Published: 2025-09-17

Jean sat at the small square table. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the wooden top, leaving nail marks embedded on it. He took a look around. The hall was decorated with pink and red papier mâché that stood out against the pearl white walls. Hearts and cupid silhouettes made from cardboard hung from the ceiling; more were glued to the wall. It was not Jean’s idea to come here; his friends thought it would do him some good. Jean, on the other hand, had his reservations. At the opposite end of the hall, there was the stage. A band played slow music. The microphone in the center of the stage was unoccupied, since it was not for the band, but for the host of the event. Jean started tapping his foot. This was not the place for him to be, and he knew it. Thus, he stood up to leave. In that moment, the host took the stage.

“Welcome to the town’s annual speed dating night, where you will find someone, unless you’re that ugly.” The host said.

The audience burst into laughter. Jean still stood in front of his table, telling himself to get out of there.

“I ask the gentlemen to please take a seat. If this is your first time here, all you have to do is sit back and relax. A young lady will come sit with you, and you can talk about whatever you like for one minute, but don’t be a creep! After that, a buzzer will sound and the lady will move to the table to her right. Don’t try to hold them, gentlemen; remember, she ain’t yours. Now, ladies, please be seated, and let’s have some good ol’ fun!” The host said.

Jean hesitated for too long; there was no way he could get out now. His only option was to endure it. He sat down. His stomach hurt, and his palms sweated. A young woman sat with him. She was tall and blond, with big, penetrating green eyes. She said nothing to Jean but gave him a big, warm smile. She seemed to be in high spirits.

The sound of a buzzer broke the silence, and the room filled with chattering. “What’s your name?”, “Where are you from?”, “How old are you?”. Questions flew at high speed in all directions; the young men and women wanted to make the most out of their limited time, and who knew, maybe the love of their lives was one table away.

Jean’s heartbeat had increased, his throat had dried up, the loud chattering in the room had made him deaf, he literally could not see beyond his own nose. He was having a panic attack. The young woman extended his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Sally, it’s nice to meet you.” Jean stared at Sally, who seemed to be full of energy and excitement. He remained motionless for a moment, then, shaking his head, extended his hand to her before pulling it away after remembering how sweaty his palms were.

“Hi— I’m Jean. Nice to meet you.” He said.
“You do talk! How cute. Tell me, Jean, what do you do for fun?”
“Fun?”
“You know. Do you go out to dance? Do you play sports? Do you like cars?”
“I—I don’t think so. I like computers.”
“Computers!? OMG. You know, I once met this guy who worked with computers…”

Jean didn’t hear the rest of what Sally had to say. It couldn’t have been more than thirty seconds, but Jean felt she had talked for ages. The buzzer finally went off, and Sally stood up. “You’re fun, Jean!” She said before moving to the next table. Jean saw her sit on the next table, extend her hand, and say “Hi, I’m Sally, it’s nice to meet you.” before his new companion sat on his table. Her skin was pale as paper, and she wore all black. Her clothes were baggy, and instead of heels, she wore military boots. Jean couldn’t figure out the woman behind the mask. She was short, with black short hair, and had her nose pierced. She looked at Jean with disinterest while chewing bubble gum. The buzzer went off, and the clock started ticking down; the room filled with chattering again. Jean extended his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Jean. It’s nice to—” She interrupted by putting her hand in front of his face.

“I don’t care.” She said.
“Excuse me?”
“I said I don’t care. Just sit there and don’t say anything.”
“Don’t say anything? What do you—”
“I said shut up.”

Jean felt insulted, toyed with. He did not come here to be verbally abused by rude, entitled women. He was hurt, but he knew he only had to endure it for one minute.

“Hey, look at me.” She said.

Jean raised his head and looked her in the eye. She had big black eyes; they looked calming, like those of a loving mother. For a moment, Jean thought she was beautiful. Then time stopped. The chattering that filled the hall was no more, the clock did not tick down, the woman in front of him didn’t chew gum; it was just Jean and her black eyes that seemed to suck him into the vastness of the cosmos. The chattering returned, the clock started ticking down again, the woman in front of him smiled and blew a gum bubble. She stood up and said, “You’re fun, Jean.” And the buzzer went off again.

The night went on. Other women sat at his table. He could not remember how many times he heard the phrase “nice to meet you” that night, and he didn’t care about that or anything else. All he could think about was the gentle black eyes of that rude woman who wouldn’t even tell him her name.

At the end of the night, he looked for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. He asked for her, but nobody seemed to know where she was. Sally followed him, trying to get him to fix her printer, but he had already forgotten who she was. It was hopeless; she had left, and he didn’t even get to ask her what her name was. He felt that if he left, he would regret it, but there was nothing else he could do about it, so he left.

Dragging his feet and looking down, he made it to the bus stop. He sighed and stood next to the stop sign. A voice behind him said, “You look pathetic, Jean.” He turned around, and it was her. He smiled, his eyes gleamed, and he felt like hugging her.

“Erase that smile from your face. You look like an idiot.” She said.
“You are the reason for my smiling.” He said.
“You sound like an idiot, too.”

Jean laughed, and she rolled her eyes. There was a moment of silence until she finally said:

“You saw it too, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“The vastness of the universe.”

Jean froze. He didn’t imagine it. He really saw it; the universe in this woman’s eyes. He took a deep breath and said.

“I’ll answer your question if you answer one of mine first.”
“What is it?”
“What’s your name?”

She rolled her eyes and smiled.

THE END.