To Infinity and Beyond

It's complicated

Mark's POV
Britney's dinner party

If I say I wasn't nervous about meeting Alice tonight, it would be the lie of the century. Like every beautiful dream, our date ended too, leaving me yearning for more, and getting mercilessly jolted to the harsh realities of life.

To the least, I owed her some answers. I had no idea what to expect when I would meet her again tonight.

Will she be upset? Will she be cordial? Or worse, will she be indifferent? Why was I so anxious to face her? Why did I feel a sense of obligation and guilt, when we just went on one random date?

I engaged myself in back to back meetings all through the day to keep my mind off things. I was running on a tight schedule and thus requested Tracy to drop Mia to Britney's address, as despite being asked by Jake to cancel the late evening conference, I decided to take it nevertheless.

The moment I entered Britney's apartment, I was warmly greeted by all my friends, including Jake and Emma, who I saw after months.

"Hey, Mark," Emma exclaimed in her soft voice, as she gave me one of her most loving smiles and stepped forward to meet me with a hug.

"Hey, Emma! So good to see you." I responded before returning her embrace. Her eyes were twinkling in excitement, and looking at her solemn expressions, I could see how settled she was.

I felt happy for her and Jake, they looked like the ideal couple who were madly in love with each other. A feeling that I had always wished to embrace, but destiny not quite deemed me fit to own.

After meeting the both of them, my eyes wandered off to the other end of the room, silently scanning the space to find that pretty face who had provoked every sane instinct in my mind all through the day.

Soon enough, I saw her.

Alice, she was sitting in the far corner. When my eyes fell on her, she nervously tucked a lose strand of her hair behind her ear. She looked hesitant, yet so stunning at the same time.
A while later, I saw she met my gaze too. There were a lot of unaddressed emotions, but we both didn't dare to approach each other.
She stared at me, anxiously. I could feel her dilemma; her head seemed to be as clouded as mine.

In the next minute, I was taken out of my trance, as Mia squealed in joy and jumped in my arms.

"Dad, you are here. You know, Uncle Max bought me a dollhouse."

"Hey, Bunny. That's great. I hope you thanked him properly." I responded.

"Yes, I did dada." She chimed.

"Hey, you two, come I want you both to meet someone." Britney barged in and insisted as she led the way and gestured us to follow her.
With Mia still in my arms, I reluctantly walked with her, knowing exactly who she would want us to meet.

My heart was racing, and I hadn't felt this tensed in the longest time.

"Alice! I would like you to meet Mr Workaholic here. I am not sure if you remember him. This is Mark, and this little angel in his arms is his daughter Mia. And guys this is my cousin, Alice."

"Hi, Alice. Nice to meet you." I stuttered as I advanced my hand for a shake.

"Hi, Mark. Nice to meet you too."

"But Aunty Britney, I have already met Aunt Alice," Mia added.

"You have?" Both Britney and I asked in unison.