The CT Love Connection: Blind date recipients treated to expensive meal, whirlwind romance
University newspaper spares lucky couple Valentine’s loneliness, misery
Nick Bonadies
Spectrum Editor
Photography by
Mel Kobran
Managing Editor
La Grande Nuit
Before this Valentine’s Day at 6 p.m., sophomore sculpture major Nick Fagan and freshman international studies major Amelia Kirby – the star-cross’d recipients of this year’s CT Love Connection blind date – had never even dreamed that each other existed.
But after that evening, life as they knew it would never be the same.
La Première Rècontre / The Lovemobile pt. I
The streetlights over Jackson Ward flickered on under the purple dusk as Fagan and Kirby, at long last, locked eyes with their missing halves outside Fagan’s apartment.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Kirby said.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” Fagan replied.
Commonwealth Times chaperones, attendant nearby in the CT Lovemobile* and wishing to meet their dinner reservation in a timely fashion, soon ushered the lovestruck couple to their spacious-yet-cozy backseat.
After sharing each other’s names, Fagan and Kirby spent the first leg of their journey gazing fixedly out their respective windows, enraptured by the spectacle of life, love and revelry unfolding in the urban twilight.
“Wow, Richmond is hoppin’ tonight,” Kirby said, the Lovemobile gliding past Main Street’s glittering shops and restaurants. “And on a Tuesday.”
“Well, it’s Valentine’s Day,” Fagan said.
“Oh,” Kirby said. “That would explain all the teddy bears and flowers.”
*The CT Lovemobile is so named for its state-of-the-art construction, designed to incite and maintain optimal passion/lovelust over any length of ride, with plenty of leg room.
Le Dîner Couteux: CAN CAN BRASSERIE
Instead of – as Kirby and Fagan guessed – Shafer Court or Chili’s at Cary & Belvidere, the Lovemobile eventually pulled to a stop in front of a bustling Can Can Brasserie, Richmond’s go-to for exquisite, authentic and prohibitively expensive French cuisine.
As though by providence, parking was found just across the street.
TOPICS DISCUSSED DURING DINNER
- Majors, careers, classes (how they are going)
- High school drama class
- Netflix (Portlandia, Workaholics, etc.)
- Bike theft (Kirby’s bike, recent)
- French culture (pre-Revolution baguette protests)
- Dwindling water, bread
- Strip clubs (Fagan, went “once as a joke”)
- Alternative CT advertising/marketing strategies
- Ways CT Blind Date fund could have been better put to use
- Possible escape routes
Both Fagan and Kirby ordered from Can Can’s top-tier Plâts Principaux menu and, as their meals were prepared, filled each other in on the lives they’d tragically missed – until now.
“So,” Fagan said. “What dorms do you live in?”
“I’m in Rhodes,” Kirby replied.
“How’s that doing?” Fagan said. “How’s that going?” he clarified.
The butter dish for the bread arrived at the ideal consistency for spreading – the tap water, exquisitely iced.
MEAL ASSESSMENT pt. 1: MAIN COURSE
- NF: (Salmon au Poivre) “Yum – ee. Story of my life. … Better than McDonald’s.”
- AK: (Coq au Vin Rouge) “Delicious. Savory. Blissful. Enlightening. … A revelation.”
Note: Despite her generally positive review, Kirby’s was the only plate taken away with food left uneaten. “It’s a leg, yo,” she explained, pointing to the uneaten leg. “It’s got a bone in it.”
“Are you a chocolate person?” Kirby asked of her suitor, as the two perused the dessert menu. “Or a traditional person, or…?”
“I’m, you know … more of a seasonal guy,” Fagan said. “Or a cheese-plate person.”
MEAL ASSESSMENT pt. 2: DESSERT
- NF: (Crispy Apple Pie) “Fan – tastic.”
- AK: (Crème Brulee) “No comment.”
The Lovemobile pt. II
As the Lovemobile processed farther and farther into the darkened back roads of Henrico, Fagan and Kirby concealed their terror by speculating as to the nature and location of the secret CT “activity.”
POSTULATED AFTER-DATE ACTIVITIES
- Chess tournament
- Dave & Buster’s
- Museum of Southern Pride
- Left to fend for selves in Hampton, Va. / India
- NASCAR event
- Flung onto departing freight train
- Horrifying obstacle course
- Scavenger hunt
- Playing with puppies
“The fear level is rising,” Kirby said, her waning smile showing admirable resilience.
“Oh god, are we going to Roller Dome?” she said moments later, as the Lovemobile began to slow.
“Oh no,” she added.
L’Activité Passionnante: ROLLER DOME
“I’m glad I wore socks,” Kirby said.
The vibrant, LED-illuminated interior of the Henrico Roller Dome resounded with the screams of all ages of children and the rhythmic chorus of 69 Boyz’s “Tootsee Roll.”
“I haven’t done this since I was like, 10,” Fagan said, handing his left shoe to the skate rental booth as collateral.
With some encouragement by CT chaperones, the happy couple eventually rolled out to begin their slow-but-steady procession around the Roller Dome circuit.
“It brought back a lot of middle school memories,” Kirby later recalled. “And also, it’s a circle. So it keeps being the same over and over. … It’s like life.”
The lights dimmed slightly as the DJ announced a special part of Valentine’s Day at Roller Dome – the Couples Only Skate.
None other than Whitney Houston’s golden voice rang out over the crowd with her 1988 Grammy nominee, “Didn’t We Almost Have It All.” Dewy-eyed couples young and old gently revolved together around a cluster of glimmering disco balls.
Fagan and Kirby were seen, during Houston’s final strains (“Didn’t we almost have it all / the night we held on till the morning / you know you’ll never love that way again”), to reduce the distance between them from four feet to about two feet.
But as suddenly as the moment had arrived, it was gone. The DJ reinstated All-Ages Skate and Kirby was “sideswiped” by what she would later describe as “an 8-year-old.”
A twinge of regret, as the music returned to Boyz II Men, was palpable. The moment was over.
“Please do not carry children while on skates,” boomed the formless voice of the DJ, echoing in the rafters.
The Lovemobile pt. III / L’Adieu
At the persistent encouragement of CT chaperones, Fagan and Kirby would rack up 18 total revolutions at Henrico Roller Dome before the night of their young lives began to draw to a close.
“I have a bedtime, yo,” Kirby said.
A hushed 20-minute journey back to the heart of Richmond followed, subdued either by the heady afterglow of a beautiful evening or, perhaps, motion sickness. Outside Fagan’s apartment, the Lovemobile pulled to a final stop; its engine hummed softly, its rear door swung ajar.
“Welp,” Kirby said. “It’s nice to be back where it doesn’t smell like fear.”
“Yeah,” Fagan said. “It was fun.”
“Thanks for being such a good sport,” Kirby said.
“Yeah,” Fagan said. “Thanks for … the great meal.”
“Yeah,” Kirby said. “I’ll see you around.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you around. Bye,” Fagan said.
“Oh, it’s locked. Ah, okay. Bye,” he added.
