Adrian combed back his hair, making sure there were no unruly bits. He straightened his tie in the mirror and brushed imaginary bits of dust off of his suit jacket. He was going on a date—with none other than the late US President's daughter. That was enough to make you sweat.
He was concluding the final examination of himself in the mirror when he heard a knock on his cabin door. He sucked in air nervously, wondering if it was Laura—Dr. Wilson. He plastered a smile across his face and pulled the door open. It was Jackson.
"Hey, man, looking good," Jackson said, leaning against the doorframe casually. His hair seemed a bit messier than usual, and his shirt was partly untucked at the back.
"Thanks, Jackson," Adrian replied, a little more relaxed.
"You going somewhere, Adrian? 'Cause I don't see much out there but water—" Jackson said, peering over Adrian's shoulder and out the window, "—and more water, and some deep water...and LOOK! Water!"
Adrian laughed. "Actually, I'm going on a date," he said with a hint of pride.
Jackson whistled and smiled. "A date?" Then his expression hardened into mock gravity. "Young man, not with my wife, you're not."
"No, no—with Dr. Wilson."
"Dr. Wilson?" Jackson said in fake shock. "What on earth can you talk to her about?"
"You may wanna change that—because, I mean, there's not much left on earth, anyway...."
"You make a good point there, bro."
"Yeah, well, I guess we just discuss...our relationship. Well, if we wanna start a relationship. And then, we could talk about life, and where we want to be in life..."
"Buddy, you're putting me to sleep here. I got it! You've gotta talk about Farewell Atlantis..."
"With you stalking our conversation from the next table, no doubt," said Adrian.'
"Just make sure you don't say anything nasty, Adrian, or I'll catapult my peas at you two."
The two men laughed for a minute, and Jackson gave Adrian a friendly slap on the back. He then smiled, waved and left. Somehow, the quick humour had left Adrian in better spirits. He was ready for the girl of his dreams.