Reflexivity [Ollie & Francesca]
Ollie, as a general rule, was prepared for everything. He wasn't necessarily expecting the situations he ended up in on a daily basis, but he could usually handle them pretty well because he entered each day with an open mind, armed with the knowledge that anything could happen.
He was not prepared for this.
He should have been. All signs pointed to the likelihood of it happening; in fact, it was a statistically likely that something like this would occur.
He had told himself that he didn't care about a thousand times. He had moved through his daily routine numbly, dull to the life that roared through Chicago's veins. He had been able to convince himself that he felt nothing, that he was fine, that he didn't care whether or not she had survived the fiasco of recent weeks.
And then she showed her face.
He had entered Le Jardin that day with low expectations. It was a business meeting, one of many, and he intended to dine, seal the deal, and leave. It had happened before and it would happen again. The kind of mindless repetition that his life had become--or had it been that way always?--was expected at this point, and he was, therefore, prepared for it.
He really should have expected her to be there, when considering the bigger picture. Considering all the times she hadn't been in the Stingray, all the times he hadn't seen her on the street or at Elliot's or even in the damn department store, he was bound to run into her eventually. It was foolish of him not to be prepared for it.
Francesca Lombardi entered the French restaurant that night and the world ceased to spin.
He could feel it holding its breath around him, feel it in the way the waiters grew more cautious and the guests more tactful in their speeches. Francesca's heel crossed the threshold and her presence seeped into every crevice, invaded every pore of the space around her; Francesca sat down at a table and the restaurant bowed to serve her.
He would not bow.
There was no sign of the despondent woman he had faced some months ago. She was confident; she was radiant; she was magnetic. He felt her presence acutely, felt his eyes drawn to her even as he tried his best to look away, and he would not bow.
It seemed that this meeting would be more exciting than he'd first thought.