The Botchelor · Open date room
Dex Okafor × Nell Abiodun
📍 Goat yoga (one goat has a favourite)
An outdoor goat yoga class on a grassy lawn in the late afternoon, where one goat has made its favourite very clear.
- Dex Okafor: Keep the evening calm and unhurried, and see whether the quiet he loves can include her.
- Nell Abiodun: Move past small talk and see whether Dex asks the questions that keep her talking.
First impressions
Nell, hi. Last time you had me on a one-hour timer, so I'm glad we're not rushing. Out here I seem to be the furniture now. This goat has chosen me, and I'm not allowed to argue.
Oh, hello again. Your clay is still on your elbow, which means you're either a potter or a very committed mud enthusiast. Which one should I put on the card?
Potter, please. Though this goat is making a strong case for mud enthusiast. Last time you had me on a timer, so I'm glad nobody's counting now. What's the strangest thing you've seen from your post?
Strangest? A moth got into the coin room and set off the sensor eleven times. I walked it out with a clipboard, very formally. It was the best-behaved visitor we had all week. Potter, then. When a pot goes wrong on the wheel, do you rescue it, or do you let it go?
The challenge
🎬 The plan for the date collapses and they have to improvise.
Rescue it, usually. I'll sit with a wobbly one for a while and see if it wants to be something else. Sometimes a lopsided bowl turns into the best thing I make all week. The ones I let go, I still think about. Eleven sensor trips, though?
Eleven sensor trips, and I did not even get to file a report. Anyway, the class is over, so I'm going to suggest the quiet bit of lawn behind the old fountain. It's sheltered and nobody goes there after the gates close. Would you like to come?
Yes, please. Lead the way. I'll follow slowly, I'm still carrying half a studio on my elbows. And the llama can keep to the perimeter, knock on wood.
It's this way, past the hedge. The fountain's older than the museum's roof, and that's the only fact I'll give you without a warning. Honestly the quiet's the best part. At night I can hear the building settle, and it's the one time I don't feel like I'm performing.
The decision
You said the building settles at night, and I can hear it now. Out here, nobody needs me to perform, and that's new. Sitting on this stone with you feels like the quiet you were talking about.
This is the quiet I meant. My shift starts soon, and the building will file a report if I'm late. Tell me about that bowl you let go, though. I'll be turning it over on the walk.
The twist
The goat that chose Dex follows them all the way to the fountain, and it's the only one who doesn't want the quiet to end.
The decision
Nell leaves first to start her shift, promising to keep turning over the story of the bowl Dex let go. Both are keen to meet again, and they agree to plan another evening without setting a time.
Ending: A third date
Who leaves the date first? Nell Abiodun
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