Flowers

Spencer stopped for flowers on his way to work. At the time he found this sensible; he had to go straight to the second date from his office, and, knowing rush hour, would feel pressured for time to stop after. As he pulled into the parking lot a realization hit him, and his stomach flipped upside down—he could not bear to bring the flowers into the office and set them on his desk. To field questions from his coworkers filled him with dread so that his cheeks turned red in anticipated embarrassment. No, he thought it better to leave them in his car.

There they sat baking in the heat. When he handed them to Jacqueline at the table, the petals had begun to wilt, and there were too few of them, having fallen off and littered the mats. He blushed when handing them to her and avoided her eyes, looking instead at the grey sidewalk. “I’m glad to see you again,” he said.

No. 143

Stalled

At the end of the date, Spencer and The Girl walked back to his car. He parked along a side road in Hollywood to save money and walked to the restaurant. She took a Waymo. The date had been without incident, positive or negative, and Spencer was surprised when she agreed to go back to his apartment. 

Coming up to his car, Spencer mumbled a quick phrase denigrating it: how busted; needs a wash; hand-me-down from his cousin. He inserted the key into the passenger door, opened it for her, knelt down and threw some papers and an empty bottle into the backseat. With an embarrassed smile, he avoided her eyes, then circled the car to the driver’s side. As he removed the steering lock, he turned and said: “I didn’t think you’d say yes.”

He turned the key, and the engine sputtered before stalling. His heart rate quickened. “Sometimes it takes a few tries.”  He tried again, then again, then again. He rested his forehead on the steering wheel.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’ll get a ride. Thank you for dinner.”

No. 106