The Proverbial Mr. Universe Read online

  Dan met his beautiful fiancée when Nick was hospitalized the first time. She was visiting her grandmother and had trouble with the vending machine. Luckily for Dan, he was there at the right time.

  “Seriously, I don’t even know what she sees in you,” Nick mused.

  “I ask myself the same question.” Dan paused. “Let me give you a piece of advice …”

  “Dude, you fuckin’ give horrible advice.”

  “When did I ever steer you in the wrong direction?”

  “All the time.”

  “Bullshit. I’ve given awesome advice.”

  “Alright, the time when you were too lazy to drive me to Christina Jenkins’ party. You had this smart-ass idea I should take mom’s car when I didn’t have my license.”

  “Oh come on, it was a fender bender.”

  “I totaled Mom’s car,” Nick said.

  “It’s not my fault you can’t drive in a straight line.”

  “Oh, here’s another good one …” Nick swallowed his bite before continuing. “You thought it was a good idea for Chloe to move in with me?”

  “Alright, it wasn’t my finest. How was I to know she’d turn out to be a closet psycho?”

  After a short minute, Nick glanced up. “So are you going to tell me?”

  “Oh, now you want my advice?”

  Nick shrugged.

  “For God’s sakes, ask her out.”

  “I wouldn’t know what to say. Hi, your boyfriend is a jerk, can I take you out sometime?”

  On the few rare occasions Nick saw them together, her fiancé was completely oblivious of her existence as she gaped at him with those beautiful, elephant eyes, begging for some validation. If she were his girl, Nick would never remove his eyes from her, never for one minute would he make her feel insignificant.

  Why do some jerks have all the luck?

  “I don’t get it. You always had girls running in circles.”

  “Well ... I guess things change. You forgot what the last three years have been like.” Nick rubbed his scruffy face.

  Dan’s eyes softened. “No, I didn’t forget.”

  “Who am I kidding? She’ll never go for someone like me.”

  “Why not?”

  “She never smiles.”

  “Hmmm … not very friendly.”

  “I like that about her.”

  Dan frowned. “Yeah, sure, what’s there not to like? If you ask me, it’s a good indication she’s not interested. Sorry, bud.” Dan leaned in closer. “You know, Amanda has a single friend …”

  Nick shut his eyes. “Oh no, please don’t do me any favors.”

  “It’s been three years since Chloe left. I hate seeing you alone.”

  Nick pursed his lips. “Wait, I’m alone, not lonely. There’s a difference.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “I’ll have you know there have been other women.”

  Dan rolled his eyes. “When was the last time you were in a committed relationship?”

  Dan had a point. Nick hadn’t dated much after his ex-girlfriend walked out. Chloe poked enough holes in his heart, and the remnants of those scars remained. Looking back, he realized the relationship lasted longer than it should have, but he couldn’t walk away because he wasn’t like his father. Although he was fine now, Nick’s health issues did scare off potential prospects.

  “Do me a favor, when you do see her, talk to her. If not, I’m going to ask her out for you.”

  “No, don’t! I’ll speak to her, just don’t be a dick.”

  “Please, because I can’t take looking at your sorry-ass face.” Dan got up and pulled out his wallet from his back pocket.

  Nick pushed the twenty back to him. “Breakfast is on me.”

  “I am off to the bar. There’s a shipment coming in this morning,” Dan said.

  “Sure, I’ll be there a little later. I’m scheduled to close tonight.”

  “Again? Why don’t you let Yannick do the closing tonight? I don’t want you to exhaust yourself.”

  “I’m a big boy. Don’t worry about me.” Nick hated when his brother mothered him.

  When Dan left, Nick pulled out his sketchbook from his bag and took one last sip of coffee before he began to write.

  Olivia didn’t believe a word of it. His lips were moving, but at some point she lost all interest in anything he had left to say. Was this the man, whom she wanted to spend the rest of her life with? She couldn’t even stand to stay another five seconds in the same room with him.

