Synthwave Love

I remember seeing this hotel being built a few months ago, now it seems to be finished, I haven’t been in this area for a while it seems. 

The hotel had a big letter sign with the name Carter on it. I was supposed to meet this person here. I heard of him before, bad things and good things, but I don’t really care about them, every gossip about rich people meant nothing.

Once in a while mother would set up these dates and I would go along with it. It usually turned out to be nothing but I had to try to meet people.

As I entered I noticed the brand new decoration and my senses soon tuned up to the sound of musical instruments being played, I followed the sound without even thinking, as I got closer I recognised the sound as being “In the Mood” by Glenn Miller.

Soon I entered a room that looked like a bar with an open area meant for performances. The chairs were upside down on the tables, the place was empty, the band wasn’t performing but rehearsing. I took one chair down and sat in it nonetheless and enjoyed the show.

I absolutely love jazz.

“Miss… This part of the hotel is closed. You have to leave.” someone talked beside me, making me look at him in surprise, he was wearing the uniform of the hotel staff.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” I said standing up and following him outside the room “When do they perform?” I asked.

“Wednesdays and Saturdays evenings, after 7 pm.” he answered. He gave me a subtle once-over before asking, “Are you a guest here? Were you looking for anything?” I looked at him for a moment, remembering the reason why I was here.

“I’m here to meet Charles Carter.” his eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“Come with me,” he said. I followed him through the hotel until we reached another room. We entered the restaurant area, where several people were already seated. It wasn’t very busy. We passed everyone, going deeper into the restaurant, until we reached a private room. “Wait here please.” he told me, proceeded to knock on the door and entered the room, after a while he came back opening the door for me to go inside.

A large table stood in the middle of the room. A young man sat at it, earbuds in his ears, papers spread everywhere, tablets and a laptop nearby. Standing beside him was an older man holding another tablet, most likely his assistant. The young man was on a call, speaking another language, his tone sharp and irritated. I assumed he was Charles. I had seen him before, but always from afar. The assistant approached me.

“He will be with you shortly, miss Smith. Please take a seat.” I did as he said, though hesitantly. I didn’t feel particularly comfortable sitting in front of an angry man. While I sat I kept staring at him since it wasn’t much to look at around the room. He had sharp features, definitely handsome, dark hair, blue eyes, I see why girls talk about him. He also seemed sharp in his mind and skilled, like he was solving a problem only he had the capacity to fix. He was wearing a pristine dark blue suit, making his overall look intimidating.I don’t know what mother was thinking to set up this blind date. Guys like him don’t even look my way. He finally ended the call, tossing the earbuds onto the table before loosening his tie.

“I want to be there first thing tomorrow.” He said to his assistant, which was back beside him. He answered with a “yes sir” and started to take everything out of the table. Meanwhile, Charles was looking at me then to his watch. “You are late, Miss Smith.” he said dryly. I guess I was expecting something cold after watching him with the phone call. Great, this man was mad, he looked like he wanted to kill someone, I was no match for him. I froze in place, sweating. Why was I late?.

“The jazz band distracted me, they’re quite good. I never heard them before. I would definitely come one evening and watch them perform. By the way, this hotel looks very beautiful.” now he looked bored instead of mad with my blabbing, I guess that’s progress. “I’m Mary Smith, by the way. Nice to meet you.” after a moment of silence with him just staring at me, he decided to say something.

“Choose what you would like to eat. Is red wine alright?” he asked, sounding bored, taking a look at his watch. I looked at the table where his assistant put the menu, liking the first option and going with it.

“Steak and salad. Water, it’s fine.”

“God, don’t tell me you’re not even 18 yet.”

“I’m 18,”

“Tell me about yourself.” he ordered.

“No.” That got his attention. He lifted an eyebrow, clearly surprised. “You don’t seem like you actually want to hear it.” he rolled his eyes at my attitude.

“I don’t remember meeting you before. But I do remember your father.” A waiter served the wine for him and water for me.

“It has been a while since I attended a social gathering with my parents.” I said and after another moment of him staring he added.

“I feel like I’m wasting my time here, and as if you haven’t noticed yet, I’m a very busy person.”

“I don’t understand why my mother set this blind date either.” I giggled “I mean, we are so far off.” he looked less bored after my giggle.

“Is your family trying to marry you off? Aren’t you too young? You haven’t even started university yet.”

