A slanting halo of sunlight shone through the clouds, and bitter winds threaded the gaps between buildings. It was an utterly ordinary winter day in Gotham City.
Strolling through the crowd, Holly hugged her lover's arm tightly, a dreamy smile lighting her face.
Even now, going on a date with Dr. Reed still felt like a dream.
Just last week, at a Catholic reading group organized by the neighborhood, she had happened to meet Daniel Reed, the most famous plastic surgeon in all of Gotham.
He was tall and witty, his manner of speaking elegant. Holly had worked up the courage to approach him and exchange a few words, and his distinctive charm had immediately left her utterly smitten.
But the first feeling that came with falling in love was often inadequacy. Holly immediately thought of Selina. She was nowhere near as dazzling as her roommate, and her figure had gone slightly out of shape from lack of exercise. How could an utterly ordinary girl like her win Dr. Reed's favor?
After they exchanged contact details, Holly instead lost her nerve. Her finger hovered over the empty message field, too afraid to send even a greeting.
But to her surprise, Dr. Reed actually reached out first.
"Hello, book-loving girl."
That night, the girl curled up under her covers and chatted with him until three in the morning. She had even smiled foolishly for so long that the muscles in her face began to feel as though they might cramp.
She discovered that Dr. Reed shared her interests. He liked Edgar Allan Poe's detective stories, enjoyed documentaries, and went to the park to feed pigeons on weekends. But what truly made her feel she had found her soulmate was their conversation during last night's long phone call.
"What work do you