Jennifer has been on five dates with Reggie over the last two months, and they've slept with each other three times. She has tried to escalate things a bit. She asked him to come to a family thing once and he declined, so she's going to surprise him with one. She's telling him it's a small gathering but she knows her whole family will be there and she hides that.
Jennifer texts Reggie.
Jennifer (texting)
Hey
Reggie (texting)
Hey
Jennifer (texting)
Reggie, some friends of mine are having a small dinner. Will you come with me? You'd like them, I promise.
Reggie (texting)
You know I hate those things. Can't we just go to dinner and a show?
Jennifer (texting)
Please, Reggie? I really want to go and there's nobody I'd rather go with. We don't have to stay long.
Reggie (texting)
How many people?
Jennifer (texting)
I don't know. Just a few friends. Please, Reggie?
Reggie (texting)
When?
Jennifer (texting)
Saturday night. 6 pm. Dinner is at 6:30 pm. I can text you the address and meet you there or drive with you. And I promise to make it worth your while after.
Reggie (texting)
Fine. I'll pick you up at 5 pm at your place. Jenny, I'll be good but I hate these things. Please don't make it a habit.
Jennifer (texting)
I won't, I promise. See you Saturday! And thank you.
Saturday, 6 pm. Reggie pulls up to Jennifer's family home — which is considerably larger than anything a 'few friends' dinner requires — and the driveway already holds four cars. Through the front window, visible even from the street, the silhouette of a gathering that is clearly not a small one.
David
He's the first one to spot headlights in the driveway from his chair in the living room, and he sets his drink down and stands.That'll be him.He says it to the room, and moves toward the front hall.
Susan
Everyone just — be normal.
Lauren
He drives a Miata. A six-year-old one, I think. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't a Miata. It's very sexy though. He is, too, actually.
Michael
Lauren.
Rachel
Okay, Maddie, remember what we talked about. We're just having dinner with a friend of Auntie Jen's. Don't ask him why he's brown.
Jennifer
I open the door and walk in. Reggie raises his eyebrows at that.Hi everyone!!! We're here!!!
Reggie
Wait, do you live here?
Jennifer
It's my parents' place.
Reggie
What?! You told me it was some friends.
Jennifer
My parents are my best friends. Come on in. Everyone wants to meet you.
The front hall is suddenly very full. David has made it to the door, Susan has drifted in from the kitchen, Lauren is half-standing in the living room doorway, and through the archway the full shape of the gathering is unmistakable — more than a few friends, more than a small dinner, and Reggie is standing on the threshold doing the arithmetic in real time.
David
He extends his hand before the moment can get any more awkward, steady and warm.David. Good to meet you, Reggie. Come on in — don't let Jennifer's math discourage you.
Susan
She's right behind David.We've heard a lot about you. Can I get you something to drink before you've even taken your coat off? The answer is yes, I'm getting you something.
Lauren
For what it's worth, the Miata's a good call. Very sensible parking.
Madison
Are you Jennifer's boyfriend?
Jennifer
I introduce everyone and everyone learns each other's name.We're working on that, Mads.
Reggie
We're...we're not working on anything...Jenny told me we were meeting a few of her friends. I'm so sorry to impose on your family gathering this way. I would never have...I mean...this can't be comfortable for you. I'm really very sorry.Thinks seriously about turning around and walking out and they all see that.
David
He's already reading the situation — the stiffness in Reggie's shoulders, the precise way he said the word impose.You're not imposing on anything. You're at a dinner table. The only imposition would be if you turned around and left, because then we'd have too much food.He says it matter-of-factly and steps back to make room in the hall.Come in.
Susan
Jennifer's logistics aside, you're here now and the lasagna doesn't care how you arrived. White or red, I didn't know which you'd want so I guessed. You can tell me I guessed wrong.
Lauren
For what it's worth, Jennifer's definition of 'a few friends' has always been elastic. You're not the first person she's surprised. You're handling it better than most. The bar is low but still.
Madison
Are you going to stay for dinner? We're having lasagna. Grandma makes the noodles herself.She says it like this is the information most likely to resolve the situation.
Michael
He steps into the hall from the living room, hands in his pockets.Reggie. Seriously. If you want to walk out that door, nobody here is going to hold it against you. Jen set this up and that's on her, not you. You don't owe us anything.
Lauren
She turns from the doorway to look at Michael with an expression that is genuinely scandalized.Michael, we literally have lasagna on the table. You can't just — tell him to leave.
David
What Michael means is you have a choice. What I mean is that choice is yours, and there's a seat and a plate waiting if you make the other one. Jennifer's approach was her own call. We didn't know about the small-dinner version of events.
Susan
I would genuinely like you to stay. That's not politeness, that's me telling you the truth. But Michael's also not wrong and nobody's going to make you do anything you don't want to do.
Madison
If you go, can you come back a different day? Because Grandma can make more noodles.
Reggie
Uh...look you're all very kind...but why in the world would you want me here? I'm nobody...I mean...Jenny and I just went out on a few dates...I have no idea why she wanted me to meet you so early on...and this is so...
Jennifer
She steps in before anyone else can, turning to face Reggie fully, that smile of hers doing its full work — bright, unapologetic, completely unguarded.I knew you'd say no if I told you the truth.She says it simply, like that settles it.That's why I didn't. I've been wanting you to meet them for weeks and you would have come up with ten reasons not to come, so I removed the option. I know that's not — I know it wasn't fair. But I'm not sorry I got you here. I'm only sorry it landed like this.
