Dinner with Diana (Part 1)

The restaurant wasn’t in the food court. Rather, it was more like an attached building with an entrance through the mall. It was a regular family restaurant, but Thomas had said he had heard that the food was pretty good.

Diana and I found a table on the second floor next to a window overlooking the street. It was a Friday, which meant a lot of people, both inside the restaurant and walking outside. It was already dark out, and the natural light was replaced by that coming from lamp posts, buildings and cars. I saw Diana looking out the window with a small smile.

“Do you like the view?” I asked her.

“Yes, although it does make me homesick,” she said.

“Homesick?”

“I moved to this city with my dad when I entered university, but I’m originally from the countryside. Seeing the lights makes me miss the starlit skies, and all the buildings make me miss the endless plains.”

“Really? The countryside?” I asked, a smile of my own crossing my lips.

“Are you imagining cows, horses and chickens all around?” she asked me… with a surprisingly teasing smile that sent delightful shivers through me.

“Well… Yes?”

She chuckled. “Then you’d be correct. We had a ranch, and my dad used to breed horses for competition.”

“Oh wow. That’s really cool,” I said in awe. Horses are some of my favorite animals that I rarely ever see.

“Isn’t it?” She sounded proud of it, and it made me want to hear more.

The waiter came to take our orders, but I noticed the way he looked mostly at Diana. I could hardly blame him, but the waiter in me did judge it as unprofessional. Diana herself didn’t spare him a look, keeping her eyes on the menu.

I ordered a hamburger because I hadn’t had one in a while. Diana ordered a pasta dish. When the waiter left, I resumed the conversation.

“But you moved to this city, right? Why?”

With an easy expression, Diana told me, “Horse breeding is a very competitive business. We were good, but not the best. Profits were going down with each semester, so when it was time for me to start my higher education, my dad decided it was better to sell everything, buy a house closer to the city and retire.”

“So you still live with your dad?” I asked, keeping any and all judging tone from my voice. I wasn’t trying to criticize, but to confirm.

Diana sighed and shook her head. “He… passed away two months ago.”

My chest froze and my smile fell. “I’m so sorry.”

In answer to that, she chuckled and smiled again. “Don’t worry. I believe we honor the memories of those who’ve passed by remembering the good times. I’ve grieved enough, and he would’ve wanted me to keep marching forward.”

It was good to hear that, but it did leave me thinking. The passing of a loved one… I wasn’t ready for it, but I doubted anyone was.

“You… You’re still in high school, right?” she asked me.

I flinched, smiled wryly and rested my arms on the table. “Well… Yeah.”

“...”

“...”

An awkward silence formed, but it didn’t last long.

“I’d like to get this out of the way as soon as we can,” Diana said. “The age gap… bothers me. But it’s not your age that makes me hesitate. It’s mine.” I remained silent and let her make her case, paying close attention. “A single year of life experience can change a person. Maturity, priorities, worldview… I look back fondly on my years in university, you know? I learned a lot, more so from how diverse people are than I did from books. I worry that… I might influence you in the wrong way. You’re young, you’ve yet to experience so many things. I worry I will mess that up.”

“...” I could see where she was coming from, but how was I supposed to answer? Saying it didn’t matter was still the answer of an 18 year old who had yet to see more of the world.

And yet that issue didn’t go in one direction only.

“I’m… also in the same boat, then.” It didn’t feel good to go any further while hiding something so important. I couldn’t reveal everything, of course, but keeping it to myself was also a form of power imbalance.

“What do you mean?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.

The waiter came back with our food at a very awkward time. I stopped myself from talking as he set the plates down and quickly left, probably noticing the atmosphere.

“I’m not… normal. So I’ve been told. Don’t you… think it’s strange that I have five girlfriends?”

“…” Her face remained stoic, thoughtful. “A bit, yes. But I knew that from before we even spoke face to face. I came here knowing that what you have with them… is consensual.”

I nodded. “It is. They know everything, even the things that make me… strange. They accept it, encourage it, even, and while it’s not something I can go around telling anyone, I also can’t, in good conscience, keep you fully in the dark about it.”

I spared a quick look around the restaurant. No one was paying attention to us. Soft music was playing in the background and all tables were lost in their own conversations. Still, it felt weird to even mention this stuff in public.

“...I overheard you talking to your friend back in the Arcade,” Diana admitted. My eyebrows shot up and my mind raced to remember everything I said. Diana was ahead of me, though. “So you can read minds?” she asked. I couldn’t tell if her tone meant amusement, disbelief or something else entirely.

“I…” Should I deny it or admit it? To be honest, I’d rather she thought me insane than be a liar. Losing this opportunity to get closer to a woman I liked was… painful, but lying always carries more problems in the long run. “Randomly,” I admitted. “I don’t control how it works, it just does. What is more consistent is that… I feel a connection with my girlfriends. I can understand their feelings and they can understand mine.”

“Is that so? So you’re like him, huh?” Diana chuckled. “It makes a lot more sense if so.”

W-Wait.

Wait, wait, wait, wait!

Huh!?

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