Jewel and Jackson

The Blind Date

Brown eyes, black wavy hair, fair skin, a sharp jawline, lean and muscular physique........looks like he works out! Jewel checked out her blind date the moment he walked in. It was the fifth guy she was meeting in a month and she was already sick of it. She had decided to say a 'yes' if he looked decent. Her age was making her parents panic.

Unlike the other guys, this one was on time. He was wearing a white shirt with a navy-blue colored jacket and formal pants. Head to toe this guy looked like he came straight out of a magazine's business page.

Compared to him, she looked average. Dressed in blue jeans, black full sleeve boat neck kurti and paired them with silver Chandbali earrings. She didn't like wearing necklace and her collar bone was very prominent. Her chocolate-brown colored hair was tied into a ponytail that reached up until her shoulder.

"I hope I am not late" The guy said as he sat in front of her.
"No. You are actually on time. I am Jewel. Nice to meet you" Jewel replied with a faint smile though she was pretty surprised that this guy recognized her in one glance. They had never met each other except for the photos their parents showed them. But photos can be deceiving because Jewel was chubbier and fairer in her 2 year old photo.

"I am Jackson Lizzy Martin."
He extended his left hand for a handshake. It was sweaty.

"Oh! I am sorry" He wiped it with a tissue.
" Shall we order? "
Jewel was eyeing the menu card.

" Please " Jackson handed her the menu.

She ordered a burger and milkshake while he ordered a coffee. That too black with an extra shot.

It was awkward but they slowly started the conversation.
"My mother said you are a doctor. May I ask what kind of doctor you are? Like what is your specialization?"

Damn! He just tapped her insecurity.

"I am a pathologist."
She replied.
"What do you treat?" Jackson took a sip of his coffee.
'"I don't treat. I analyze specimens and diagnose. Its a non-clinical job"
"Hmm.." He nodded.

What was that Hmm?
" Are you disappointed that I am not a surgeon like my brother and father? " Jewel wasn't surprised. Her great-grandfather was the first surgeon of the town. His descendants followed that tradition except Jewel, who barely survived medical school and couldn't get a great rank in the medical post graduate's entrance exam and decided to just go for whatever she was eligible. She didn't choose pathology out of passion but frustration. She was sick of wasting her precious years of her 20s just to keep up with her sibling and cousins. Jewel was never the best in anything she did.

"What? Why would I think anything like that! I think your job is very cool Ms. Jewel. I just didn't know better. In fact, I don't have much idea about anything you doctors do. I am never smart enough."

"Please, as if I knew anything about computers. A CEO is cooler!" Jewel honestly knew nothing about technology and this guy was really an achiever. Topped the school board exams in whole country and was featured in all of Iris Vallis's major newspapers.

Iris Vallis was a small but cozy town. Air smelled clean, sunshine seeping in the mornings, Lilies and iris flowers lighting up the town in blue and white, warm summer , serene spring and a cooler winter. You will find everything you need there. Classy restaurants to humble tea stalls, designer boutiques to knock-off shops..... This town took care of both rich and poor wallets. They had everything they need yet big towns were fancied.

So when a guy from the Iris Vallis public school tops the national school board exams, wins multiple coding contests, attends country's best engineering college , creates a popular antivirus app and starts making great fortune, he was bound to bag fame.