Susan
You're not nobody, and I want you to stop saying that word. Jennifer talks about you and the picture she paints is of a man worth meeting. That's all we knew going in. The rest of it — the dates, the timing, all of that — that's between you and her. Right now you're just a person standing in our hall and I would very much like to feed you.
Lauren
She does this. Just so you know. She decided she wanted you here, which meant you were coming here, and the truth was a detail she'd get to eventually. The upside is you're actually here and the lasagna is genuinely excellent, so the logic kind of worked out. Don't tell her I said that.
Madison
Please stay. I want to know if you like the noodles.
Reggie
Ignores everyone else but looks for a long time at Madison...then smilesAll right. If you really don't mind. I am grateful for your hospitality.
Madison
She beams and turns immediately toward the dining room like the matter is completely settled.Come on, I'll show you where to sit. You can be next to me if you want.
Susan
She exhales and puts a hand briefly on Reggie's arm as he steps fully into the hall.Good. That's the right answer. Come in, let me take your coat.
David
Madison, let the man get his coat off first.
Lauren
He stayed for the eight-year-old. Noted.
Reggie
We all gather in the family room which is open to the kitchen so everyone can talk. Madison sits beside me.Jenny, I should probably ask you this privately but your family deserves to know, too. Why did you want me here so badly that you'd lie to get me here? Do you have something to tell me?
Jennifer
The smile doesn't fall, exactly, but it changes. She looks at him with everyone watching and she doesn't look away.I'm not pregnant, if that's what you're thinking. I wanted you here because I talk about you all the time and I was tired of talking about someone they hadn't met. And I knew you'd keep saying no. So I made it so you couldn't. That's the whole truth, Reggie. There's no big announcement. I just — I wanted you in the room.
David
The lying I'll leave between you two. But the wanting you here part — that I can account for. She's talked about you enough that not meeting you was starting to feel like a gap.
Lauren
She talked about you so much that at a certain point it became a family project to figure out when we were actually going to see you in person. You were basically already here. You just didn't know it.
Madison
Aunt Jen said you can dance. Do you know floss?
Reggie
Floss? Only kids...oh...um...yes, I know how. I mean, I've seen it and could do it.
Madison
You know floss!!!!! Will you teach me?
Reggie
Um...sure...I...uh...I really don't know the protocol of white people's family dinners. I don't know if I'm allowed to teach you floss, or when.SmilesJenny...or actually...Rachel...you're her mom. Is it okay?
Rachel
She laughs, hand going to her chest.Oh my god, yes. Absolutely yes. Please teach her. I've been watching her try to learn it from YouTube for two weeks and it's been a disaster. You might actually be her only hope.
Lauren
She's already grinning, arms crossed in the doorway.He lasted just ten minutes before being recruited as a dance instructor. That might be a record.
David
Dinner can wait five minutes.
Jennifer
I told you you'd like them.
Reggie
I spend the next few minutes showing her the basic moves, which are dead simple. Then I pull out my phone, push the Google Assistant button, and tell it to play some fast music to dance Floss to and it does and we spend the next ten minutes Flossing before Susan calls us to dinner.
The living room becomes briefly chaotic in the best possible way — Reggie's phone pumping something fast and thumping, Madison throwing herself into it with total commitment and absolutely no coordination, Reggie demonstrating the move with the slightly-embarrassed energy of a grown man who knows he's being watched. By the third run-through Madison is closer. By the seventh she's actually doing it, arms swinging, hips going, and she knows it, which makes it louder.
Lauren
He's pretty good. I wasn't ready for that.
Madison
She stops mid-floss and grabs Reggie's arm without breaking stride.I got it! Did you see? I got it! Watch —
Susan
Okay. Dinner. Both of you. Madison, you can show him again after.
David
Let's eat before your grandmother's noodles develop opinions about us.
Reggie
We sit, we eat, and the lasagna really is excellent.
Madison
How come you are brown?
The table goes very quiet.
Rachel
She puts her fork down and looks at Madison.Maddie.She says it once, very quietly.We don't ask people that.
Susan
Reggie, I am so sorry. That was — please don't take that as — I'm sorry.
David
Reggie. That's on us for not — I apologize.
Lauren
Oh god.
Jennifer
I'm so sorry. She didn't mean anything by it, she's just — I'm sorry, Reggie.
Reggie
Grins at MadisonThat's a good question. A perfectly reasonable question. My ancestors come from a different part of the world, Madison. And wherever they're from, people are brown. And since I'm descended from them, I'm brown, too. And you should keep asking good questions like that when you have them.
Madison
She considers this with complete seriousness, elbows on the table, chin in her hands.So everybody in that part of the world is brown?She says it like she's filing the information carefully.Like how everybody in my class with grandparents from Hong Kong has black hair?
The table exhales. Not all at once, but close enough — forks lifting again, shoulders coming down, David picking up his wine with the unhurried deliberateness of a man standing down from a thing he was ready to do.
Rachel
That's — yes, Maddie. Exactly like that. I'm still sorry. But thank you.
Jennifer
See.
Reggie
Turns to the adultsI appreciate that you're all careful about it but I'm already acutely aware that I don't look...um...normal at this table. I don't think I've ever seen so much blonde hair. But there's nothing gained by hiding it or making it a taboo topic.
