nah, just stuck in my head.” My words are spoken in truth. It’s not fair to Mina that I go into our date slightly dreading it.
“All right, well, will you call me tomorrow and tell me all about your official first date?” she asks and if I could see her, she would be giving me that “your answer better be yes” look.
“So you can compare what Ruth tells you?” I chuckle.
She makes a noise. “I won’t validate that statement.”
“Right, well, we can compare notes then. I’m almost at the restaurant. I’ll talk to you later,” I tell her, already feeling my mood lighten.
“Very well. Love you, darling.” She kisses into the phone and hangs up.
I navigate through downtown and find myself back near Mass Ave. Had I planned better, I would have just left from work, but I had completely forgotten I had this date tonight and owed it to Mina and Ruth to run home after work. Traffic in Indy is a nightmare between four and six weeknights.
I’m meeting Mina at Union 50, which means I’ll need to find metered parking and I briefly consider just driving back to RRG and parking there and walking, but it’s chilly tonight and I’m already behind schedule.
Lucky for me, I find a spot on the same block, so my walk isn’t long.
When I arrive, I find Mina waiting for me.
Her eyes track the door and light up when she recognizes me. Guilt punches me in the gut when I realize that spark isn’t there for me when we lock eyes.
“I’m so sorry I’m late. I haven’t been in Indy long enough to remember traffic is hectic.”
“Don’t mind your words with me. Indy traffic is a bitch. 465 is the worst.” She chuckles and I lean in and kiss her cheek in greeting.
“You look lovely tonight,” I tell her.
She beams. “As do you.”
“Shall we?” I gesture to the hostess stand and let them know we are here. As promised, there is a table in Ruth’s name and we are seated quickly.
“So you know I’m a property hound, so I need to know where you just came from. Are you not close to downtown?” Mina asks as we get settled and waters are placed in front of us.
“I’m renting a house over on North New Jersey Street.”
Mina’s eyes light up. “Oh, that area is wonderful. I have a house over there getting ready to go on the market. It will sell fast. You’ll be sure to let me know when you’re ready to buy, right?”
“Of course,” I tell her.
We shoot the shit on the housing market for a while. Real estate really isn’t my thing, but it’s interesting all the same and Mina is very passionate about it.
Once we order, we talk about the family business and how my spin on our Indiana division has created a Reed Restaurant Group initiative to put more locally sourced food in all our restaurants.
“Did you know anyone here in Indy when you moved here?” Mina asks before taking a bite of her Gnocchi dish.
“Well, Travis, one of my oldest friends. He’s the chef at LACE, so he made the move here shortly after I did,” I tell her.
“Have you found it hard to meet new people?”
“You mean have I made any friends?” I chuckle, sitting down my fork, my roasted chicken nearly gone.
