When he
finally comes over to you, what, twenty minutes later, you feel like you’re
going to burst. You are transported back
to high school, make that junior high, wishing the captain of the football team
would ask you out, or at least hold the door for you.
This guy
does better than that, he sits down and introduces himself. He orders what you’re having, then proceeds
to charm your girlfriends with some funny anecdote.
You are not listening,
you are naming your future children. You
have it bad for this guy.
An hour goes
by, maybe two, but it seems like only minutes.
The bar is closing but you cannot stand the idea of him leaving. You are drawn to him, like a magnet.
He whispers
something to your friend; she laughs. The kind of laugh where she throws her head
back, like in the movies. Then you
realize he is interested in her.
You are a
fool.
You excuse
yourself to the ladies’ room and when you come back, they are gone. They are all gone. Your friends, the guy (Robert), even the
waitresses. The bartender tells you it
is time to go. It is like a bad dream.
The lights
click on full bright, and you stumble toward the front door. When you get outside, the cold air assaults
you like a splash of icy water. You
forgot your coat.
You turn
around to get it, and there he is—Robert—and he is holding your coat for
you. “Here,” he says, not unkindly, “let me help.”
You love
this story, this story of how you met and you thought he liked your
friend. Your friend raises a toast to
you now at your 25th Anniversary Party, while you smile over at your
husband, Robert. MOV
****
trifecta writing challenge/ exactly 333 words/ required word is "tush"