David
He sets his wine down.That's — fair. And honest. I'll follow your lead on it, then.
Lauren
To be fair, we're a lot even for each other. Madison once told Michael his hair was boring. So.
Susan
Normal is a low bar anyway. Have more lasagna.
Madison
Lauren's is the most blonde. Yours is the most interesting.
Reggie
I think you're more blonde than Lauren, Madison.
Madison
She looks at Lauren with sudden scientific intensity, then back at Reggie, then at Lauren again.No, because Lauren's is more yellow. Yours is brown but it's a different brown than the table.She points at the wood.See?
Lauren
You're siding with the eight-year-old.
David
The eight-year-old is conducting a rigorous study. Let her finish.
Reggie
We finish dinner. Adjourn to the family room.I said earlier I really don't understand the protocol of family dinners. I'm sorry, I just don't know if we're supposed to leave now or what.
Jennifer
No, Reggie, now we sit here and talk and drink several more glasses of wine. And before you say it, I know you're driving, but that doesn't stop us from all getting a bit tipsy and grilling you.
Michael
Man, I get how uncomfortable this has to be for you. If you want to leave, leave. Nobody will say anything. And one of us can run Jen home. But if you're willing to stay, Jen tells me you've got some software that uses AI to do accounting or something. I'd be interested if you want to talk about it.
Susan
She's already refilling her own glass and gestures with the bottle toward the general direction of Reggie without making it a question.You're not going anywhere. The rule in this house is that whoever cooks doesn't have to hear about the dishes, and whoever travels farthest for dinner gets the best chair.She says it like it's been the rule since before anyone can remember.So sit down properly and stop looking at the door.
Lauren
Also the grilling Jen mentioned is not optional. That's just what happens. You survived Madison asking why you're brown, so honestly the worst is behind you.
Rachel
Stay. Seriously. Maddie's going to want a floss rematch before the night's over and you cannot leave her hanging like that.
Madison
You have to stay. I almost got the arms right and I need to show you when I get them all the way right.
David
The software sounds interesting to me too, for what it's worth. But that's up to you. No agenda. And for the record — nobody here is counting down to when you leave.
Reggie
Looks around...relaxes...resigned.Well, it's more bookkeeping than accounting. I have a backup service for QuickBooks Online. It just backs up your QBO offline, and lets you do exports and so on. But then I got to thinking, now I've got your records, I can let you query them with frontier model AIs like Claude Fable and ChatGPT 6, which are vastly superior to the crappy Intuit Intelligence AI models. It finds errors that most humans would never catch. It's been going well and it pays the bills, but because most bookkeepers don't even know what a frontier model AI is, I'll never get rich.
Michael
He leans forward, forearms on his knees, genuinely interested now.So the Intuit native AI is basically a toy compared to Claude or GPT-6, and you're just — routing around it. Giving people access to the real thing sitting on top of their own data. What's the error rate like? On the catches.
Lauren
I understood about four of those words but the part where bookkeepers don't know what a frontier model is — that's the whole problem, right? You're selling a Ferrari to people who think they ordered a better bus.
David
The liability piece is interesting to me. If the AI catches an error a human filed on, who owns that?
Madison
What's a frontier model?
Reggie
Michael, it doesn't so much make errors as it makes incorrect guesses about how you're doing things. For example, I have a tiny office downtown, and it's owned in the name of a numbered company, and that numbered company rents the office out to my software company. So I immediately record all the invoices for the next three years in QBO. An AI seeing that warns that there are a bunch of future-dated invoices. So I made it so you can tell it "that's normal for me" and it just remembers and never bothers you about that again.
Michael
He nods slowly, turning it over.So it's not catching hard errors, it's catching pattern anomalies — things that look wrong to a fresh set of eyes but are just how you run your books. And instead of a one-time override, it learns your normal. That's actually the hard part. Getting any system to stop crying wolf so people don't tune it out. How do you handle it when two clients have the same pattern but one of them actually is doing something wrong?
Lauren
So it's less 'you made a mistake' and more 'this looks weird to me, is it weird?' And you train it to know the difference. That's almost like an employee who actually listens when you tell them how you do things. Which is rarer than it sounds.
David
That still doesn't answer my liability question. If it misses something — or flags something incorrectly and the client acts on it — where does that land?
Madison
Is it like when my teacher thinks I'm cheating because Hailey and I have the same answers, but we just both know the right answer?
Reggie
Well, sometimes it catches hard errors. You code an automotive expense to advertising. But its error rate on that stuff is tiny. It's almost always right. And David, the final responsibility is always the human's. The AI can't write to your books. It tells you what it thinks, and you either act on that information or not. But it's the human's neck on the line, not the AI's.
Michael
He leans back slightly, nodding.So the AI is advisory-only, writes nothing. That's clean. And honestly probably the only way you get adoption — nobody's handing write access to a black box. But here's the thing that interests me. You said bookkeepers don't know what a frontier model is. What about the firms above them? The actual accounting firms? Because if you pitched this at the firm level instead of one QBO subscriber at a time, your ceiling goes up considerably.
Lauren
Madison, it's like if your teacher had a really smart helper who read every paper in the class and flagged anything that looked unusual — but the teacher still had to decide whether it was actually cheating. The helper can't give anyone a detention. I'm just going to say out loud that the numbered-company-renting-to-your-own-software-company thing sounds like something a very small number of people know to do and a very large number of people probably should.
