The next day, Mary was busy finishing up the remaining tasks at the gallery. Nicholas was there too, and he kept watching her—trying to be discreet, but Mary could feel his attention was completely on her. Since Helen hadn't shown up, Mary felt uneasy under his constant gaze and kept moving around the gallery to maintain some distance.
In the evening, when the work was done, Nicholas approached Mary energetically and said,
"So, shall we go to the restaurant?"
Mary hesitated.
"It's too early. It's not dinner time yet."
Nicholas smiled.
"You're right. Then how about we wander around the city for a while until it's time?"
Mary agreed, and they got into the car together.
"So tell me, where are we going?"
Nicholas replied mysteriously,
"You'll see when we get there."
A few minutes later, they entered the parking lot of a large amphitheater. Nicholas parked the car and said,
"All right, let's get out."
Mary said hesitantly,
"Don't tell me you bought tickets…"
Nicholas grinned and pulled two tickets from his pocket. Mary laughed.
"Seriously? You had this all planned in advance."
"What did you think?"
They got out of the car smiling and entered the amphitheater. The show hadn't started yet.
Mary asked,
"So, what are we watching?"
"Romeo and Juliet."
Mary burst out laughing.
"No way… Are you serious?"
Nicholas laughed too.
"Just kidding. Honestly, I don't even know. A friend got the tickets—I didn't catch the name of the play."
"So much for all that planning!"
"Wait, are you saying if I really brought you to see Romeo and Juliet, you'd hate it?"
"Do you enjoy watching it yourself?"
"No…"
"Well then."
"Ah, now I get it."
"Get what?"
The show began, and Nicholas whispered,
"Just watch for now. I'll tell you later."
During the performance, Mary kept thinking about that short sentence from Nicholas. "Now I get it…" What did he mean? Why had he brought her to this play?
After the show, outside the theater, Nicholas said,
"It's still early for dinner… Wanna walk a bit in the park across the street?"
"Sure, let's go."
As they strolled through the park at night, Mary asked,
"What did you mean before the play? You said you understood something… what was it?"
Nicholas paused, then softly said,
"That you don't want me to look at you as anything more than a friend."
Mary laughed,
"When did I say that?"
Nicholas teased,
"So… you'd prefer I see you differently?"
Mary laughed again,
"No, but you really are good with words. You know how to put them in people's mouths."
Nicholas smiled,
"That's actually what draws me to you. From the beginning, you were different. You weren't chasing me… you were more focused on painting than on me. I'm tired of girls talking to me just because they expect a date. But you're different."
Mary teased,
"How are you so sure? Maybe I do consider this walk and the play a date."
Nicholas laughed,
"No way. You already proved me wrong before… remember that day in the workshop? Even after the camp, you didn't let me drive you home. Even now, you're clearly trying to keep your distance. Others aren't like that. All it takes is a glance."
Mary was surprised by his honesty, but tried to stay composed. She thought, "It's good he made his position clear from the start. At least I know what's on his mind before anything happens."
With confidence, she said,
"Well, you're good-looking and clearly well-off. It's natural that many girls are attracted to you."
"First of all, I'm not just good-looking. I'm amazing! And secondly, you're a girl too… why aren't you like the others?"
"Because I have my own standards… and to be honest, I've seen guys more attractive than you!"
Nicholas stopped and laughed,
"Are you just here to make me feel small today?"
Mary laughed,
"I'm kidding. Don't be upset…"
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you. I need to tell Yong he's wrong."
"Yong? What does this have to do with him?"
"He told me during the camp that if I wasn't interested in you, I should stay away—because you might end up liking me. But I told him you only see me as a friend."
Mary was surprised.
"Yong really said that?"
"Yeah… once again, I was right."
Mary thought about what Yong had said. Maybe he had a point.
Then she quickly asked,
"So, why didn't you fall for any of those other girls you mentioned?"
"Who said I didn't? I've been in love before."
"Really?"
"Yeah… back in university. I fell for a girl, but I was just an ordinary student then. She turned me down easily. So I decided I'd become successful enough to make her regret it one day."
"So… did she regret it?"
"I don't know…"
"You don't know?"
Nicholas pointed to a corner of the park without answering,
"Look over there—a little ice cream stand. Let's get some."
He quickly walked toward the stand. Mary stared after him, realizing he had deliberately avoided answering her question. As she followed him, she thought to herself, "I'm glad I figured this out early. I shouldn't listen to Deniz. I need to stay focused on my painting. That's all that matters."
Nicholas returned with two cones and handed one to Mary.
"Here, let's sit on that bench."
They happily ate their ice cream. Later that evening, Nicholas took her to a restaurant owned by a friend of his. While they were sitting at their table, Mary suddenly spotted someone a few rows ahead.
"Isn't that Yong?"
"Where?"
"Behind you, a few rows over."
Nicholas turned and looked.
"Yeah, that's him. And that's Diana. Should we go say hi?"
"Maybe we shouldn't interrupt them."
Nicholas stood up.
"Come on, let's go. They won't mind. At least we should say hello."
Mary hesitantly got up, and they walked toward them.
Nicholas smiled,
"Well, look who it is… Hi, Yong, Diana! It's been a while. How are you?"
Yong looked at Mary and Nicholas with surprise.
"Hi… you guys are here too?"
"Yeah, Mary and I were working at the gallery. Thought we'd grab dinner here."
Yong stood up and shook Mary's hand. Diana reached out her hand as well.
"Hi, I'm Diana… Looks like you know the guys?"
"Yes, I'm their student at the studio. That's where I met Nicholas and Yong."
With a curious look at the two, Diana said,
"So, how about we all have dinner together?"
Nicholas smiled,
"Why not?"
And the four of them sat at one table and ordered their meals...