Who: Andrew Jiang and Nana Kimigawa. What: Meeting. When: January 21, dinner time. Where: Nana's apartment. Rating: PG. Status: Log-complete.
Andrew had never guessed how nervous he was going to be until his name was chosen. And it only got worse when the time came to go and talk to her. He tried to push the nerves down, but he couldn’t quell the thoughts of how crazy it was that he now had someone who unless something happened, he’d be married to – and together with possibly for the rest of his life. He sighed and checked his appearance in the mirror before exiting his car. It’s not like he would have had to have gone far, since they lived in the same apartment complex. But he wanted to make a good impression, so before heading over to see her, he’d gone out and got something for her. He was a bit of a romantic, and liked buying gifts for his girlfriends in the past. As strange as this situation felt, it seemed like a good choice to do something nice.
Making his way to the apartment number Nana had given him, Andrew took a deep breath before knocking. She should be expecting him around this time. He wouldn’t have come over without letting her know when first. So, she likely hadn’t gone out for anything. Unless she just really didn’t want to meet him. Andrew stopped that thought. He had only heard nice things about her. Andrew looked down at the single blue chrysanthemum in his hand. He thought a bouquet would be too flashy and silly. But this showed thought and he though it was really pretty. Andrew just hoped she liked flowers. He took a deep breath, pushing back all the nerves as best he could and waited for an answer.
Nana had tried her best to cheer herself up, and even decided to cook dinner for the two of them. She'd been dreading being picked for her own reasons, but it was even worse now that it meant she couldn't be with Gil any longer. But there wasn't anything she could do, was there? The decision was made, and that was that. She checked herself in the mirror, gently smoothing down her skirt, before she went to answer the door.
"Hi," she said, trying to sound as cheerful as she could, but she probably came off as shy. "Please come in." She stepped aside to let him in, avoiding his gaze as a blush began to bloom on her cheeks. Darn it! Why was she so shy? How were they going to be married if she couldn't even look at him?
Andrew smiled when she opened the door. She was definitely a pretty girl. “Hi,” he replied as he stepped into the apartment. He noticed her blush and smiled a little. She was cute. She seemed a little shy, but that wasn’t a bad thing really. He’d just have to try and help her warm up to him.
“Um, this is for you,” he said, holding out the blue chrysanthemum. He’d been careful not to let it get damaged in any way on the way over. “Something smells good,” he commented with a smile after smelling food. Andrew looked around the apartment. The layout was pretty similar to his own, but the decorations were different.
Nana was surprised by the gift, and took it gingerly. "Thank you," she said, incredulous. But he'd never even met her before! Of course, he was going to be her husband, but still... She smiled, then replaced a very wilted sunflower on top of the entertainment center with the chrysanthemum. After a moment's hesitation, she threw the sunflower away and turned to him. "I started dinner. It's been kind of a long day, and I th-thought maybe you might be hungry as well."
“You’re welcome,” Andrew said as he watched her place the flower up. He briefly wondered about the sunflower, but he didn’t think too much on it. Just because she had another flower didn’t necessarily mean anything.
“Oh, that’s really sweet of you,” Andrew said with a genuine smile. He was starting to feel a bit more comfortable with her. He could tell she was definitely nice. She was obviously a little shy, but he didn’t think that meant anything bad. “I am pretty hungry. What did you make?” He wasn’t really sure what else to say. Bringing up marriage with someone he hardly knew at all just seemed a little strange.
"It's enchiladas. THey're kind of my specialty," she said, then covered her mouth. "Um, I hope you like them? I didn't even think..." What if he didn't like mexican food?! What if he was allergic to onions or something? No, this was all a dumb idea. "I can make something else...!"
Andrew was about to say that sounded good when Nana started to doubt herself and she was practically apologizing for making the food. With slightly wide eyes he tried to quickly think of what to say.
“I love them,” He said after her last statement. He smiled and shifted his feet. “It sounds great. I haven’t had Mexican in a while. It’s perfect.”
Nana smiled, then moved into the kitchen to check on them. "Can I get you something to drink?" He seemed nice so far. "You can have a seat if you want."
Andrew looked after her a moment before slowly following. The kitchen definitely wasn’t a place that scared him away. He’d probably feel more comfortable in a new kitchen than any other room. “A drink sounds good. What do you have?” He asked as he walked into the kitchen. He looked around it, at the different things she had out. The food did smell really good. He could see why it was her specialty. He’d have to remember to make her something next time.
"Dr Pepper," Nana said, peering into the fridge. She had no idea that she'd spoken to him before on the internet. "Iced tea, water, milk, and orange juice." She stood up. "I can make coffee, as well, or hot tea."