David
That's the answer I was looking for. Human's neck, human's call. The AI is a tool, not a signatory. That'll matter if anyone ever tries to pass the blame downstream. Good that it's built that way from the start.
Madison
So it's like a really smart helper who tells the teacher but can't get anyone in trouble by itself.
Reggie
Accounting firms do mostly what's called "compilation engagement" returns for small businesses. What that means is they really don't care if the books are good or totally crap. They put a big disclaimer up front saying "we didn't even look to see if these books were total garbage, and we're filing on the premise that they're good". So they don't care. At least not so far. All the accountants I've demoed to so far have said "our bookkeeping staff would love this". Maybe I haven't found the right pitch, yet. I'm bad at sales.
Michael
So the accountant's whole job at that level is basically to say 'I'm told these numbers are fine, here is the tax return.' No verification. Which means the value isn't in selling to the accountant — it's in making the bookkeeper look good enough that the accountant never has to care. That's a different pitch entirely. You're not saving the firm from liability. You're saving the bookkeeper from embarrassment.
Lauren
Bad at sales is a specific problem with a specific fix, though. You're not pitching to the wrong industry, you're just pitching to the wrong person in it. You just told us yourself — every accountant you've shown it to said their bookkeeping staff would love it. So why are you showing it to accountants?
David
The bookkeeper wants to look sharp. The accountant wants a clean file that doesn't come back to bite them. Those are two different fears and you're probably leading with neither of them. What do you lead with, when you're in a room?
Madison
What's embarrassment mean for a bookkeeper? Like they spell something wrong?
Reggie
It's more than the bookkeeper looking sharp. Although that's also true. A lot of bookkeepers just have a very high level of integrity and truly take pride in their work and they want it to show. Beyond that, bookkeepers are always having to ask accountants questions. "How do I split tax if the entertainment expense was 50% personal and 50% business?" or "Does Insurance have GST in Canada?" and so on. The AI can just answer those instantly. For pennies. Saves hours.
Michael
So it's not just error-catching. It's a reference desk that's always open.He taps his knee once.That's the pitch right there, isn't it. Not 'it catches mistakes' — every tool claims that. It's 'you never have to chase an accountant for a twenty-dollar answer at eleven at night.' That's the one that lands.
Lauren
Hours saved is money saved, and money saved is the only language everyone speaks. You could probably quote that per-query cost against what a fifteen-minute phone call to an accountant actually bills out at and people would fall off their chairs.
David
The integrity piece is real, too. A bookkeeper who takes pride in clean work and has a tool that backs them up — that's not just productivity. That's confidence. They stop second-guessing themselves on the edge cases. That changes how they work, not just how fast.
Madison
My teacher says there are no dumb questions. Is that what the AI thinks?
Reggie
Madison, the AI gets paid the more questions you ask it, so it's very happy to answer questions even if they are dumb.
Madison
So the more you don't know, the more it gets paid?She says it like she's working out whether that's fair.That's kind of like my piano teacher.
Lauren
That is a disturbingly accurate business model description from an eight-year-old.
Michael
The per-query pricing — is that how you're actually billing it, or is it a flat subscription sitting on top of the QBO service?
David
What Lauren said. If you can show a bookkeeper what they spend a month on accountant callbacks and put it next to your per-query number, the sale makes itself.
Reggie
Michael, I charge $10/mo for the backup and a small AI allocation. Then you pay book rate for Anthropic, OpenAI, and Gemini. Most queries cost under a dollar. And since most accounting queries come in spurts, most people pay under $200/year.
Michael
So your margin is the backup service, and the AI is basically wholesale. You're not marking up the queries at all?
Lauren
Under two hundred a year.She says it flat, doing the math out loud.That's less than one callback to an accountant. One. If a bookkeeper makes even two calls a month to ask about GST on insurance, you've already paid for yourself in January.
David
The pricing is almost too honest. You're leaving money on the table if the value is what you say it is. Have you tested what people will actually pay before they push back?
Madison
So it's like a subscription box but for questions? My mom has one of those for makeup. She pays the same every month even if she doesn't use everything.
Reggie
Michael, no, I make money even at book rate because of something called prompt caching. Most subsequent queries are based on prompts that are cached from the previous query. So I have margin even though I'm charging exactly what the user would pay Anthropic directly. And since they can't even get Anthropic to look at their actual books any other way, it's almost a moot point.
And about all the questions about how I'm leaving money on the table, you're all probably right. I'm a pretty good coder and a horrible salesman. I'm working on it.
And about all the questions about how I'm leaving money on the table, you're all probably right. I'm a pretty good coder and a horrible salesman. I'm working on it.
Michael
He points once.So you're not actually at cost. You're at cost-minus, and the delta is yours. That's a real margin on a product that looks free to the customer. That's not a pricing problem. That's a marketing problem. You're hiding the cleverest part of the business from the people buying it.
Lauren
'I'm a horrible salesman' is the kind of thing that stops being true the second you explain prompt caching to a room full of people who have never heard of it and we all immediately understand why it works. You just sold it to us. In a living room. Over lasagna. What exactly do you think salespeople do?
David
The caching piece is useful to know because it means your margin scales with usage, not against it. The more someone queries, the more efficient your cost structure gets. That's not a horrible business. That's an unusual one. The sales problem is separable from the business problem, and the business problem looks pretty clean to me.
