Kiss and Spell

“So it’s serious, I take it.”

“Yeah, I suppose it is,” I said reluctantly. Then I was surprised that I felt so reluctant about it. But it didn’t feel too serious, at least, not on my part. I barely remembered Josh existed unless I was with him, and I had a hard time remembering specifics of our time together. The only date I recalled with any detail was our last one. Anything happening before that might as well have happened to someone else. I had far more vivid memories of Owen, and I’d only known him a couple of days. I didn’t think that was a good sign.

*

As Florence and I prepared to turn the café over to the night crew, she said, “Would you mind if we made it a night in instead of a night out? I think I’ve had about all I can take of people for one day. Maybe we could pick up some takeout and watch a video. That way we could talk.”

“Sounds good to me. Your place or mine?”

“Yours, if you don’t mind. It’s closer and nicer.”

We stopped by the café where I got my morning coffee and ordered burgers to go at the counter. Perry the waitress turned in the order, then leaned on the counter to chat with us. “Looks like you’ve got a big night of cholesterol ahead, huh?” she said with a grin.

“Usually, tofu’s more my speed, but you’ve gotta indulge every so often,” Florence told her.

“Yeah, as much kale as she eats, she can get away with a burger every now and then,” I said. “Me, on the other hand, well, I don’t know what my excuse is.”

“You work very hard,” Florence said. “And now the new boss has you doing two jobs.”

“Two jobs?” Perry asked.

“It’s not that bad,” I said. “He’s just getting my help with some planning during lulls at work.”

“And you should see this boss,” Florence added. “Spending time with him is not a chore. I think he likes Katie.”

Perry leaned forward across the counter with great interest. “Ooh, he does?”

“He does not,” I said, rolling my eyes. “He didn’t show even the slightest bit of jealousy when Josh showed up or sent flowers.”

“So you were watching for jealousy?” Florence teased.

“Just so I’d know where things stood. I wanted to see if there’d be a situation I needed to defuse. Things might get awkward at work if my boss got jealous of my boyfriend.” I remembered then that he’d asked how long we’d been dating, but that could have just been casual conversation, not an indication of interest, so I decided I wouldn’t mention it. I didn’t want to give Florence any additional ammunition.

“Order up!” the cook called, and Perry went to get our meals.

“Have a good evening, and I want updates about this boss,” she said as she handed us our bags.

At my place, I let Florence peruse my DVD collection while I got dishes and drinks from the kitchen. She was putting a disc in the player when I returned. “I think a good chick flick is just what the doctor ordered,” she said as the two of us settled onto the sofa.

The movie opened with the heroine walking to work through her neighborhood as a perky pop tune played and the credits showed on the screen. It was an eerily familiar situation. “Do you ever have days when you feel like that, where you can practically hear the song on the soundtrack?” Florence asked. I turned to see if she was joking, but she looked serious.

“I guess,” I said with a shrug. It did look an awful lot like some of my recent mornings had felt.

Then the movie got going. As usual, the heroine had a boyfriend who was obviously wrong for her when the right guy fell into her life. “Sometimes, I just want to smack some sense into these chicks,” Florence said, shaking her head in frustration. “Shouldn’t it be obvious that this is the wrong guy?”

“I don’t know. He doesn’t seem too bad.” I wasn’t sure why I was defending him, though. I didn’t think I’d want to date him.

“He’s boring. I’ll tell you what he is: He’s the safety net. The comfort zone. He’s not going to challenge her, but she’s also not going to grow when she’s with him.”

“Are you trying to tell me something?” I asked.

She raised her hands in mock surrender. “I’m just watching the movie. In real life, though, she’d ditch him in a heartbeat for the heartthrob. She just sticks with him because otherwise it would be the world’s shortest movie. Girl meets Mr. Right, realizes it, and dumps Mr. Wrong. The End.”