“Dr Pepper sounds good,” he said leaning against the counter. He knew soda was bad for you, but it tasted good to him, and that’s all Andrew could really ask for. “So, it’s nice to meet you by the way.” He smiled. They hadn’t really even introduced themselves yet.
Nana smiled and handed him a chilly can. "It's nice to meet you as well," she said, turning to peek at the the thermometer on the outside of the oven. "Maybe twenty more minutes," she said, turning to him.
“Thanks,” Andrew said taking the can from her. He opened it and took a small drink. Andrew stood not too far away from Nana, but not too close in case she was uncomfortable around him. He didn’t want to seem like a creep who was moving in or her or anything. That definitely wasn’t in his immediate thoughts.
“So, were you for or against the marriage lottery?” Andrew asked out of curiosity. He knew a lot of people who didn’t agree with it. He wasn’t sure himself. He could see how it was beneficial, but at the same time it was a little invasive of people’s free will.
Nana blushed, then tucked her chin in. Maybe that wasn't something she should be saying her true feelings about in front of her future husband - A husband she was going to have thanks to the lottery. "I don't... I don't think it's right." She had a can of soda herself, and ran her finger around the rim. "But what can we do?"
Andrew nodded. That was a popular opinion. He would be lying if he hadn’t considered that the marriage lottery could be a good thing for him before. After having girls break up with him in the past, he thought it would be a way to find someone permanently. Someone who wasn’t going to leave him because they didn’t want commitment, or because they liked someone else. But now that he was in the situation himself he could see it wasn’t honey and flowers. There could be any kind of problems that arise from sticking two random people together against their will. Thankfully Nana seemed like a good option so far. She was pretty much his type, although he thought she might be a little shyer than any of the girls he’d dated in the past. Still, that didn’t mean things would go well. He had no idea what she liked in a guy, and even if they seemed compatible they might get along horribly. He would just have to be patient and see.
“I guess that’s true. We can’t really do anything. They only grant divorces or redraws under special circumstances.” Andrew could kind of tell she was unhappy about it, but he didn’t want to jump to the conclusion that she was unhappy she’d gotten him. A lot of people were just unhappy about the lottery. “I can’t believe we have to get married so soon. There’s a million things I wanted to do for my wedding, but these are so rushed I guess that I can’t plan anything too ridiculous. Oh! What kind of cake is your favorite?”
Nana nodded as well. So she was stuck with him, and things with Gil were completely and utterly dead and would never be coming back. No... That wasn't fair, she wasn't 'stuck' with him. He seemed nice enough. It just wasn't meant to be with Gil. Things happened for a reason... Right? She looked up and smiled. "My mom might insist on at least a small party," she said. Honestly, she'd always dreamed of a ren faire wedding, but that was silly, huh? Not the sort of thing she thought it was a good idea to share just yet. "Cake?" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I like marble... But chocolate and white, not chocolate and yellow."
Andrew smiled at Nana’s response. “That’s a great choice.” He liked when someone knew what they liked. Sure, he thought it was good to be able to enjoy many different things, but cakes were important. You had to know exactly what kind you wanted. They were specific for not only occasions, but also moods and personalities. Although, most people wouldn’t get quite that hyped up about desserts.
“Well, we’ll have to do something. It wouldn’t feel real without some kind of wedding. If you want to have more time to plan, we could put off the ceremony and just do the legal stuff right away.” Andrew closed his mouth. Not only was he saying those things because he wanted a nice wedding and hoped she did too, but he also thought she might not be comfortable talking about things like that so soon. “Sorry. This is so strange. I don’t really know how to talk about it or what to say.” He laughed at the weirdness of the situation. “Just let me know if I say or do something stupid.” He had no idea how she felt about this. She might want to keep her distance and just have the marriage to fulfill legal requirements. Even though that was the last kind of person Andrew had wanted to get paired with, he couldn’t just assume she felt similarly to him. They’d have plenty of time to work things out and see how things went.
"Ah... Sure. That sounds fine to me." She nodded, trying to smile as best she could. She'd have to grow to like him enough, and she felt awful for not feeling as eager about this as he seemed to. "That's okay," she said. "It's okay. Really."
Andrew suddenly felt a little more uncomfortable. He was starting to think she definitely wasn’t thrilled about the arrangement. He wanted to make the best out of things, but he wasn’t even sure how to do that himself. He didn’t know at all how to make things easier for her. Andrew shook his head. “No, I’m just silly. I just always wanted a nice wedding. Although I admit it would be great to marry for love instead of patriotic duty. I guess I never really thought this through. Whatever you want is fine.” He moved from his spot by the counter and looked at the stove.
“How close do you think they are? I wasn’t really looking at the time,” he said with a small laugh. Andrew suddenly felt that maybe changing the subject would be a good idea. Maybe he should just try and get to know her now. Leave out the other things until a later point.