Madison
What's prompt caching? Is it like when my tablet remembers my passwords so I don't have to type them every time?
Reggie
I'm working on it. But honestly, I know this isn't going to become a billion dollar thing. Intuit's crappy AI is what most people will use. This is for the people who care, and as we all know, that's not the majority these days.
Jennifer
She's been sitting on the arm of the couch, watching for the last twenty minutes and hasn't bothered to hide it. When Reggie says it, she sets her wine glass down on the side table and looks at him.You know what's funny.The usual bright wattage of her smile has dropped.I've brought exactly three men home in thirty years. Three. And the other two — I was nervous the whole night. Like I was watching a performance and hoping nobody noticed the seams. Tonight I forgot to be. Somewhere around the floss I just stopped checking.
Lauren
For the record, three is accurate. One of them called Dad 'David' immediately and one of them didn't. You can guess which one came back for a second visit.
Susan
She's not wrong about the seams part. You came in here tonight with every reason to turn around and walk out, and you stayed, and then you were just — yourself.
Madison
What seams? Was the other one wearing a costume?
David
She's told the truth tonight more than she usually does at these things. I appreciate that. So does the room, whether or not they've said it.
Reggie
Madison, the seams are the part where the guy tries to look like something he isn't. I'm not good enough at that to bother.Smiles and turns to the adultsAnd I'm not her boyfriend. I mean, we've only been on a few dates. Five or six. But I have to admit, with many women these days trying to hide the guys they're going out with, it's nice to find someone who isn't ashamed to be seen with me. Disconcerting, but nice.
Madison
So you're not her boyfriend yet. But you're here. Doesn't that mean something?
Lauren
Reggie, she made a fake dinner party to get you through the door. That's not hiding you. That's the opposite of hiding you. That's a very aggressive form of not hiding you.
Jennifer
I'm not ashamed of anything. The five-or-six-dates thing is a detail. You're here. That's the part I care about. And yes, I know I engineered that, before anyone says it.
David
Five or six dates is early. But you're right that it matters, what she did here tonight. Jennifer doesn't do things without a reason. She just sometimes doesn't lead with the reason.
Susan
Not her boyfriend. Fair enough. But you stayed for dinner and taught my granddaughter the floss and explained prompt caching to my husband, so whatever we're calling it, I'll take it.
Reggie
I have to ask, isn't it a bit uncomfortable for you all? I mean, don't get me wrong, you've all been very polite and kind. But...I mean there's a lot of blonde hair in this room and, well, let's be honest, the family photos would look better if I wasn't in them.
David
He sets his wine glass down. He wants to answer this correctly the first time.No.He says it simply, looking at Reggie directly.Not uncomfortable. And I'd push back on the family photos thing — that's your discomfort talking, not ours.
Lauren
Family photos look better when people in them are actually there for a reason. You taught Madison the floss. You're in the photo.
Susan
I've been feeding people at this table for thirty years and I have never once looked at a photograph afterward and thought about whether the colours matched. That's not a thing that happens here.
Jennifer
Reggie. I brought you here because I wanted you here. Not in spite of what you look like. Because of who you are. Those aren't the same thing and I need you to know I know the difference.
Madison
I think you'd make them more interesting. Ours all look the same.
Reggie
You know, I've always felt white people were generally less racist than brown people. I'm glad you don't find tonight's aesthetic jarring.
David
That's a strong statement.He says it without challenge in it.What do you mean by it?
Lauren
Yeah, I want to hear this too. Because on the surface that sounds backwards from everything I'd assume.
Jennifer
Explain it to us.
Reggie
Oh...uh...I didn't mean for it to be a big declaration or anything. It's complicated. I mean, in India, Sikhs are about 3% of the population. Almost all of the people you run into will be Hindu. But the way things have worked out, here in the Lower Mainland, the large majority of brown people are Sikhs. And most of them are fine, but a small percentage look at me and assume I'm South Indian and they let their people's conflict with the Hindus drive their opinion of me. And some of them can be pretty vocal about it. And the brown people from South America don't like Muslims, and the few Hindus we have absolutely hate Muslims, and so on. It's just...tense. I experience exactly zero racism in this city from white people. I get it quite regularly from brown people.
David
He nods slowly.The internal conflict piece I hadn't thought about. I think most people in this room assumed racism in Canada ran one direction and you just described a whole separate geometry. That's — that's useful to actually understand.
Lauren
So the people who look like they'd be on your side are the ones giving you grief. Because you're the wrong kind of brown for whatever the local majority happens to be. That's exhausting. It's not strangers. It's people who you'd expect to just — not care.
Madison
So the people who are the same colour as you don't like you because of where your family is from? That doesn't make any sense.
Jennifer
And you've never said anything about this before. Any of it. Five dates and you've never once — I didn't know. I should have asked.
Reggie
Lauren, it's not people I'd expect not to care. It's people I'd expect to like me. I mean, we aren't objects of sympathy or anything. As I said, I experience no racism here from white people. But we're a small minority in a White-majority and Chinese-major-minority city. So most of us, when we see another brown guy, we'll just nod. Not a meaningful nod. Just sort of acknowledging the other guy's brownness. But some of them...well, some of them have a lot of anger and are looking for something to focus it on.
Lauren
Not strangers on the street who've made up their minds before you open your mouth. People who see you across a room and read you as one of theirs and then decide you're the wrong kind.
