and the lowest of lows. This was just a prerequisite of being Colin’s best friend.
The waiter, a sweaty teenager in a soccer T-shirt who didn’t look old enough to pass child labor laws, approached the table to take Nick’s order.
“I’ll have the beef curry pie, please. And a Coke, extra ice.”
Colin finally broke his silence. “As always, beef curry pie and Coke, extra ice. You never change, do you?”
“What can I tell you? I know what I like,” Nick said simply.
“Even though you always like the exact same thing, you can always change your mind whenever you wish. That’s the difference between us—you still have choices.”
“Come on, that’s not true. You can choose.”
“Nicky, I haven’t been in the position to make a single choice since I was born, and you know that,” Colin said matter-of-factly. “It’s a good thing I actually want to marry Araminta. I just don’t know how I’ll make it through the Broadway production, that’s all. I have this perverse fantasy of kidnapping her, jumping on a plane, and marrying her at some little twenty-four-hour chapel in the middle of nowhere Nevada.”
“So why not do it? The wedding isn’t until next week, but if you’re already this miserable, why not call it off?”
“You know this merger has been choreographed down to the most minute detail, and this is how it’s going to be. It’s good for business, and anything that’s good for business is good for the family,” Colin said bitterly. “Anyway, I don’t want to dwell on the inevitable anymore. Let’s talk about last night. How was I? Sufficiently cheery for Rachel, I hope?”
“Rachel loved you. It was a nice surprise to be welcomed like that, but you know, you don’t ever have to put on a show for her.”
“I don’t? What have you told her about me?” Colin asked warily.
“I haven’t told her anything, besides the fact that you once had an unhealthy obsession with Kristin Scott Thomas.”
Colin laughed. Nick was relieved—it was a sign that the clouds were dissipating.
“You didn’t tell her about how I tried to stalk Kristin in Paris, did you?” Colin continued.
“Er, no. I wasn’t going to give her any more opportunities to back out of this trip by giving her full insight into my weird friends.”
“Speaking of weird, could you believe how nice Araminta was being to Rachel?”
“I think you’re underestimating Araminta’s ability to be nice.”
“Well, you know how she normally is with new people. But I think she wants to keep you on her side. And she could see that I liked Rachel instantly.”
“I’m so glad.” Nick smiled.
“To be quite honest, I thought I might be slightly jealous of her at first, but I think she’s great. She’s not clingy, and she’s so refreshingly … American. You do realize that everyone is talking about you and Rachel, right? Everyone is already taking bets on the wedding date.”
Nick sighed. “Colin, I’m not thinking about my wedding right now. I’m thinking about yours. I’m just trying to live in the here and now.”
“So speaking of the here and now, when are you going to introduce Rachel to your grandmother?”
“I was thinking tonight. That’s why I went to see my grandmother—to get Rachel invited to dinner.”
“I’ll say a little prayer,” Colin quipped as he finished his last chicken wing. He knew how momentous it was for Nick’s famously reclusive grandmother to invite a virtual stranger into her house. “You do realize that everything’s going to change the minute you take Rachel into that house, don’t you?”
“Funny, Astrid said the same thing. You know, Rachel is not expecting anything—she’s never put any pressure on me when it comes to marriage. In fact, we’ve never even discussed it.”
“No, no, that’s not what I mean.” Colin tried to clarify. “It’s just that the two of you have been living this idyllic fantasy, this simple ‘young lovers in Greenwich Village’ life. Up until now, you’ve been the guy struggling to get tenure. Don’t you think she’s in for quite a shock tonight?”
“What do you mean? I am struggling to get tenure, and I don’t see how Rachel meeting my grandmother will change things.”
“Come on, Nicky, don’t be naïve. The minute she walks into that house, it will affect your relationship. I’m not saying that things are going to be bad, necessarily, but an innocence will be lost. You won’t be able to go back to the way it was before, that’s for sure. No matter what, you’ll forever be transformed in her eyes, just like all