The Alchemists

Alexis walked with Nicolae eastward. Their steps were slow and relaxed. There was no more awkwardness between the two.

"Thank you for bringing my children here. Did they trouble you while they stayed with you?" Aleksis asked in a curious voice

Nicolae just laughed at that question. He shook his head slowly

"Of course not. I always educate them well. They grow into wonderful children."

"Ah, I'm glad to hear that," said Alexis.

Their conversation began with a frivolous talk about Aleksis' children. Nicolae told her how Vega began to enjoy fiddling with computers like he used to.

"The girl is very talented," Nicolae praised. "Did you know what they do?"

"Did they do something dangerous?" Aleksis looked at Nicolae with a face full of questions.

"Actually, it's not it. They got on an online dating website, so they could create a fake profile for me."

"Gosh? Seriously? Why would they do that?"

Aleksis pressed her lips in surprise. He could not imagine the mischief committed by her two children. Getting on an online dating website? Gosh!

Nicolae laughed lightly. His face didn't look angry at all.

"Can't blame them. Actually, I know their intentions are good. They wanted to find me a girlfriend."

"Oh ..." Aleksis could not say anything more. She did not expect that her children were as worried about Nicolae as she was.

Inwardly, she began to feel sorry for the man. It seemed like the whole family really wanted to see him find new love soon. If the twins wanted it, she felt that Nicolae would definitely feel the pressure since he always wanted to make the children happy.

"I understand," said Aleksis. "I hope you will forgive them. The kids are still young, and they don't really understand a.d.u.l.t affairs and how a relationship works. As their mother, I would like to apologize on their behalf."

"Really, I don't mind it. Take it easy. I know their intentions are good." Nicolae just shrugged.

"Then what happened? Did you scold them? Did you delete the profile on the online dating site?" Aleksis asked again. She became curious.

"I promised them to go on three blind dates that they had arranged for me. Your son managed to blackmail me with the excuse that I didn't give him a proper birthday present."

"Ugh ... I guess Altair is good at that." Aleksis sighed.

Indeed, between her two children, Altair was the most cunning. He reminded Aleksis of herself when she was a child.

"You're right. But I don't regret the three blind dates. The first and second ones were good."

"So, the first and second blind dates were quite fun. What happened to the third? How was it? Is there a girl you like?"

"On the first blind date, there was chaos. At that time, your brother came, and he followed the twins to make a fuss in the Sky Bar."

"Oh, my God ... What did they do?"

"Actually, it's not bad. So, the first one thought I was a liar because, on the online dating profile posted by the kids, they made me a profile being a 45-year-old guy. But when I came to the lunch date, the girl thought I was a con artist or a liar. You know I look so young, right? Her friend even suspected I was a serial killer who was trying to kidnap innocent girls and ... Ah ... it was a disaster. Not too bad, but it was still a disaster."

Aleksis could not help laughing. She could already imagine a little bit of how the first blind date went. She was glad the man had a sense of humor and could see the cuteness of the various events that took place.

"Then what about the second date?" Aleksis asked again.

"The second date was fine. I warned the kids not to interfere. Everything was going well. We had lunch together and talked. But there was no chemistry between us, so there is follow up."

"Oh ... but is everything normal?" Aleksis smiled with satisfaction when she saw Nicolae nod. "I'm glad you started having fun and meeting new people."

That's when Nicolae stopped. He looked at Aleksis and shook his head with a worried face.

"Uhm ... don't jump to conclusions too soon." His expression changed to looking complicated, and he suddenly shuddered. "You haven't heard about the third one."

"Gosh ... I hope it's not too bad." Aleksis looked at Nicolae and waited for the story. "What happened on the third date?"

"Bad." Nicolae pointed to a fallen tree trunk and pulled Aleksis's hand to sit there. "Just thinking it makes me tired. Let's sit down."

After the two of them sat on the fallen tree, Nicolae began recounting the story of his third blind date that took place unexpectedly.

***

A WEEK AGO

.

Nicolae got out of the car calmly. After experiencing the first two blind dates arranged by his children, he felt that he was getting used to it.

He prepared several topics to talk about during the date. Once they were done, Nicolae only needed to pay for their food after lunch ended, then go home.

Voila! That should be easy!

Okay, the first blind date was quite chaotic, but there was an improvement on the second date. The third one was supposed to be OK. Right? People say the third time is the charm. It should work this time.

Gosh ... he hadn't dated a stranger in a long time.

While he was traveling around the world, when he tried to forget about Aleksis, he met many women here and there. He wouldn't even call it a date at all. For example, he would just happen to meet fellow travelers in the middle of a remote village, then explored the area together, after which they split up and never to meet again.

Some of the women clearly showed that they were interested in him, but Nicolae absolutely did not want to open up to any women. All fellow travelers, both men and women, were treated the same. He still wasn't interested in dating anyone now.

He only needed to go on this third and last blind date and never let his children blackmail him into another one!