She greeted him with a smile. He looked at her. It wasn't just a normal glance, but he peered deep searching for any kind of justification for what he was feeling . . hoping.
"I saw this downtown and thought of you," he said as he presented her with a small stuffed animal. It was a dog with big sad eyes and droopy ears.
She tried to hide her discomfort, and graciously accepted the small token. "Thank you, it is very cute," she replied and mustered a smile.
Convinced that he was now in her graces, he decreased the distance between them. "Do you remember the time we went to the fair and I won that over sized wiener dog for you?"
"Oh sure," she responded as she glanced at her wall clock from the corner of her eyes, "you threw footballs through a tire or someting, didn't you? That was nice."
"Actually, I shot three basketballs through the hoop . I guess I was pretty lucky, though, because those rims there were shaped like footballs instead of hoops." He laughed what he considered a clever laugh as he recalled the details.
She was wondering how long she was going to have to play along. She knew he was good guy, but that was all she could say about him. He, on the other hand, was contemplating how he was going to extend this drop-by into an evening.
"Are you hungry?" he asked hopefully.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just ate before you got here. It is just as well, though, because I have a million things to do. Maybe another time, though - REALLY!" She wished she had that last sentence back, but getting him out was her primary concern.
He, replayed the "REALLY" over and over in his mind. It gave him a smile that even his limited knowledge of all things suave, made him keep on the inside. "Hey, I understand. Give me a call sometime . . . or I will call you."
He slowly backed through the door that she was already poised to close. "Sure, sounds great."
That was it. He whistled to his car, already deep in thought about when and for what purpose he would call her. She tossed the stuffed dog in the hall closet as she made her way to the vanity where she would continue preparing for a fun night without him.
What a Fool Believes
Michael McDonald/Kenny Loggins
He came from somewhere back in her long ago
The sentimental fool don't see
Tryin' hard to recreate
What had yet to be created once in her life
She musters a smile
For his nostalgic tale
Never coming near what he wanted to say
Only to realize
It never really was
She had a place in his life
He never made her think twice
As he rises to her apology
Anybody else would surely know
He's watching her go
But what a fool believes he sees
The wise man has the power to reason away
What seems to be
Is always better than nothing
And nothing at all keeps sending him...
Somewhere back in her long ago
Where he can still believe there's a place in her life
Someday, somewhere, she will return
She had a place in his life
He never made her think twice
As he rises to her apology
Anybody else would surely know
He's watching her go
But what a fool believes he sees
The wise man has the power to reason away
What seems to be
Is always better than nothing
There's nothing at all
But what a fool believes he sees...
3 comments:
That song has been in my brain for weeks!
First though... you did an excellent job of recreating it as a short story. You should try publishing them, you know - you write great short stories.
Now back to that song. We bought a CD of the M People while on holiday in England. I love them, but they did a retake of this song that at first I HATED, because I was a teen when the original came out and ... well I still think it is the superior version! ;-)
The M people one has grown on me though. Mostly becauseit's sung by Heather Small whose voice I love and because being sung by a woman I connected with the song - I have been the girl who was the "fool" who believed. I hung onto that hope for about five years before I guessed I was just trying hard to hang on to what had yet to be created.
I found "him" online a few years ago. Happy, married... it was good to say goodbye at last and mean it. Good to forgive him for a few things that really were his fault. Forgive them though they know what they do?
A wise woman has the power to reason away... ;-)
You have no idea how ironic that story was to me with recent events in my life...
I wonder what her evening wound up like?
Still checking in...
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