Mate Selection
Chapter fourteen of the Starting After Zero series
The hot breath of the uncommonly warm early summer morning pressed into his face like an aggressive lover as soon as he stepped outside his cabin the following morning, catching him by surprise.
Or maybe it was just his imagination working overtime as Will Northcutt recounted his adventure with Nadine Nadeau at the Watson Settlement Bridge and, more specifically, her aggressive romantic overture in the front seat of his garnet Buick Skyhawk when he’d dropped her back at her apartment.
Her passionate kiss had stunned him. Yes, they had been dating for months now, but they’d committed to taking things really slow and had only recently shown physical affection by linking pinky fingers and her leaning against him on the bridge. They had not come remotely close to a kiss when she made her sudden move yesterday afternoon.
Given his failed attempts at relationships in the wake of his youthful divorce, Will had felt more comfortable with the slow pace that he and Nadine had set for their relationship. She seemed to have been fully onboard with that plan, as she’d alluded to the fact that she may need dozens of dates before she could reveal a certain secret about her past.
He’d been feeling despondent—perhaps drained is a better word—in the wake of the disclosure of his childhood trauma to Nadine about his role in the fire that had consumed his family’s home. And then she’d struck with the alacrity of a barracuda. It made no sense to him.
I’m a complete idiot! Will thought. A beautiful woman who I am growing to care for blindsides me with a passionate kiss and I’m standing outside my lonely cabin bemoaning my fate?
Will raised his arms in the air and stretched them high over his head, as the sun peeked down through the tall trees to see what this drama was all about. He twisted his torso from side to side as if to try to shake these uncomfortable thoughts from his frame.
Will wondered what Nadine might be thinking about how things left off. He certainly was very attracted to her, and he’d initially reciprocated. But after a short while—how long he was not certain—he felt overwhelmed and very subtly pulled his head back.
She’d instantly noticed and stopped, and had given his face one last caress while looking mystified and hurt.
“I’m sorry, very sorry,” she’d said as she shrunk back into the passenger seat.
“Nothing to be sorry for. I just wasn’t ready,” Will had said, realizing that he sounded like a spinster as soon as the unfortunate words tumbled out of his mouth.
“Well I warned you that I’m a stalker,” Nadine had smiled, while suddenly looking very small as she slumped in her seat. Her smile was not her usual smile—it appeared rather wan and perfunctory.
Will had remarked that he wasn’t good at surprises, even good surprises like this one, and Nadine had replied that she understood given his history.
But she’d very quickly clambered out of his Skyhawk and climbed quickly up the stairs into her apartment, never looking back.
Charlotte already knew before Will told his big sister anything.
“Girl troubles again?”
“How’d you know?”
“Because you’re predictably incompetent with women,” she sighed. “What’d you do wrong this time?”
“You know in some cultures, perhaps even most cultures, kissing is not the norm,” Will replied. “The Maori press noses and foreheads together. The Mehinaku of Brazil nibble at each other’s eyebrows to express intimacy. Some Asian cultures sniff their partners rather than kissing them. Kissing is not part of mate selection in the majority of cultures.”
”Oh really?” replied Charlotte.
“Yes, and many people consider kissing to be unsanitary and even repulsive!” Will picked up the pace of his lecture with gusto. “It can and does spread disease.”
“What did you do, Will?” asked Charlotte, knowing that this dissertation on romantic hygiene must be somehow related to something her little brother had done.
“Well I didn’t do anything!” Will shot back. “Why would you think that?”
Charlotte let out a deep sigh. “Let’s just say, you usually don’t go into full-blown David Attenborough mode unless you’re trying to back up some of your questionable behavior. So stop whatever self-justification this is, and tell me what the hell happened!”
Damn, she’s good! Will thought. Which is from one angle unfortunate, but from another this is the very reason I always call her in situations like this.
“I didn’t do anything wrong, I think, but I may have messed up with Nadine,” Will said very softly.
“And, lemme guess,” Charlotte replied. “It somehow has to do with kissing?”
