Chapter 4 : Questions

I took my seat once more as Luna sat in hers. The smile never left her face.

“So, why don’t you say we through the details of the experience package. I know you’re most likely very curious about it,” Luna winked.

I nodded because she at least knew that curiosity led me to this more than any hope for finding love.

“Please, I am all ears,” I said encouragingly.

She leaned back in her expensive leather chair, looking relaxed, calm and collected—very much in contrast to how she sounded on the phone. I was glad. That means I didn’t scare her away entirely earlier.

“The Lush House offers many experiences, and many different packages and tickets,” Luna continued, beginning her speal. “But you, Miss Crawford, have received the golden ticket, our highest and most expensive program. I’ll be honest, I’m excited to see what you do with it!”

I leaned forward slightly in my chair. “I still don’t know what exactly I can do with it,” I pointed out, hoping she’d cut the marketing part and go straight to the information.

Truthfully, it didn’t matter if I was sold on their methods or not. I was already here, which said something in itself.

“Of course!” Luna exclaimed.

She was a bit more tense now, and I instantly felt guilty about it. Going over the basics probably gave her a sense of security, and now I’d just ripped that out from under her. She was just doing her job, Anais, don’t be salty just because you don’t think this’ll work.

“I’ll just give you the short version for it,” she continued, the tension evident in her voice. “Each type of ticket allows the House to make a match with the customer. We have the Oak Experience, which gives you two tailored matches, the Silver gives you three, and then the Gold that starts you out with four.”

“So, depending on the amount of money the person invests, they can meet different kinds of men or women, is that correct?” I asked as I took mental notes of the information she fed me.

She nodded. “Well, first, I ask the customer a couple of questions, which is a standard procedure. Using those questions, I can narrow down the kind of men or women that could match that profile. With that in mind, the House sets a first date, and the clients meet.” She took off her glasses, which I suspect are only for show, then she continued. “Both need to have common interests, of course, that’s how it works. When you meet, the first day is always at our Lush Residence, which is located outside the city.”

This piqued my interest. Maybe I could see that old town residence or old grandstanding manor I was hoping for.

With all the information she gave me, I found myself very intrigued with the amount of detail that was being put toward the experience. The fact that this was going on under the radar for such a long time surprised me.

“You said that the gold ticket starts you out with four,” I noted. “Can you elaborate on that?”

“Of course,” Luna smiled. “With our golden ticket comes the guarantee that we will find you a match. Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky with love, but we’re confident that we can find the match for you, even if it takes a bit more effort and time to do so. It also ensures that you won’t have to renew your ticket or buy another if the first few matches don’t work out.”

“I see…”

That was nice to know. As much as I would like for only the Oak Experience to be necessary, my luck with love said otherwise.

“We can start with your own questions now, if you would like,” Luna offered with a knowing smile.

My thoughts were flying, I couldn’t help it. The whole thing was just so…interesting.

“Ok,” I began. “I’m a normal customer, so I’m here to answer questions. Fire away.”

She grinned. I could tell she was excited about this part.

“Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? What is it and why haven’t you done it?”

I blinked a couple of times, staring at her. The question seemed harmless enough, but somehow, it threw me off guard. It was a standard ‘get to know you’ question, but in this situation, it felt…deep.

“Would you like me to repeat the question for you?” Luna asked after a few seconds.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I heard you the first time, I just need a few seconds to give you a proper answer.” I looked at her, before taking a deep breath. “I guess, I would really like to spend some time without worrying about deadlines, about matching expectations, and about making ends meet. To be able to wake up and relax without having tons of other things to do. And if you ask me why I haven’t done it yet, the answer you probably already know.”

Again, too many things to worry about, too many things to do. I wasn’t hurting for money or anything like that, and with the last book I put out, my bank account and retirement funds were starting to look cushy. But again, it’d be nice to not have any of those things hanging over my shoulder.

What it boiled down to was financial freedom, I supposed. It wasn’t that I wanted things to do, but the ability to do them.

Luna looked at me, and for once, I was glad she didn’t just smile and nod.

“I understand,” she stated. “...A writer’s life.”

She took notes in a notebook that I didn’t see her pull up before, writing with a nibbed pen in hand. I wondered if it was a requirement to have such fancy handwriting for a job like this, or if you needed some fancy and posh quirk to get the job.

“Hmm. What is your most treasured memory?” she asked after a moment of silence.

I looked at her for a few seconds as I repeated the question in my head before smiling. This one was easy. “My grandmother,” I said fondly, lighting up at the memory. “She used to make me tell her bedtime stories to sleep.”

As I chuckled, Luna smiled. “Really? Isn’t that supposed to be the other way around?”

“I realized this many years after she had passed, but I remember how I would visit her and stay at her place to sleep for a few days. She would ask me to invent stories and tell them to her for her to sleep. She probably never needed any, but she was the first person to encourage me to use my imagination and to explore it fully.”

“How old were you?” Luna asked, this time just with normal curiosity.

“I was barely 10 or 11 back then, and I started writing not long after,” I replied.

She quickly jotted down what I told her. I’m not sure in what order, but as time went on, I discovered that I was becoming more comfortable with her questions. She was about to fire another when her phone rang. She looked confused at first, checking the ID of the caller, before sighing and turning down the ringer.

“Is everything ok?” I questioned.

Luna put her phone face down and huffed. “Sorry,” she apologized. “This client just rejected yet another match, saying we got it all wrong in regards to what he wanted. But I think the problem is he doesn’t know exactly what he wants.” She shrugged and shook her head. “Anyway, next question…What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?”

The questions flew by and I managed to answer them faster, and with real honesty. I didn't notice how quickly the interview went until it was already an hour later and her next appointment was being announced on her computer.

“I think today was rather fun, Anais, and it’s been such a pleasure getting to know you through these questions. Now, I would like you to follow the instructions on this card.”

She handed me a little card, similar in size to the invitation, and it had some specific instructions in it along with pretty gold flowers embossed into it.

“You’ll be able to find your ID and password in it. From our website, you’ll find a link that’ll allow you to download a phone app that will show you when you have a match and how to proceed with the next steps.”

I shook her hand and Luna walked me to the door. Outside was the same handsome man who escorted me when I came in, and he led me back to the elevator without questions, just smiling politely.

I didn’t know how she knew, but River sent me a message as soon as I was out of the building, and I laughed as I called her on my way to a bar that was located near the building.

“What did you think of Luna?” she asked.

“I think she understands me well enough not to approach this as a husband-search, and more like an interesting experience. We got along well.”

I could practically hear her smile through the call. “She can get excited and carried away at first, but I know you’re in good hands. Let me know if you need help setting up the app, I can stop by later.”

We set up a time to meet. I decided to avoid the bar completely and instead use it for an Uber pick up. My adventurous side could only take so much in one day, so home it was.

The ideas were already starting to fly.

Hmm…the female lead gets her heart broken by her ex-husband but the alimony money leaves her rich. She finds herself lonely and angry, when her friend offers up a suggestion to find someone new…an experience, now that she doesn't have a husband holding her back…

Yeah, that was starting to sound good.

The Uber pulled up and I got in with an excited bounce to my step. Once I got home, I could start exploring this new dating experience, and fill up that blank document that was haunting me.

I was ready.