Liars In Love

After skipping out on the previous Friday, Eric was once again back at Chardays on yet another Friday blind date. This time he had insisted that his sister give him the details concerning his date in advance. He was sick and tired of being caught off guard when his dates showed their true colors.

Luckily for him, his sister had finally seen reason, and had told him about his date beforehand. After hearing a little bit about her from Beth, Eric had decided to go on and meet her.

Her name was Celeste. She was a well established engineer and well known in her field of geology. She had been responsible for studying many different rock formations, and bringing the knowledge out to the public. Making sure that everyone had access to the valuable rock knowledge.

Personally, Eric had never really had much interest in geology, but Celeste was more than making up for his lack of knowledge in the sector. In fact he knew all of those things about her because she had informed him of her accomplishments within minutes of the two of them meeting. Celeste was not shy when it came to tooting her own horn.

Not only had she shared the university that she'd gone to. Saying the name like he should have known just by looking at her that she had gone to a prestigious school. She had also shared her current title and told him how many people she'd had to best to get it. Then she had gone on to brag about all of the funding that she had gotten, despite everybody thinking that she would not be able to get it,( Eric highly doubted that part). The bottom line was that Celeste talked...a lot. 

Not only did Celeste talk a lot, Celeste talked about herself so much that it was kind of terrifying. Eric had not even been able to get a word in edgewise. He had tried at first, but it had been to no avail. In the end he had given up, and now he was just staring at a point slightly above Celeste's shoulder.

He could still hear her talking in the background, but he was no longer paying attention. It was rude of him to do, ignoring somebody who was his date. But it was either ignore her, or pick up the bottle of wine in the middle of the table, and just start drinking straight from it.

He had a feeling that that one would not go down well. So he was enduring the incessant chatter, pretending like he was listening, nodding here and there. Just so she would not realize that he was not really paying any attention to her and be offended. 

But in all honesty there was really nothing to pay attention to. 

Eric knew Celeste's type. They were part of the reason that he had left the engineering profession. 

An academic snob, she thought just because she had a few qualifications, and could solve quadratic equations and do integrations faster than the average human being. That made her leagues above everyone else, blinking slowly as he turned his attention back to her.

Eric could not help but picture how things would go if he decided to take it further with Celeste. He could see all of the conferences that they would attend together, the seminars. Him going out on dates with her where they went to meet equally boring people. Academics who were so far removed from life that their entire existence revolved around journal publishings and the latest gossip when it came to academic pursuits. People who spent their entire lives with their noses buried in books, unaware that there was a great big world out there. One that was waiting to be explored, not just through a microscope but by experiencing things.

If he went with Celeste, that would be exactly what Eric would be exposing himself to. A safe and boring existence. No kids to run after as he tried to get them motivated in their studies. No way for him to be pleasantly surprised, when a student asked a question that actually made him think outside the box.

He was not judging Celeste. But he also did not think that it was something to be proud of as Celeste seemed to be. To prove a point to himself, Eric tuned back into the conversation and he was not at all surprised by what he heard.

"...and as I was telling them it turned out that the equation I suggested we use was exactly what we needed. Other people who had been writing on the same thing, had forgotten to factor in porosity. If I had not-"He watched her lips move, not really hearing anymore, but it was not because he was struggling to follow her. It was because he was bored out of his mind. No matter how she tried to make it look exciting, it really was not. 

All that she was just talking about, was her work with other people that all just sat around and pretended their work would be the next great thing. Something that would change the world. But deep down, they all knew that it was not likely to do anything more than result in there being more waste if it were ever published in a physical sense.

It would not have been so bad if Celeste had had a spark in her eyes. A sign that she was truly passionate about what she was talking about. But even as he locked eyes with her, Celeste's gaze was almost lifeless. It was clear that she was only bragging because it was expected. Eric could tell that she got no enjoyment from her job. She was just reciting things like a robot, saying what was acceptable in the circles that she mingled in.

Talking about all the things that people normally talked about when they were leading the life she led. It was a sad existence, made even sadder by the fact that Eric felt as though he were looking at the person he would have become had he forced himself to stay. Had he carried on being a computer engineer despite falling out of love with the profession, this was what he would have become.

A shell that barely had any feelings left. He was glad he had taken the chance to run when he could. But Celeste was not him. She was her own person, and she had decided to stay.

The woman across from him did not care about her job. She did not care about the journals that she was bragging about, and she most definitely did not care about the date that they were currently on. Eric could tell as much, and he got the feeling that she too realized that he was not really all that interested. They were both playing roles, and Eric went along with his.

 Nodding along in places and prompting her to continue whenever there was a lull in conversation. Soon enough they were done with all of their meals. The two of them split the bill, and walked out of the restaurant without saying another word to each other.

That at least was something that Eric appreciated about Celeste's clinical approach to things. She had already realized that they were not going anywhere, and had cut him off as quickly as she could, not even bothering to explain.

Eric was not the least bit offended. She was not worth the energy. He just hoped that the next person would be somebody with a bit more spark when it came to living life.

As he made his way to his car, Eric happened to look up at just the right moment and he could not help but smile at what he saw.

His lady, the lady in red was across the street from him. Like him, she too seemed to have just gotten out of the restaurant. He had no idea whether she was drunk or not, but she was dancing in the middle of the street. A slow dance that had her twirling as though she had a partner.

When her movements stopped and she bowed, unbothered by the passer-by's staring as though she were crazy. Eric could not help but clap, instantly freezing up when he realized what he was doing. But it was too late, the sound had caught her attention and she looked up, her eyes instantly zeroing in on him.

Even from across the street her smile was blinding, and she gave another bow, this one directed right at him.

They smiled at one another for a long while. The moment was broken by a car honking loudly, the evening traffic picked up, and just like that, she disappeared from view.

But even with her gone, Eric could not stop smiling...he had really missed her.