“I am not going to university. Maybe in the future.” I said and paused thinking if I should share the next piece of information “Right now I want to get married and have kids.” I waited for his reaction. He looked at me for a moment.

“You want this?” I guess he thought I was being forced. I looked at the waiter putting the food in front of me and saying a faint thank you.

“Yes. It’s a family tradition.” I started to explain “My mother and both my older sisters got married before turning 19.” with his silence I decided to continue “Nothing it’s more important than family right?” his face was blank, maybe we don’t share the same view on family “The sooner I get married and have kids the sooner I can move on with doing other things, like pursuing a career if I want to. But mother always taught us that nothing would give us more gratification than having kids. So I just decided to trust her words.” he kept staring at me.

“I never heard such a thing. I don’t think even my grandmother married that young.” he said and I giggled.

“I know, it’s not very common. What about you, are you being forced into marriage?”

“Something like that. If I don’t get married they won’t give me a higher position.”

“Well I guess there are other ways to make people put family first.” I said with a smile and he laughed.

“So how has your hunt for a husband been going?” he asked, seeming more relaxed now.

“Well, I’m actually surprised you haven’t run off after the mention of kids. That’s usually what happens.”

“So no success?”

“No. But, in fairness, it’s not like I’m trying my best. I guess I spend too much time in my room.” I said honestly which led him to ask why I spend so much time in my room, and I showed him my ballerina flats with embroidery in it, and also my denim jacket that also had stone embroidery, even the light blue jumpsuit short I was wearing was made by me. I told him how I learned how to sew when I was 12 and never stopped. My granny has a little shop where she makes and repairs clothes and I have been helping her around ever since. I learn a lot with the internet as well, and love it so much that I spend a lot of time in my room doing my own projects.

By the time I finished talking about myself he looked like he was enjoying the conversation rather than being bored. He talked about himself, what he studied in uni and the things he wanted to do in the future. I found out he was 5 years older than me and that he didn’t have a good relationship with his parents. I never had a date that lasted for so long and that the conversation was so pleasant. Somehow the conversation brought the topic of unicorns and Charles said:

“You are just like an unicorn Mary, a rare mythical creature.” he looked at me but I remained silent. “Can I be honest with you?” I squinted my eyebrows giving him a questioning look “If I propose to you, will you consider my offer?” What do I even say to this? I kept looking at him, frozen in place, not sure what to do. The alarm on my watch went off.

“I have to go. I have a meeting.” I said, remembering I have to meet a friend.

“So you are a business woman too?” he asked, which made me giggle.

“No. It’s just this new restaurant that opened recently, Synthwave, have you heard of it?” I asked standing up and getting my backpack.”

“Yes I heard.”

“They want me to meet their manager, maybe do the uniforms. I don’t even know if that’s something I want to do. I don’t know what’s going to happen.” I looked around to see if I had everything “Thanks for lunch. Have a safe trip, Charles.” I said looking at him.

“Talk to you soon, Mary.”

“Don’t kill anyone!” I said when I had already passed the door.

That was the strangest blind date I ever had.

It was a 15 minutes walk from the hotel to Synthwave which gave me some time to think about the things Charles said. This was the first time anyone proposed to me, I guess it feels reassuring to have at least one offer. By the end of our conversation I thought he was an interesting person, he’s smart and skilled, the way he sees the world it’s not too bad and I mean, he is very handsome, but he’s got a lot of issues, even though he didn’t mentioned any, but I could see it, there’s something about relationships and family that left some scars on him. It’s still weird that he proposed, why would anyone propose on a first date? Yes, we had a good laugh, but that’s where it ends, now we have become acquaintances, at most. But his offer keeps ringing on the back of my head, like a dark cloud threatening to approach me. Will it come to the point that I will have to accept a marriage offer with no love involved? What’s the point of getting married and building a family if you don’t love him? I always dreamed of marrying someone I could call my friend. I need to keep positive thoughts. One day I will be able to find someone I love and he’ll ask me to marry him.

It makes me mad that both my sisters did it so effortlessly, they both found the love of their lives before finishing high school. Why do I have to be the odd cookies of the family? My oldest sister Elise was beautiful, smart and sweet, she never had problems making boys fall for her. Rebbeca was the wild kid, but once she fell in love with her math instructor she hunted him down, not even giving him the possibility to escape. Me? Beauty, brains and courage are not really my assets.