Chapter 6 : An Introduction
The car pulled up in front of Mark's building, and he got in, a grin on his face. He passed the bouquet of flowers and box of chocolates to Juliet. "Happy birthday, Juliet," he said.
"Aw, you didn't have to," Juliet replied, but she was evidently pleased all the same.
"Dang, Mark, I think your present just beat mine on the Sweetness Meter," Peter said jokingly.
From the backseat, Mark punched his best friend playfully on the arm. "Can't be letting you beat me all the time now, can I?" he said with a grin. Settling back in his seat, he said, "Is anyone else coming on to this lovely dinner feast, or will it be just the sweet couple and the regular gooseberry?"
"Sarah said she'll be meeting us there," Juliet said. "With her boyfriend, I think. And Jamie, with Aurelia."
Karl. Mark grinned. "Ah, so it'll be three sweet couples and the regular gooseberry."
"Yeah, Mark, you should find yourself a nice girl," Peter teased. "Come on, I just don't believe that no girl has caught your eye."
Juliet's eyes flickered to the rear-view mirror, and saw that Mark was staring at her through the mirror. She gave him a quick, embarrassed smile, and nothing else needed to be said. It was their secret, and no one else's. He pulled his gaze away from the mirror and forced a laugh. "Sorry to disappoint, Pete, but I'm afraid that I'm extremely single and extremely alone. And with the way things are going, I'll be staying that way for quite awhile. So get used to it, buddy."
Peter laughed and nodded. "All right, mate, whatever you say."
Jamie and Aurelia were already there when they arrived at the hotel, waiting for the rest in the lobby. There was the regular exchange of happy greetings and hugs, and they settled down to wait for Sarah and "her boyfriend" (only Aurelia and Mark knew who "her boyfriend" was), before entering the restaurant together.
They didn't have to wait long. Soon they heard a familiar voice, and saw Sarah walking arm-in-arm with a tall, dark-haired man, laughing together. She saw them, and waved. Mark recognised the man as Karl immediately, and grinned. Finally, we get to meet properly.
"Happy birthday, Juliet," Sarah said, passing Juliet her present. "That's from us." She turned to smile at everyone. "Everyone, this is Karl. Karl, this is Peter, Juliet the birthday girl, Jamie, Aurelia (whom you've already met), and your little helper Mark."
Mark laughed. Only three of them knew what Sarah meant. "Glad to meet you for real at last," he said, shaking Karl's hand. "Thought that you and I were going to be ghosts to each other forever."
"So you two already know each other?" Juliet seemed surprised.
"Long story," Karl said.
"Just another example of what I should be made a saint," Mark added with a playful grin.
Everyone laughed and Juliet rolled her eyes. "Not another one of those," she said dryly. "Come, let's all go in. It's pointless standing out here in the lobby the whole evening." She took her husband's hand and led the way.
The meal was delicious, and there were always jokes going around, but Mark still couldn't help feeling a little depressed. He wasn't just any gooseberry; he was the champion gooseberry. The one Single in the company of not one, not two, but three Happy Couples. It was sad and depressing in a Bridget Jones-type of way. But even Bridget Jones had some men interested in her. Mark was The Lonely Loser.
The sound of the piano distracted him from his "I'm-going-to-spend-my-life-alone-and-die-and-no-one-will-even-know" thoughts, and he turned to find the source. There, at one corner of the restaurant, not far from their table, was a piano, and a young woman with wavy dirty-blonde hair was playing. Conversations were put on hold as people stopped to listen for a moment, and she began to sing.
Her voice was husky, and strong, and for awhile the whole restaurant just sat entranced, listening to her. Then, after the initial "shock" was over, conversations were continued, and people went back to eating and chatting again. But not Mark. He kept his silence, listening to her sing and play. The song was beautiful, the playing was beautiful, her voice was beautiful. And it was able to make him forget that he was lonely.
He spent the rest of the dinner listening to her, occasionally throwing a comment or two into the conversations of his friends to show that he was still with them. But the girl at the piano had most of his attention.
Mark never really knew how long it had been, but eventually she stopped playing, and left the piano, smiling at the people, thanking them for their applause. Mark watched as the waitresses cleared away their plates, and stood up with the rest of his friends. "Well, it's time to go now," Peter said. "Hopefully we can more of such fantastic gatherings. Very nice meeting you, Karl."
The regular niceties were exchanged once more, with promises to meet again soon. Karl approached Mark. "Hey, I still owe you a meal, don't I?"
Mark grinned. "You sure do. Tell you what, I'll call you when I think of something I want you to do for me."
Karl agreed, and left with Sarah. Probably off to have their own date or something, Mark thought.
"Mark? You planning to stay in this restaurant forever?"
Mark turned his attention to Peter, standing with his arm around Juliet's waist. Suddenly he couldn't help staring at that arm, and felt that if he was going to be stuck with a Happy Couple for a minute more, he'd scream, or kill himself. He forced a smile and shook his head. "You two can go on home. I think I'll walk around a little, get some fresh cool air and then head on home myself."
Juliet frowned. "You sure? It's not trouble to drop you home, you know."
"I'll be fine," Mark insisted. "Go on, the two of you."
Nothing Peter or Juliet said could move him, and they finally left him, wondering what it was he was up to. But the truth was that he was up to absolutely nothing. And he had no idea what he was going to do. Walking about of the hotel, he stuck his hands into the pockets of his jacket, keeping his head down. He would go wherever his feet took him. Even if he got hopelessly lost (which was unlikely), he had enough money to get a taxi home anyway.
He walked on, his eyes glued to the ground, absorbed in his own pathetic thoughts. He did not even realise that there was someone walking towards him until and he banged straight into her. Her legs buckled and she fell to the ground.
"Oh my God, I am so sorry…" he said hurriedly, grabbing her arm and hastily trying to help her up. "It's all my…" The words died on his tongue when he saw her face. She was the one who was performing at the restaurant. Up close, he saw that her eyes were a greyish-blue, a most unique colour.
She smiled at him kindly. "It's all right, no problem at all," she said cheerfully. Seeing the look on his face, she asked, "I'm sorry, but have we met before?"
"Oh, no, we haven't. But I was at the restaurant you performed at just now." Mark gave her a smile. "I think you are a fantastic performer."
Her smiled widened, and she pushed her hair behind her ears. "Thanks," she said, flattered. "No one's ever told me that before. I don't think anyone's ever really listened."
Mark was surprised to hear that. He couldn't imagine anyone not wanting to listen to her. "Well, I listened today, and I think you were really great," he told her sincerely. "And I'm sure that there are actually other people who have listened to you, and they probably think that you're very talented as well, but just didn't have the chance to tell you." He extended his hand. "I'm Mark, by the way."
She shook his hand firmly. "I'm Daniella."