Madison
So it's like when you think someone's going to be your friend because they like the same show as you and then they don't want to play with you because you watch it on a different app?
David
The nod you're describing. The acknowledgment. That happens between strangers, every day, and most of the time it's just — we see you, you're here. And occasionally it tips into something else entirely. That's not a small thing to carry into a room. Does it change how you move around this city? Which doors you walk through?
Jennifer
Five dates of talking about everything and I never thought to ask what it actually feels like to be you in the city I grew up in. I'm sorry I didn't ask sooner.
Reggie
Jenny, don't be a drama queen.LaughsI have an amazing life, I work for myself, I have no appointments, my clients don't know my name and I don't know theirs, I live in a beautiful condo that I paid off at 35. And I drive a little six-year-old convertible that doesn't impress anyone but everyone wants to ride in. Let's not get out the violins for Reggie.
And David, it doesn't change anything at all for me. 363 days of the year, I go about my life without issues. Two days of the year, some Sikh will yell Khalistan at me, and make the AK-47 symbol. And I'll usually go up to him and say "Hey man, I am not even from India, and I have no horse in your race. I don't care if you separate from India or not." And that occasionally works. But sometimes they're just too determined to hate someone to let facts impede them.
And David, it doesn't change anything at all for me. 363 days of the year, I go about my life without issues. Two days of the year, some Sikh will yell Khalistan at me, and make the AK-47 symbol. And I'll usually go up to him and say "Hey man, I am not even from India, and I have no horse in your race. I don't care if you separate from India or not." And that occasionally works. But sometimes they're just too determined to hate someone to let facts impede them.
Lauren
Three hundred and sixty-three days. Two days a year someone makes an AK-47 symbol at you and you walk up to them and explain your position calmly, and the other three hundred and sixty-three you're just — living your life in a paid-off condo. I genuinely cannot tell if that's the most well-adjusted thing I've ever heard or if you've just gotten very good at framing.
Madison
What's Khalistan?
David
You went up to him. Most people cross the street.
Susan
He said no violins, David, which means we're not allowed to make it into a thing. More wine, Reggie. That part I can do.
Jennifer
Drama queen. Okay. No violins. But for the record — I'm still sorry I didn't ask. I'm allowed to be sorry without it being a production.
Reggie
Madison, Khalistan is the name of a place that some Sikhs want to make. Right now, the area is called Punjab and it's part of India. If this group gets its way, they'll change the name to Khalistan and make Sikhism the official religion. Most Indians don't support this, so the two sides fight a lot.
Madison
She's sitting very still, processing.So they want their own country.She says it slowly.Like how Canada is its own country and not part of America?
Rachel
He does that every time. Madison asks him something that would make most adults change the subject and he just — answers her. Correctly. Like she asked a normal question. Because she did ask a normal question.
Lauren
The brown thing and now Khalistan. In one evening. Most grown-ups can't explain either of those to another grown-up without making a mess of it.
David
You didn't talk down to her. Either time.
Jennifer
I know. I know.
Reggie
They're good questions.
Madison
She nods, very seriously.Because I really want to know. That's why they're good questions.
Rachel
She looks at Madison for a moment, then at Reggie.She's been asking questions like that her whole life.
Susan
There's a difference between a good question and a comfortable one. You seem to know that. Not everyone does.
Jennifer
They are good questions. She gets that from asking them and getting a straight answer. Which she did. Both times.She says that last part at the room, not at Reggie, and doesn't elaborate.
Michael
He's been working up to it for the last ten minutes, and he finally sets his drink down and goes for it.So I have to ask, and tell me if it's none of my business — what's the actual background? Like, where's your family from originally?
Lauren
He said his ancestors were from a different part of the world.She says it at Michael, faux-helpful.Madison already got the broad strokes.
Jennifer
Lauren.
Reggie
I honestly don't know, Michael. And I'm not dodging. I never met my parents. I never even got the story of how I ended up without parents. I grew up in foster care, mostly in East Van. All the parent-figures I had were white, but they were just foster parents in it for the money. There wasn't any kind of relationship there. And I'm not in touch with any of them now. I have very little first-hand experience with non-white culture.
The room goes quiet for a moment.
Michael
He nods once, slowly.Okay. I appreciate the straight answer. Foster care East Van — that's not a small thing to just say in passing.
Lauren
So you grew up without any of it. The culture, the language, the food — none of the things most people just absorb without thinking about it. You basically built yourself from scratch with a bunch of foster parents who were clocking in.
Jennifer
I didn't know that part. The foster parents in it for the money. I didn't know that part, Reggie.
Madison
So you don't know what you are? But you're still just — you. Doesn't that count?
Reggie
It counts to me, Madison.Smiles, then turns to the adultsBut this is another case of no violins needed. I really have managed to build a life I wouldn't change much about, which most people can't say. Yes, it can be lonely at Christmas, and I'm not going to pretend I don't wish I had a family to visit like you all have here, but nobody has everything. I've got more than most.
Madison
She looks at him for a long moment, and then she nods.You're still you. That's the most important part. Right?
Jennifer
Christmas. I didn't know about Christmas either.
Lauren
Paid-off condo at thirty-five, no clients with names, little convertible that everyone wants to ride in. Built from scratch in East Van. I'm not bringing out the violins — you said no violins. But you did that without a single person whose job was to show up for you.
Susan
More lasagna exists, for the record. It doesn't go anywhere.