“How’d ya know that?”
“Oh, I’m just a genius. The savant of Worcester, they call me,” Charlotte said with sarcasm dripping from her voice.
“It wasn’t me,” Will said.
“Whadya mean?”
“Well, we had an outing at this bridge in Littleton, not far from the Canadian border that we wanted to visit. It had recently been destroyed by fire. And, well, I sorta told her about the fire in our childhood.”
There was silence on the other end. Will stopped, as he knew it was something they never discussed. Bringing up that verboten topic failed to promise to improve anything for anyone involved in this call.
“Did you really need to do that?” Charlotte finally said.
“I never need to tell anyone anything, I suppose. And I hadn’t ever talked about that day since it happened. But I’m trying to be honest with her since I really like her. And I want her to understand me since I figure that gives our relationship a better chance.”
“You really think so?”
“I don’t know anything for certain. All I can say is I’m trying.”
“Well little brother, you still haven’t come to the point.”
“Well I was feeling rather low—quite spent—after sharing that event that I always keep buried. And I brought her back to her apartment and was about to say goodbye, when she suddenly leaned over the kissed me very passionately on the lips, and started making out with me.”
Will paused, waiting for his sister’s assessment, and it came immediately.
“And this is a problem?” Will could envision Charlotte raising her right eyebrow while she said this on the other side of the phone.
‘Well no. She’s very beautiful.”
“What then?”
“While, after a bit, maybe like five or six seconds, I pulled back.”
“You did what?”
“I sort of disengaged. She was holding my face. I pulled back.”
“Why?” Charlotte sounded outraged.
“I dunno.” Will ran his right hand through his hair. “I guess I just was taken by surprise.”
“I don’t get it. You really like her from what I gather and think she’s beautiful. And she gets tired up your glacial courtship ritual and decides to kiss you. And then you pull away?”
“Yeah. I mean we had been going real slow.”
“It’s a miracle she put up with your slowness and detachment. Most lovely ladies, let alone any woman, would not have the patience to put up with you.”
“I know.”
“So would it have killed you to just have made out with her longer? What exactly was the problem?”
Will was silent.
“I just don’t like being surprised. I freeze up and disengage. I don’t know that’ll ever change.” He paused. “The problem is that I really do like her, and can see us as a couple."
“Well then it’s simple.”
“How’s that?” Will wondered how his sister always could distill what seemed to be hopelessly complex emotions into simplicity.
“If you want her to be with you, then you need to be with her,” Charlotte said, flatly.
“How do I do that?” Will, trying to figure out the riddle his sister had posited.
“Are you a guy or what?” Charlotte sneered. “Invite her to your place. Cook her dinner. Give her some handpicked flowers when she arrives. Kiss her. With passion. That’s all she wants. Do you know how to do those things?”
“Yeah, I suppose. You’re right. I’m making things way too hard.”
“It’s your specialty little bro. Its both your most endearing and infuriating quality,” Charlotte chuckled.
Uncharacteristically, Nadine hadn’t called any of her friends about the kiss. It was just a bit too personal, and she could see them teasing her mercilessly about it later on. Further, her female ego was hurting. Didn’t Will find her attractive?
She shifting it her chair as she flipped her laptop open and logged into Substack. To her surprise, there was a message waiting for her.
Wanted: Female stalker driving a baby blue RAV4 to join Total Zero author for dinner. Host to wear an apron and oven mitts to be better prepared for possible incoming heat. Saturday night at 6 p.m. at a certain cabin in Oxbow.
Humor can disarm even the most tense situations. Nadine could almost feel her spine loosen and the tightness in her joints ease when she read it and smiled.
Accepted!
Her one line answer was all that she felt was necessary to allow the earth to continue to properly rotate on its axis.
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Don't know how you do it, Douglas. Poor Will. He's such a wreck. I'm glad he's got a big sister to help him sort things. Big sisters can be very helpful, I've heard. xo
Will’s message to Nadine had me laughing. Good one!