  There was nothing unusual or out of the ordinary about finding Dario in his home office, slouching in his chair, his feet up on his desk and a cell phone to his ear, when she came home early from work. What got her attention was the form of language he used, accompanied by a low, husky whisper.

  “Baby, no, I can’t … I told you already. Of course, I want to see you tonight.”

  Those few words stopped Olivia dead in her tracks. She silently stood behind the half-open door, listening to the remainder of their conversation. Denial vanished. How could anything justify what she just heard?

  Foolishly, Olivia was holding on to a relationship that she wasn’t sure she wanted anymore. Now, he was deliberately trying to hurt her. She wasn’t exactly heartbroken, but surely this whole situation saddened her. After all, five years was a lot of time to be with someone. Somewhere between the time her father first introduced them right up to this point, Olivia hadn’t meant anything to him. She’d been second guessing their relationship for months, but she had hoped if he somehow changed maybe things would get better between them. Maybe she should be thanking him. If tonight had gone as planned, they would be at some upscale restaurant where she’d be peering around the room, envying every couple, while he took a business call.

  “Where are you going?” Dario followed her into their bedroom. “I don’t know what you think you heard—”

  The expression on his face told her he wasn’t sure how much of the conversation she overheard. He was playing it safe, waiting for her to reveal more before continuing.

  “I was behind the door the entire time,” she lied.

  As the blood drained from his face, she knew there was more to the story. Like some private prayer, he placed his hands in front of his face.

  “Okay … can we talk about this?”

  “Talk? What’s there to talk about? You’re having an affair.” She stopped pacing and walked closer to him. “I’m calling the engagement off.”

  “Please, you’re making a mistake. You’ve got this all wrong …”

  Olivia studied him for a moment. She should have yelled, called him every name in the book, but nothing came out. Dario was visibly shaken. Was he afraid of losing her? No, more like his job and this lifestyle, and she was the glue holding it all together.

  “Is it hard for you to just be honest for once?” Olivia said.

  “Hear me out … Ann has this thing for me. It’s only been harmless flirting. Trust me when I say nothing ever happened between us. I swear on my mother’s head. Please, believe me.”

  “God, how pathetic are you? After I just caught you telling another woman …” She paused. “What? Wait … Ann, your assistant?” How humiliating! Her family couldn’t handle another scandal.

  “Yeah.” His eyes veered to the floor.

  “Was it not Ann you took on your business trip to New York last week?”

  He took a moment before answering. “Yeah … so what? Nothing happened with that woman, I swear!”

  “How long has this been going on?” She searched his face for some answers. “Before the engagement party? Longer?”

  His silence confirmed it. She walked past him.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To get away from you!”

  Down the corridor, she locked herself in the bathroom. It was the only way she could get him to stop hovering over her. She needed to think, to be alone with her thoughts.

  “Olivia, hear me out. I know things are not what the
y should be between us. I’ll do anything to fix this. I’ll break it off with Ann, I’ll see a therapist … I promise. It will never happen again, please don’t leave me,” he pleaded from behind the door. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

  Olivia leaned against the door. Anyone in her position would be numb with shock, curl up in a ball crying, but at this moment Olivia wasn’t capable of mustering one single tear. In the past twenty-five minutes, he had not uttered one word about love. Dario relentlessly begged her to stay, to listen, and to believe him, but there was no ‘I love you,’ no ‘I can’t live without you.’ Her mind began to race. For the first time she imagined a life without Dario and what it would be like. The possibility was exhilarating. Would it be easy to walk away? Then, she remembered the handwritten note she found yesterday, which until now had little meaning. Mr. Universe wrote: A person knows when they’re doing the right thing when goodbyes are effortlessly done. There is no lump in your throat, no anguish, no pain in your heart. Then, this goodbye is what’s prescribed.

