He searches the room, expectant, though he’s clearly soaked to the skin. He looks great, no longer skinny or gawky, just a tall, hopeful, good-looking man. It’s horrible to see the disappointment on his face when he sees her. He looks as if he’s been slapped.
Shelby feels a pit in her stomach, but she forces herself to wave. There’s no way out of this. “Hey,” she calls. “Ben! Over here.”
He stares at her, confused.
“It’s me. Shelby.”
When she signals him over, Ben gazes around at the other customers as if making a silent plea for help. No one meets his glance, so he cautiously makes his way over. He’s much taller than Shelby remembered. He has a bunch of dripping wet tulips in his hand.
“Hey, Shelby.” Ben notices she’s begun eating. “Dumplings. Of course.”
“Two orders. I’m still a pig.” Her hands are sweating even more.
“Well, good to see you.” Ben appears desperate to escape. “I’m meeting someone,” he explains.
“Yeah, me,” Shelby tells him.
“Excuse me?”
“Darklady? That’s me.”
Ben narrows his eyes. Then he gets it. She can almost see the truth of their current situation hit him. He slinks down into the chair opposite her.
“What are the odds?” she says with forced lightness.
The waiter comes over. “More beer?”
“Sure,” Shelby says cheerfully. She feels like slitting her wrists. “Make it two.”
“How the hell do you come to be Darklady?” Ben looks like he’s been the victim of a Ponzi scheme. “You’re just about the palest person I’ve ever met. Have you ever even been in the sun?”
“Dark emotionally. Don’t take things so literally, Ben.”
“What happened to that guy?” Ben says.
“Guy?” Shelby feels a pain shoot through her gut. Ben is staring at her.
“The one you used to bring to our apartment. He left a jacket there once. I threw it out. I figured if I ignored the situation, it would go away. Stupid me.”
“Ben,” Shelby says. She despises herself far more than he ever could.
“Are you living together?” he asks coldly.
“We broke up.”
The beers are delivered. The waiter stands over them with his order pad.
“We might as well eat,” Shelby says. She must be insane. She is willing to humiliate herself to keep him at the table. “We’re here.”
“We are.” Ben turns to the waiter. “I’ll have the moo shu pork, and she’ll have the General Tso’s chicken.”
“I’ll have the spicy shrimp,” Shelby corrects him.
“Since when?” Ben is puzzled.
In the past she had always ordered the same thing, but she wants to shock him and make herself seem like a changed woman. “Since now. And I’ll take the shrimp toast. And shrimp lo mein.”
They sit there staring at each other. “Maybe I’ll get mine to go,” Ben says.
“You know what’s interesting? The dating service thought we were perfect for each other. How crazy is that?” Shelby holds her breath hoping for the right response, whatever that is.
“Insane,” he agrees.
“Maybe they know something we don’t know,” she offers.
Ben laughs out loud. “You’re kidding, right?”
So there it is. He’s moved on. He stares at the door as if he’s really expecting someone else, his real date, a woman with long, dark hair who would never betray him by screwing around with some man she met on the street. They both gaze out the window. It’s pouring now.
“I’d give anything for a raincoat. A really good one. Burberry.”
“You didn’t use to like name brands.” Ben is surprised. “You used to make fun of people for spending money on stuff with logos.”
“Well that was then. People change. I appreciate Burberry now. It’s classic. I’m wearing a damn dress, Ben.”
“So you are,” he agrees.
When the food arrives they stare at it. Shelby ordered too much. “What were you thinking?” Ben says.
“It looks good.” Shelby imagines a fairy-tale scenario: if she keeps him there long enough the magic will start to work. The veil will fall from his eyes and he’ll see she’s the one for him and that she has been all along.
The food is pretty awful, but Shelby doesn’t say so. When the waiter brings two fortune cookies, Shelby shakes her head. “We don’t want those,” she says. She is more afraid than usual to find out what her fortune is. A man you love will walk away from you and not look back. A woman will stupidly cast away a true love. A sheet of ice will await you. A dog will be your best friend.
“Everybody wants fortune cookies,” the waiter says.
“Well not us,” Shelby tells him.
The waiter nods at Ben. “He wants a cookie.”
Ben takes a cookie and nods back at the waiter. They are united against Shelby.
“Are you serious?” Shelby says.
Ben cracks open the cookie. All your dreams will come true. He puts the cookie on the table and pushes it away with one finger.
“It isn’t a good idea to get a random opinion on your life,” Shelby says.
“I should have known it was you,” Ben says.
“Yeah?” Shelby hates shrimp and now she has a ton of it.
“I was the one who told you, you could save the world.”