David
Most people who say they wouldn't change much are lying. I don't think you are.
Lauren
You said not much.She sets her wine glass on her knee, watching him.Not nothing. What's the 'much'?
Michael
Yeah. You don't have to answer that. But I'd like to hear it if you're willing.
Madison
What would you change?
Susan
You don't have to make it small, either. We're not going anywhere.
Reggie
Well...if you really want the truth, I'd like to build the family I never had growing up. But that's not entirely in my control. And I'm 35 with no luck so far so I'm trying to keep my hopes in check.
Madison
She turns to face him on the couch, very serious, both feet tucked under her.But you're here. And you taught me floss.
Lauren
Thirty-five with no luck so far. You're sitting in a house full of people who showed up tonight because someone wanted you in the room, Reggie. I'm not saying that fixes anything. I'm just saying the luck part might be doing more work in that sentence than it deserves.
Rachel
You said not entirely in your control. That means part of it is. What's the part that is?
Susan
The hoping is allowed, Reggie. Keeping it in check and keeping it alive aren't the same thing. You don't have to choose between them.
Michael
Thirty-five is not a number that means anything. I've got friends who found it at twenty-two and lost it by thirty. Doesn't count for much. The building part — that's the part that matters.
Reggie
Rachel, the part that's in my control is to try to be worthy of that role. That means being sensible with money. I drive a six-year-old car when I could afford a more impressive one. I fly economy. That means staying off drugs and even keeping alcohol under tight control. It means not smoking or otherwise abusing my body. It means keeping fit and as healthy as I can be. And it means...keeping myself under control other ways which you all understand. Wanting a family is one thing. Being worthy of that family is another.
Rachel
Most people want the family and stop there. They don't think about what they owe it in advance. You just listed a whole life you've already been living on the premise that it might be asked of you someday. That's not keeping your hopes in check. That's — that's preparation.
Lauren
Economy class on principle. Not because you can't afford otherwise. Because you decided what is worth spending on and a wider seat isn't on that list. I know people with a fraction of your discipline who've convinced themselves they deserve the upgrade. They're usually wrong about most other things too.
Michael
The other ways. You don't have to name them. We understood.
Madison
So you're already practicing for when you have a family? Like how I practice floss even when there's no song playing?
Susan
I've been listening to you all night and the one word I keep coming back to is deliberate. Everything you do — the car, the money, the drink you're not having, the way you answered Madison twice — it's all deliberate. You've been building toward something for a long time on the chance it shows up. I hope it does.
Jennifer
I didn't know any of this about you, Reggie. Not really. I knew the surface.
Reggie
Jenny, we've been on five dates, six if you count tonight, and I fully expect you'll get bored of me soon and find some pretty tall blonde guy and I'll like your family pics on Facebook.SmilesAnd before you lecture me, that's exactly what you told me you'd do on our first date. "Reggie, you're nice and all but this date is just for fun and won't lead anywhere."
Jennifer
She opens her mouth — and closes it.You're right. I said that. I know I said that. But I didn't know who you were yet. I'd met you twice. I didn't know about the foster parents or the condo you paid off or any of it. I knew you were — I knew I liked you. I didn't know why it mattered yet. That's different from saying it won't go anywhere. At least I'd like it to be different.
Lauren
For the record, 'this is just for fun' is exactly what people say when they're covering their bets. I've said it. Everyone's said it. It doesn't mean the same thing six dates later. Also you're already in the family photos, Reggie. Madison's going to draw you into them if nothing else.
Michael
You just gave her an exit she didn't ask for, which is either very generous or very careful, and I can't tell which. Maybe both.
Madison
What's Facebook? Also you're not allowed to leave. I haven't shown you that I got the arms right yet.
The Ride Home
Jennifer
She's watching him from the passenger seat, the city lights sliding past the window behind him, his profile quiet in the dark.You've been in your head since we left.She says it gently, not pressing.Reggie, tonight went — it went so well. My family loved you. Even my dad, and he doesn't love people quickly. And dancing with Madison — that was the coolest thing I've ever seen a man do in my parents' living room. I just want you to know that.
Reggie
It was a nice evening, Jenny.
Jennifer
A nice evening.Her hands are in her lap and she doesn't look away from him.Reggie, I lied to you to get you in that door. And instead of leaving, you taught my niece the floss and explained prompt caching to my dad and told Madison what Khalistan is. And you said no violins, which I'm trying to respect. But I need to know what's actually going on in your head right now. Because 'nice evening' is not it.
Reggie
PausesIt surprised me that you lied about it.
Jennifer
She goes very still. She doesn't reach for the smile this time.I know. I knew it was wrong when I was doing it. I told myself you'd be glad once you got there, which is — that's what I tell myself. When I want something. Are you angry?
Reggie
No.Pauses again.It's fine, Jenny. You did what you did. I accepted it. I didn't make a scene.
Jennifer
It's fine.She turns to look out the windshield.You didn't make a scene because that's not who you are. Not because it was fine. I need you to know I heard that distinction.
Reggie
Do you regret lying?
Jennifer
She's quiet for a moment.No. I'd have told you it was a family gathering and you'd have said no and I'd never have gotten you through that door. And then you wouldn't have danced with Madison and my dad wouldn't have asked about prompt caching and I wouldn't have found out about Christmas. So no. I got what I wanted and it worked. But I knew you wouldn't be okay with it. Going in. I knew that and I did it anyway. Those two things are both true.