Nana felt even more guilty, and she chewed her lip nervously. "No... I-I don't mind. We can do whatever." She looked at the oven and then shut the heat off before grabbing a hot pad and pulling them out. Well, at least they smelled good. This whole night seemed to be taking a bad turn, and she set them on the counter. "They'll be ready to eat once they sit a bit." She set the hot pad aside, then stopped and looked down. ...Poor Andrew. He really deserved better than all of this. He was a nice guy, wasn't he?
"You know," she said, searching for a way to show him that she was okay with talking about it. "...I always wanted a nice wedding, too. But I wanted a ren wedding." She looked at him and blushed. "Pretty silly, huh?"
As the food came out of the oven, Andrew looked at it. They looked and smelled really good. At least now that there was food, they could do something other than talk somewhat awkwardly. “That looks great.” Andrew took a drink of the Dr. Pepper he had in his hand. He’d forgotten it for a moment. He needed to wet his mouth though. It was feeling a little dry from nerves. He’d never been this nervous and awkward around a girl, but he’d never been in this situation either.
He grinned at what she said. “A ren wedding” he repeated as the thought of it went through his head. “I don’t think it’s silly. I think it would be pretty romantic, and you’d make a really pretty bride in one of those ladies’ dresses. And maybe have it at a castle or at least with kind of an old time, natural feel to it.” Realizing he was talking like an idiot again, Andrew grinned sheepishly and scratched his head. It wasn’t any wonder he’d been dumped so many times. At least that was how he felt at the moment.
He didn't think it was weird? Nana smiled, then got two plates down to serve supper on. "Thank you... Yeah, I always thought of having it at a place like that, or by a lake." She was blushing by now. "But my mom would never go for it. She's very traditional about that kind of thing." She set his place at the table, then placed the food on his plate carefully. "Hopefully it tastes all right.
“Thanks,” Andrew said as she placed the food on his plate. He sat and looked at it gratefully. “It looks great.” After a moment, Andrew continued speaking. “Well, you should be the one who decides what your wedding should be like. I know how mothers can be though.” He laughed at the thought of his own mother. There had been times when she was absolutely against things he wanted. It was difficult to say no to her as well. She always had a way of getting what she wanted from people. He didn’t know if Nana’s mother was the same, but he figured all mothers were like that at least a little.
“This is really good,” Andrew said after eating his first bite of the enchilada. “Where’d you learn to make Mexican food this good?” Food was always something Andrew was good at talking about.
Nana sat down across from him. Yeah... Her mother always did seem to get what she wanted, and part of that was because Nana was not at all interested in upsetting her. She was very close to both of her parents, and so took all of their desires to heart, even when they probably shouldn't have had a say in something particular. She took a small bite of her food, and then smiled. "I learned how to cook from my mother for the most part, but my Dad really taught me how to cook Mexican food." She shrugged. "It's funny, because they're both Japanese. Second generation Americans, too, but still..."
Andrew smiled and nodded. “Yeah. That’s really cool though. I’m a first generation American. My parents still like to talk their ‘native’ language at home sometimes. I’m more of an English guy myself. Besides, there aren’t many people around here who can speak the Taiwanese dialect.” He grinned. “I learned a lot from my mother too. I’d always cook with her for the holidays. While she made the main course, I’d make the desserts. If it weren’t for that I might have never become a chef. I don’t know what else I’d be able to do though,” he added with a small laugh.
So he was Taiwanese, huh? She'd wondered, but now she knew. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of a little boy baking cakes with his mother. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have children of her own. She stook a small sip of her soda, then set it down and smiled at him across the table. "Is that what you do for a living?"
Andrew nodded as he finished chewing a bite of the enchilada. After swallowing he said, “Yeah. I work over at Hearth of Sweets. It’s a bakery in the city. I’m just an assistant chef right now, but one day I want to have a shop of my own, either a bakery or maybe a specialty shop. Cake’s are my favorite things to make, so I’ve been thinking either a wedding cake bakery or just a cake one.” Andrew wondered what Nana would think of all that. He’d had people tell him in the past that wanting to make cakes for a living was kind of fruity and feminine. Of course, Andrew didn’t listen. He was pretty comfortable in himself, but if Nana was going to be his wife – it would definitely be important how she saw him. Some girls wanted really manly men, with manly jobs – and he definitely wasn’t one of those.
Taking another bite of the food, Andrew looked at the girl across from him. It might take them a while to really warm up to each other, but she seemed like a good person. He didn’t think that there would be too many problems, unless she hated him anyway. He smiled politely when their eyes met. He would definitely try to make her like him. And maybe some day they’d actually love each other. That would be nice to have in a marriage after all.