Having entered the room, Lindsey saw a hair-gelled waiter in a black tuxedo. He hastened to meet her.
“Good evening, Miss! Greg is sitting at the table over there.”
“Thank you.”
When Lindsey approached the table, she saw that Greg looked like a Hollywood star.
“Hi!” she said hesitantly.
“Hello. You look gorgeous,” Greg uttered with seduction in his voice, which made Lindsey blush.
“Oh, thank you! I’m Lindsey.”
“This name has ranked among the top 100 names for girls.”
“Huh, I’m not that popular.”
“Why do you think so?”
“I do not have friends… Er… Of course, I do have some acquaintances at work, but that doesn’t count.”
“Let me take your coat, and then we will proceed.”
As Greg was taking her coat, Lindsey could feel his breath on her neck, which meant that he was pretty close to her. She ran her fingers through her hair and sat down.
“So, why do you need friends, Lindsey?” he asked.
“Well, I’m a human being. It’s natural to have someone close. And you can have fun with them...”
Greg kept silent for half a minute and then said: “I’ve never had fun.”
“Then it must have been awful!” Lindsey blurted out those words with irritation.
Greg took her hand and squeezed it gently. His blue eyes and cute dimples melted her heart. She knew she would never date a guy with brown eyes, and that is why she had written in the questionnaire she wanted a blue-eyed brunette.
“Lindsey, your breathing has accelerated. You see, I’m learning to communicate with girls. All am used to is equations, calculations, and scheduling. Sometimes, I do the washing up. That’s all.”
“I’m sorry, Greg. I should’ve been more patient.”
“That’s OK. Would you like some wine?”
“I suppose, yes.”
Greg filled their glasses with chardonnay.
“You have clean-cut facial features. An oval face and large eyes.” Greg looked directly into Lindsey’s eyes, and then his gaze went to her lips.
“Well… Huh… You know, this hasn’t helped much in my life.” Lindsey took a big gulp of wine.
“What about your family, Lindsey?”
“Well… I’ve always been treated like a red-headed step-child.”
“So, you are a Mississippi girl?”
Lindsey gave a grimace. “Of course, you’re a genius. You know everything!”
“It’s just what you’ve said. This is a unique phrase Mississippians use in everyday conversation.”
Lindsey started laughing. Greg smiled and took a sip of wine.
“We, Mississippians, are so used to these phrases, we don't recognize them as anything special.”
Greg sort of shook his head.
“And the irony is that I’m actually red-headed, as you can see!” Lindsay burst out laughing again, and Greg did the same.
“But I’m not a step-child! I inherited this color of hair from my Dad… But, Greg, I wouldn’t like to talk about that.”
“Got it, Lindsey. What would you like to tell me about?”
“A book, I think…”
“Great idea. What book?”
“I’ve recently read My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier.”
“The one that was published in 1951. Rachel is a widowed Contessa Sangalletti.”
“Yeah! Have you also read it?” Lindsey asked with enthusiasm.
“No, actually, I don’t need to read to know everything about it. I’ve just googled it.”
Lindsey sighed and threw a fork on the plate. “At least, you could’ve lied to me you had read it.”
“Lindsey, do you really need lie? Have you come here for lie?”
She humped and put her arm to her forehead.
“Why would I care?” Lindsey barely brought herself to say it.
As she raised her eyes, she shuddered. Greg was holding the glass and had an expressionless face.
“Greg, are you alright? Greg!”
The waiter in the black tuxedo approached her and said: “Lady, your time is over. The robot needs recharging. Have you enjoyed the trial date? Are you willing to take one more? We need to know for statistics.”
Lindsey got confused. “I don’t know, actually.”
“That’s not a problem. You can think it over. Let us know about your decision by the end of the week, please.”
“Yes, sure.”
Lindsey put on her coat and left the building. As she turned her head, she saw the lights of the advertisements flashing on the walls of the Institute of Modern Technologies. “Let us handle your loneliness!” one of them said.
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