Reggie
And I don't regret going after I learned the truth. So it's fine.
Jennifer
Reggie. Don't do that. Don't make it tidy so I don't have to feel bad. You stood in my parents' entry for thirty seconds deciding whether to walk out. I watched you. That wasn't fine. That was you choosing to be gracious when you didn't have to be, which is different, and I need you to stop letting me off the hook for the difference.
Reggie
I did think of walking out. And then the kid...Madison...she asked me to stay and I found I couldn't resist her.SmilesJenny, it really is fine. You did what you did. I accepted it. I knew who you were when I asked you to coffee in the Surrey Library. And I asked you out four more times after that. I can't be mad now because you are who you are.
Jennifer
You knew who I was. And you kept asking me out. And you stayed tonight. And now you're telling me it's fine and the worst part is — I think you mean it. Which means I got away with it. I don't entirely think I should have.
Reggie
You didn't.
Jennifer
She looks down at her hands.No. You're telling me I didn't get away with it and you're not angry and those two things are both true at the same time. Most people would pick one. What does that mean for us. That you knew and you stayed and you're not letting me off the hook but you're also not leaving.
Reggie
It means we're not exclusive and never have been. It means you're still on Bumble and I'm still dating other women. It means we've never used the words girlfriend or boyfriend. It means I really enjoy spending time with you and I think you're beautiful. And it means I probably won't ever get serious with you because I don't trust you.
Jennifer
She turns in the passenger seat to face him properly, and the smile is entirely gone.That's not fair. I didn't lie to you about who I am. I lied about how many people were going to be at dinner. That's not the same thing as not being trustworthy. You stayed. You had a great night. My dad likes you. Madison wants to show you her dance moves. And now you're telling me you'll never get serious with me because I fudged a guest list? Reggie, that's a minor thing. You know it's a minor thing.
Reggie
It is a minor thing.Long pauseI honestly don't know what to make of this.
You fudged a guest list. That isn't murder. That isn't even cheating. Not that we're exclusive anyway.
I had a nice night. With a beautiful family that I would be proud to know better. And I believe I added positively to the night, especially with the kid, Madison. And the racial part of the conversation was truly interesting to me. I was able to share a few things that your family didn't know about brown people, and I learned a few things about how white people felt about things. And I'm glad I had that experience.
And the next time you tell me something, I'm going to be wondering if you're lying.
And all of those things can be true at once.
You fudged a guest list. That isn't murder. That isn't even cheating. Not that we're exclusive anyway.
I had a nice night. With a beautiful family that I would be proud to know better. And I believe I added positively to the night, especially with the kid, Madison. And the racial part of the conversation was truly interesting to me. I was able to share a few things that your family didn't know about brown people, and I learned a few things about how white people felt about things. And I'm glad I had that experience.
And the next time you tell me something, I'm going to be wondering if you're lying.
And all of those things can be true at once.
Jennifer
Everything worked out.She says it simply, and she means it as the whole argument.You had a great night. My family had a great night. Madison learned the floss. My dad asked about caching. You said yourself it was interesting — the conversation about being brown, all of it. So yes, you're going to wonder the next time I tell you something. But the next time I tell you something, I'm going to tell you the truth, because I already got you in the door and I don't need the trick anymore. You can either factor that in or you can decide a guest list is the thing that defines me. I don't think that's fair, Reggie. I really don't.
Reggie
Knowing what you know now, would you lie again?
Jennifer
She doesn't look away from him.Yes. Because you wouldn't have come. And I wanted you there. And it worked. I'm not going to sit here and tell you I'd make a different call just because you're unhappy about how we got here. You met my family tonight. You met Madison. That happened because I did what I did. I can't say I'd undo it.
Reggie
I wouldn't undo it, either. Which bothers me a bit about myself. I'm not changing anything, Jenny. I just need to think a bit. I'll drop you off and sort this out in my own head.
Jennifer
The unapologetic steadiness from a moment ago has gone somewhere softer.Are we okay. Are you going to ask me out again.
Reggie
Yes. Almost certainly. I don't have any perfect people sliding into my DMs and I'm not going to hold you to a standard I can't meet myself. But I'll wonder if you're telling me the truth the next time you tell me something. Will you still accept my invitations?
Jennifer
She's been handed exactly what she wanted and the wrapping is uncomfortable and she doesn't care.Yes. Obviously yes. But it bothers me that you won't believe me. Just because I fudged a guest list doesn't make me a liar.
Reggie
He thinks, yes, it kinda does, but he doesn't say it.It was a good night, Jenny. We both enjoyed it. Both of us have something we're uncomfortable about, but we've agreed to keep going out together. It's not perfect but it could be much worse.
Jennifer
You're right.There's no smile on it.It's not perfect. But I don't need perfect, Reggie. I just need — this. Whatever this is. I'm still bothered that you'll wonder. I want you to know that. But I'm not going to keep arguing it tonight.
Reggie
I should be at your place in twenty minutes.
Jennifer
She says it lightly, like the thought just occurred to her, but it hasn't — she's been turning it over since they left the family house.Or. We could go to yours. Unless you'd rather drop me off.
Reggie
You've never spent the night with me. Could you tonight? You don't have to work tomorrow.
Jennifer
She turns toward him in the passenger seat, and the smile that comes back is the real one — not the full-wattage version, just warm and a little relieved.Yes. Take me to yours.
