It was 5 pm Friday and Carmen was just leaving after having finished her work. Ethan followed just behind her to find clues regarding her recent change by figuring out her routine. He found that she had made a lot of friends at work as he watched her say bye to a lot of them and even though he knew she knew that he was right behind her, she didn’t say bye to him. Now he knew for sure that there was something that he had done to her because he was the only one, she didn’t great nicely.

Saturday evening Ethan’s friends were gathering for a party and when he had the attention of his closest friends, he posed his question to them.

“Okay, guys I need your help. The researcher I work with is driving me crazy making me anxious that I did something wrong. She used to smile and greet me positively, but now she shows little to no emotion and I am the only one she treats like this. What do I do?” Ethan asked pleading for help.

“Is she still doing her work?” The researcher friend asked.

“Yeah, she does it perfectly.”

“Well, what do you talk about besides work?” An older theorist asked.

“Nothing, we only talk about work.”

“What!? You don’t even know what her interests are?” The researcher exclaimed.

“No, we only talk about work. When she used to ask me about what I did outside of work I wouldn’t give her any answers. I also only gave her one-word answers to questions like ‘how was your weekend’ and stuff like that.”

“Dude, that’s your problem. You have to interact with her like how you interact with us. I’m surprised she didn’t bring this up to you, she must either have a high tolerance of you being asocial or be very patient. Sometimes partners leave over things like this. Even if the work you guys do is interesting if the workplace isn’t welcoming then it’s not really worth it. But dude how long have you been doing this?” The theorist explained.

“From the get-go. I mean she stopped talking to me after a month and now it’s been another month of her being cold to me.”

“I think she likes you,” the researcher surmised.

“Are you sure? She seems like she doesn’t like me.”

“Didn’t you say a while back she identified you by smell?” The theorist recalled.

“Yeah, she has a super good nose. I don’t know how she stands to smell the microbial cultures we grow.”

“And when she was telling a whole room of researchers and theorists that she could match the scent on the lab coat to yours did you notice anything? Wasn’t she blushing from embarrassment?” The researcher asked.

“Hm, I was mentally hiding at that time, but I think she was. What does that have to do with liking me?”

“She was embarrassed because it was like she was admitting to liking you. I bet she chose you because she liked the way you smell.” The researcher explained.

“Dude, is she attractive?” The theorist asked.

“I guess. She’s blond and petite but looks bigger than she is because she always wears a sweatshirt indoors.”

“You should find out if she likes you,” the researcher suggested in a demanding tone.

“How?”

“Well, you should ask if she’s open to dating and suggest her go meet one of your friends. If she says yes to dating, but no to meeting your friend there’s a good chance she’s interested in you.”

“I can do that. Thanks for your help guys.”

Ethan was able to enjoy the party now that he had a plan to fix the situation with Carmen. Personally, he wasn’t sure if he was capable of smoothly finding out if Carmen liked him. He felt relief because he thought he could fix the social situation, although he was going to have to work hard at changing his speaking habits. Ethan laughed at himself. His personality of being stern was what caused him to distance himself from people and now that he has a capable researcher, he realized that the distance he used to protect himself was hurting their relationship.