An Unwanted Call

After the wonder of his tour through Silverwood, Leo returned to his living bower in the Sanctum and slept more deeply than ever before. The magical home seemed to leech the exhaustion from his bones and fill him with a serene, centered energy.

He woke with a clear plan. His personal projects—the noodle stand and the fairy rescue mission—had to be put on hold. The arrival of the "father-in-law" had underscored a serious gap in his understanding. He couldn't keep operating in these new worlds blindly. Today, he would return to the Plaza of Wonders, not as a vendor, but as a scout. He'd hire a couple of sell-swords from a local tavern—not for a fight, but as guides. Bodyguards to watch his back while he explored the city, learned its customs, and maybe found that magic tutor he desperately needed. His ability to vanish back to his bathroom was his ultimate trump card, but a little on-the-ground security couldn't hurt.

As he was getting ready in his Earth-side house, grabbing a backpack for his scouting trip, his phone rang. It was his dad.

"Morning, son," Frank's voice was chipper. "Listen, you remember that girl, Jessica? From the blind date?"

Leo groaned internally. "Vaguely. Why?"

"Well, she showed up at my house last night, asking for you. Said she felt terrible about how things went, that she'd been trying to find you," Frank explained. "She seemed really sincere, Leo. So... well, I gave her your number. Said you were doing great with the business. She should be calling you soon."

Before Leo could protest this well-meaning but unwelcome meddling, his dad hung up. Leo stared at his phone as if it were a venomous snake. Ugh, what does she want?

As if on cue, his phone rang again. An unknown number. He sighed and answered it.

"Leo? Hi! It's Jessica!" Her voice was completely different from their disastrous date. The cool, interrogative tone was gone, replaced by a bright, almost syrupy cheerfulness.

Wow, Leo thought, what a change of attitude.

"I'm so glad your dad gave me your number," she continued, her words tumbling out in a practiced rush. "I have been feeling just awful about our dinner. It was completely rude of me to walk out like that, I shouldn't have left without paying my half. I wasn't having a good day, and I took it out on you, which was not fair. I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner, my treat, to make up for it."

Leo listened to the carefully rehearsed apology, and felt... nothing. No anger, no satisfaction. Just a vague sense of annoyance. The memory of the date was clear in his mind. She hadn't left without paying—he'd paid for the whole meal, and a good one at that. She had treated him like a specimen under a microscope, judged him, found him wanting, and dismissed him.

"Listen, Jessica," he cut in, his voice polite but firm. He didn't have time for this. "I'm a very busy man right now."

"Oh, I know! Your dad told me your 'beverage company' is really taking off, that's amazing!" she said, a little too brightly. The news of his success was clearly the motivation for this sudden change of heart.

"I appreciate the offer," Leo continued, deciding to be direct. "But to be honest, I didn't enjoy our first meeting at all. You spent the entire time interviewing me like I was a suspect in a police line-up. So, I don't really think this will work out."

Her cheerful facade cracked. "Well, you have to understand my perspective!" she said, a hint of her old, defensive tone creeping back in. "I'm trying to build a life, find a partner with ambition. You showed up telling me you were unemployed and starting a 'magic water' company with no website or—"

"You didn't even listen," Leo interrupted, his patience finally wearing thin. He was no longer the broke, insecure kid she had interrogated. He was the CEO of a multi-dimensional enterprise, a friend to ancient elves, and the proud owner of a personal troop of magic fairies. He didn't need her validation. "You made a judgment in five minutes based on a set of criteria that doesn't matter to me."

"Okay, look, I'm busy. Bye," he said, not waiting for her reply.

"Wai—"

He hung up the phone, ending the call mid-protest. He felt a brief flash of satisfaction, but mostly, he just felt relief. He had closed a door to his old life, a life where he had to justify his worth to people like her.

He had other doors to open. More important ones. Shaking his head, he grabbed his backpack and headed for his master bathroom, the portal to a world of infinitely more interesting problems.