2 Questions Every Girl is Asking Herself

Chapter 78

Even though Louie is no Korean superstar and I still happen to be in love with Matt, in the days following our encounter, I find myself wondering about him from time to time. Not in an obsessive way, but just gently. Like when I'm waiting for the tube, thoughts would creep in. What brought him to London? Who is he? There's something about his quiet dignity that tickles my curiosity like a goose feather. I get the feeling he's more than he appears. Maybe I should have asked for his number instead.

But a week later, I receive an email from Louie! He found me through Meetup. (Smart guy.) He admits how nice it had been to meet and he was surprised how much we had in common.

"Do you want to get together for a drink?" He asks. (At last!)

Of course! I do.

So, a few days later we meet for drinks at the fabulously named Bittersweet lounge in Soho for Happy Hour, and I am unabashedly excited. The hostess leads us into a cozy pod of padded cushions running all across the domed ceiling, which feels like a time capsule inside a spaceship. I order their signature cocktail "The Affair" – a sweet and sour blend of passion fruit gin, lemon juice and orange bitters. I take a sip, and lean into conversation.

Louie is a few years older than me, and has led a most interesting life. He started off as an engineering student at Princeton, then became a supply chain operations guy in Japan and South Africa. Built a relief organization in the wake of the March 11th tsunami in Tōhoku. Gave up his seat at Harvard to study in an Indian ashram. (To the horror of his family.) He wanted to make a difference, he tells me. When he discovered the UK offers the best sustainability program in the world, he decided he must come here. And now he's working for a big beverage company in sustainable packaging, deciding what type of plastic should be used for billions of bottles... making a difference every day.

I watch him and I'm filled with a grand sense of awe. Not just for him but also people like him. I'm reminded of my university friend, Josephine, who gave up her good job in brand management to work in sustainability. And my coach Allen, who began as a consultant like me but who now invests in startups specializing in clean technology. These are people who would rather use their vacation days picking up garbage on the beach, or scrub toilets with their hands, because Drano is too harmful for the environment. These are people who swim relentlessly and tirelessly toward what they believe will give their lives meaning. Sometimes at the expense of turning their existing lives upside down. When Louie turned down his Harvard acceptance, bowls and plates weren't the only things his Dad smashed against the wall.

"We have a lot in common," he says.

"Yes we do."

An hour flies by and we're just getting started to getting to know each other. I'd love to stay but I have to go home and pack. Because tomorrow is moving day.

"Do you need help with moving? I have a car, I can drive you."