  She opened the door with such force it made Dario flinch, and everything went silent. Maybe he had seen it in her eyes because she certainly felt it. The glass finally shattered, and she was now coming through.

  “There is nothing left for us to keep on going,” she said. “So I think … it’s best if you leave by tonight.”

  He nodded in defeat. She eagerly removed her engagement ring and placed it in his black suit pocket.

  “Olivia, what are you going to tell your father?” He tried one last attempt, but this time around it wouldn’t work. She was finally done being manipulated by him.

  Jessica, Olivia’s friend, picked her up twenty minutes later. They decided to go somewhere Dario wouldn’t be able to find her and chose some random bar on Saint-Denis Street. The place was like every other bar in Montreal on a Friday night, overcrowded and energetic. It was relatively newly renovated. Even with the lights dimmed, it had a modern chic decor with tables scattered everywhere. A vast canvas on the far wall caught Olivia’s eyes. The subject was a girl walking away from the viewer, her red scarf blowing in the wind. She had time to take another quick glance before Jessica called for her.

  “There are two seats at the end of the bar,” Jessica said over the loud music.

  “Why don’t we sit in the booths at the back?” Olivia suggested.

  Jessica shook her head, making her red ringlets bounce wildly around her face. “Ah … no. All the action is at the bar.”

  Olivia winced as she followed Jessica.

  “Don’t be such a downer, woman! I didn’t agree to come out with you so that you can cry and be miserable about Dario.”

  Surprisingly, Olivia hadn’t done either. She was actually relieved. Three bartenders were working behind the bar, and the shortest of the three took their order.

  “So, now what are you going to do?” Jessica brought a martini glass to her lips. Olivia knew it was over. It had been for the longest time, but she just didn’t know how to let go.

  “I only wish I was there to see his face when you told him to move out.”

  “I think he still believes we can work things out,” Olivia said.

  “You have to be straight with him. Don’t give him any hope. I swear, if you even think about going back to him, I will never speak to you again!”

  “No, worries there.”

  “I always hated that asshole,” Jessica said.

  Olivia had met Jessica six years ago when they both enrolled in the same fashion design program. By definition, Jessica wasn’t beautiful: thin lips, long nose and thick, tight curly red hair. It was her charm and confidence that made guys want to hover around her. She was fun to be around, never cared about what other people thought of her, and Olivia found that refreshing. She genuinely liked Jessica, even though sometimes she was self-absorbed. Dario, on the other hand, couldn’t understand why Olivia bothered with her because it was clear to anyone who saw them together they were complete opposites.

  Olivia was the first person Jessica thought of when a position opened up at her company, D.S. Designs. Although it wasn’t Olivia’s dream job, she took it with the hopes of one day being promoted to a designer position with her own label as promised by her boss, Jack.

  “You know what I don’t understand? How your dad doesn’t see right through him,” Jessica said. “I mean, he must see him at work. He can’t possibly be that good at hiding it?”

  “My father is rarely at the office, and when he is, Dario is probably on his best behavior.” Olivia sighed. “I don’t know how I’m going to break it to my parents.”

  “Sometimes you got to suck it up and do what you got to do.” Jessica paused. “I’m sure they will be heartbroken, but they’ll get over it. It’s your life after all.” She waved her hand at her. “Speaking about your dad, how are things with him?”

  Olivia shrugged. “He doesn’t tell me anything. When I ask, all he says is not to worry. I know he’s in some sort of trouble, and now with his diagnosis I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”

  Olivia glanced up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. The hand belonged to a slightly attractive man wearing a blue T-shirt two sizes too small.

  “Is this seat taken?” he asked.

  “Yes, sorry. I’m waiting for my boyfriend,” Olivia said as the guy gave her apologetic smile and walked away toward better prospects.

  Jessica laughed. “My gosh, Olivia! What am I going to do with you?”

  “What?”

  “What’s the matter with you? He was gorgeous. You should have let him sit next to you.”

  “I’m not in the mood to flirt with some random guy. Not tonight.”

