“It’s okay. We still have each other tonight.”
At least those are the words he would have said. If he was still around. Two tragic losses within a span of two weeks. It’s was like Santa’s job this Christmas was to take all her joy away.
First the car accident. Then came the death of her unborn child.
(more…)
Despite having such a common name, Jim was amused that the cashier got it right. J-I-M she had scribbled onto his cup. This was probably the first time he experienced a coffee place getting his name right on the first try.
“Is that all?” she asked him with a cute smile that was accentuated by her slightly crooked teeth.
“Uh, yes.” he replied, trying hard not to blush.
“I was kidding, you’ve ordered plenty for one person,” she said. “This is all for you, right?”
How the hell did you know? He looked down at his tray. Two sandwiches, two donuts, two cookies, a bag of crisps and a slice of cheese cake. He had to collect his coffee from the other counter. He smiled sheepishly. Oh.
“Yeah, you got me.”
“On Christmas eve? Hope you’re not planning to hibernate or anything,” she asked.
“You’re real funny, you know that?”
“You’re real cute.”
It’s been a while since Jim experienced being hit on. Especially by a girl this attractive. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to tell her that he was feeling down. However, Jim couldn’t contain his sadness and began tearing up instead of responding to her compliment with words.
The cashier noticed and said, “please don’t cry! I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“No, you didn’t! It’s not your fault!” he replied as his eyeballs were sweating and the sobs began.
“My friends always told me I was too forward. This is why I spend every Christmas alone. Netflix and chill. By myself. Fuck, I shouldn’t have told you that.”
Jim started to laugh in between his sobs. “I’m just going through a miserable patch in my life right now.”
She passed him some serviettes. “Here, please wipe your tears. You look ugly when you cry.”
“Thanks,” he replied. He wiped his eyes and looked at the cashier.
“This is the part where you ask me out,” she leaned in and whispered.
“Oh. What time do you get off work today?”
“Depends on what time you want to get me off,” she replied.
“What?!”
“Depends on what time you want to pick me up,” she said a little louder.
“Oh, I misheard.. never mind. Let’s go out for dinner tonight. So we won’t have to spend Christmas alone.”
“You mean it?”
“Yeah, you can write your number on my cup.”
“Do you still want all this?” she motioned to all the food on the tray in front of her.
He laughed. “You can give it to your staff. It’s on me. I’ll just grab my coffee. I need it. See you at six?”
“Be sharp, I don’t want to have to stay here any longer than I have to! And please put on a shirt you didn’t sleep in.”
“You’re pretty demanding.”
She winked at him. “See you later, Jim.”
He smiled, turned and exited the café, waving at her through the glass as he walked out onto the snowy road.
It was happening. I couldn’t believe it. Just like the crazy guy down the street predicted. The world was going to end. What was that word those young kids use these days? Apothecary? Apollo? Oh wait, apocalypse. Heh. The name of one of my favorite comic characters. I remember reading X-Men comics as a kid. Those were good times. I enjoyed watching the TV show as well. Gambit’s voice actor was great. After watching the cartoon, I always heard his voice read his lines when reading the comics. That distinctive southern drawl (even though at that time, I didn’t know where he was from) was what drew me to him. And his red iris and black sclera. Oh, and his chill attitude. He was cool. I always wondered why he was never more popular. He and his fancy card tricks. Like Tyler, my old buddy. He was great at card tricks. I remember going over to his house while he was still learning, and he’d amaze me by doing crazy shit like making a card stick on the opposite side of a glass door. We’d spend so much time together, just hanging out. If we weren’t chilling at home, we’d be out looking for the best cup of coffee. I can’t remember how many different cafés we tried. But he never agreed with me on what a good cup of coffee should taste like. That didn’t matter. The best friends are the ones who complement you right? They don’t have to agree with everything you say. I liked good coffee, and he liked the shitty ones. God bless his soul. It’s been awhile since I paid him a visit, but I guess we’ll see each other soon enough. And a whole lot of other people. It’s going to be one big congregation up there. Or down there. I always knew I’d be going to hell. After all, I had no restraint when it came to jokes and making fun of things. The more offensive, the better. I guess I was just apathetic by nature and never really learned how to empathize. A flaw. One of my many. Too many to think about, but it’s okay, I no longer have to worry about it. The drinking, the smoking, the chronic masturbation – all of that isn’t going to matter where I’m going. Or when I cease to exist. Which is it? I’ll find out soon enough.
“George!”
I turned towards the sound and was surprised to see my wife standing at the doorway.
“Are you lost in your thoughts again? Why are you still sitting on the toilet?”
Confused, I pinched the bridge of my nose, blinked and looked at my wife again.
“Ah, it doesn’t matter. We’re all going to die today anyway. I didn’t take my meds either,” she laughed.
“You’re going to die today. I’m going to die today. In any case – it was nice knowing you.”
I nodded and managed a smile.
“I love you.”
Plop
Writing Prompt from Reddit: Take some dice – just whatever you have lying around. Roll them all and add up the total. Your character is that old when the apocalypse occurs. (I rolled two dice twice to get two digits: 6 and 7 for 67)