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"I sort of drowned in his eyes, as in a staring contest that seemed to go on forever. My heart went crazy."

Nina Crawford never expected the Brussels trip to upend her world but a chance meeting changed everything, including her carefully guarded secrets.

She looked to the back of the brasserie and saw the American quickly glancing away. She had felt his eyes on her the whole time. Uncomfortable with so much attention, she chose one of her favourite contacts. Almost immediately she heard: ‘Hey, little sis. How’s it going? Are you there yet?’
The sound of Alice’s gentle voice caused a landslide of emotion. What the hell? Why was she so upset? She nearly ran outside and breathed, ‘There is this guy.’

A shocked intake of breath on the other side. Two seconds of silence. Then, ‘Tell me.’

‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ She almost tripped over her words. ‘I arrived here, found a work area in the back, and there he was. We… This is so ridiculous.’

‘Don’t analyse, Nin. Tell me what happened.’ 

She drew a deep breath. 

‘I sort of drowned in his eyes, as in a staring contest that seemed to go on forever. I think I stood there for hours, the waiter looking on and finding it terribly amusing. My heart went crazy, I was hot and cold at the same time, and all I could say was, “Do I know you?” So stupid. But he looks so utterly familiar, it’s as if I’ve known him all my life. And those blue eyes! But I can’t know him, I just can’t. And then I thought, he’s going to say, “I would have remembered that”, because that’s what they all say, but he didn’t. He said, “This is my first visit to Europe, so I doubt it, unless we met in the US.” Because he is an American, and there is no way I could ever have met him.’

‘And you remembered this whole exchange.’

‘Yes, I know. It’s dreadful.’

‘And where is he now, and where are you?’

‘I just had my first interview, which went very well, and I simply had to call you, so I went outside. Just needed to hear your voice. As soon as the interview was over, I saw his eyes following me again, and I ran. I’m babbling. Sorry.’

‘Yes, you are, and don’t be sorry. I’m glad you called. How does all of this feel?’

‘Upsetting! It drives me crazy! My whole body feels like a total mess, I’m a total mess, and he can’t be trusted because he didn’t even give me his real name.’

‘Well, neither did you, because you can’t.’

‘Right, and I can’t believe how we played around, inventing names for each other. We had fun, we laughed, and those eyes…’ 

‘Nin. Listen to me. You know what this sounds like, don’t you?’

‘Sure I do, like total madness. I’m a fool. I need to find another café to work from. I can’t stay here.’

Alice didn’t respond. Nina looked at her phone to check that the call was still active.

‘Alice?’

‘Try again, darling.’

‘Huh? Try what again?’ 

‘What it sounds like.’

‘What? I have no idea what you mean. This isn’t helping, Alice.’

She heard the sound of someone knocking, and of someone entering Alice’s office.

‘Sorry Nin, I have to go. I have a meeting. Call me back tonight. If you haven’t worked it out by then, I will spell it out for you.’ 

With a frustrated growl, she ended the call and looked out over the historic square. Some of the façades were beautifully decorated with gold trim and carvings. The whole square seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. Calling Alice hadn’t helped at all. Rather the opposite. What was she to do? Find another café to work from? That would be totally weak and sad, wouldn’t it? Besides, her interviewees were all coming here. She sighed. Well, she was twenty-eight, as Alice would probably point out. Old enough to deal with whatever kind of mess this was.