  “You know what they say: the best way to get over someone is to get under—”

  “That’s so absurd!”

  “I’m just saying, you should go out and meet people. Figure out what you want.”

  “I been single for a little over an hour. What I need now is to be on my own.”

  Jessica laughed. “For God’s sake, don’t be such a nun. I’m not telling you to go out and marry the next guy you run into. I’m telling you to go out and loosen up a little.” She started to swing her shoulders with the music.

  Olivia opened her mouth then bit her bottom lip. What she really wanted to say was she wasn’t like Jessica. The only real reason Jessica had bad luck when it came to men was because she didn’t value herself as a person. Olivia didn’t have much experience when it came to men—actually, Dario was very much it—but she always thought a man should earn a woman’s time and affection. She shouldn’t have to run to bed with every guy just because he thinks she’s pretty. And Jessica’s track record regarding that was platinum gold. Olivia wondered how an intelligent woman like Jessica could not come to that realization on her own. Maybe Olivia’s hadn’t been any better. She only been with Dario and look how that turned out.

  “Alright, I give up.” Jessica slightly put her hands up in defeat. “You’re missing out.” Jessica smiled.

  “Well then, too bad for me.”

  “Yup, it’s too bad.” Jessica sighed. “Especially for that guy down there who’s been checking you out since we arrived.”

  “Jesus, do you have a built-in radar or something?”

  “I’m a woman of many talents. What can I say?”

  “So who is it? The guy with the checkered shirt?”

  “No, darling, that guy is checking me out,” Jessica smiled wickedly. “I’m talking about the bartender standing in front of the man in the checkered shirt.”

  Olivia tried discreetly to glance back. Her eyes widened with wonder. Something about his face tickled the back of her mind. Where had she seen that face before? He appeared to be in his mid-twenties, tall, slim built, with straight light brown hair. His hair was a little longer on top, and some stray strands would trickle in front of his bright eyes every so often. He wore a loose T-shirt with a pair of poorly fitted jeans. Oh … and he had another attribute that Olivia hated.
<
br />   He was unshaven.

  He wasn’t hideous; he just wasn’t what she wanted in a significant other, not by a long shot. Olivia never thought herself to be shallow, but she generally liked guys who took their appearance seriously. His eyes met hers and she shyly glanced away.

  “Oh, that guy …”

  “Yeah, that guy.”

  “Jess, none of these guys in this room are my type.”

  Jessica turned and gave her a surprising expression. “Seriously? Because they are not wearing a Hugo Boss suit? Sometimes I swear you’re such a snob, Olivia.” She laughed. “Do you even know what your type is? And don’t describe to me what your father’s type is. We both know how that worked out for you.”

  “Well … a guy who parties all night and is always broke is certainly not my type,” Olivia said. “So I’m going to save myself some trouble and pass.”

  Jessica started to laugh. “You’re so bad.”

  “My point is I’m looking … I mean, if I were looking … I’d want someone more sophisticated looking. Someone who has a profession.”

  “You don’t even realize it, do you? I think you just described Dario.” Jessica laughed louder this time.

  Olivia bit her lower lip. Jessica had a point. “I am looking for someone who’s successful like him but less of a flirt and more honest, more heart …”

  “I wish you luck on that one.” Jessica brought her glass to her lips.

  “Can you tell me why I came out with you tonight?”

  “You came out with me so I can shake some sense into you. Make you open your eyes. Have fun, Liv, you only got one life. You have been living someone else’s dream for far too long. Dario is your father’s dream, but what’s yours?”

  Olivia didn’t know what she wanted anymore. She’d been trying so hard to please her father for so long, now she was about to disappoint him once again.

  The unshaven bartender appeared right before Olivia. She didn’t know why his gaze made her so uncomfortable.

  “Hi, ladies.” He turned to Jessica. “The guy with the green checkered shirt sent you this.” He placed another apple martini in front of Jessica.