Mellow Yellow
One of the reasons Alice was nicknamed “Kit-Kat” was her sense of humor that was wrapped in sassiness. Whenever things got a bit dull, Alice knew how to elevate the mood with the right touch of humor.
Taking a quick look at her calendar, as James insisted she track all her social engagements as appointments, she saw that he had added a “let’s talk” appointment.
“Uh-oh… what’s wrong Kit-Kat?” a coworker asked.
“Whatever could you possibly mean?” Alice asked with a faux Southern (US) accent as she fanned her hand to her face.
“It’s not ‘Gone With The Wind’ drama bad, is it?” continued her coworker.
“Nah B. The cane wants to flex” joked Alice in a faux hip-hop accent with a twist of her red-lined lips
They both got a good laugh. While talking about personal matters didn’t happen much at work, there was a way of coding it in humor and other social references that made the point between friends.
Switching over to her text messenger, Alice sent a short note to inform James of her cancellation of their meeting. She wrapped up her note with a “take that” and LOL emoji.
It was time to head out for a late lunch and do some shopping. As far as Alice was concerned, whatever they had to talk about could wait a day or three.
Later that night
James sat in his rat rod weighing the choices on his plate. It was customary for them to have dinner at Alice’s place. This was her night to cook and she had informed him not to rush, as she had come home a late.
Looking over his evening plans, James eyebrows furrowed a bit. Looking back at the house, temptation started itself up into James’ consciousness.
Reaching out to a trusted friend, James ran his ideas by her to verify the cost benefit analysis he had made.
”Hey. I got a situation. I got stood up during lunch today. No explanation. No text. I’m weighing three options here. For dinner tonight, play as if nothing happened or use dinner to talk about the cancellation or drive away and see how she feels. Which is best overall to do?”
James sat and waited in the car. Alice did say not to rush. Turning on his music app, James stopped thinking about his relationship and turned his attention to the piece he would be learning on his cello that night.
Some time later, a notification came through and James ended his music listening to read the message. It was from his friend.
”Hey. Depends on how much you love your relationship. Do you want to keep things cool as they are, do you want to heat them up, or do you want to find another girlfriend. The choice is yours my friend.”
With shoulders slumping, James didn’t like the way the obvious felt. His heart passionately cared for Alice but his actions were routine and methodical. Things were safe. Things were comfortable. However, pretending like being stood up didn’t hurt was not going to help him in the long run.
Something about how he had been stood up bothered James more than he had expected. Fidgeting with the keys in the ignition, the debate rose in intensity. His phone beeped.
“I see you sitting in your car. If you want to leave, then leave. You’re not forced to eat with me.” – Alice
The wind felt sucked out of his lungs. Head swiveling hard, James looked for signs of Alice in the window of her place. The lights were out. Scanning his mirrors, James was surprised to see Alice standing behind his car holding her phone, looking every bit annoyed and feisty.
Leaping out of his rat-rod, James cleared his throat and regained his composure and steadied himself. This had to be handled coolly and calmly.
“I take it that dinner is ready?” James spoke evenly.
“No. Yours is not” Alice said with a roll of her eyes and neck as her hands dismissively flipped her hair back onto her shoulder
“Do enjoy yours in sweet solitude then” James replied with a forced smile designed to veil his emotional pain and surprise.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Alice let slip with a slight bit of hiss as she started to walk back to her place.
“You listen right here Ms. Kitz…” James started to speak authoritatively
With a defiant wave of the hand, Alice dismissed James with “Mr. Bowe, tread very cautiously from here on out”.
As Alice walked away, her heart twisted and turned into knots. Their relationship was taking a turn and she had no idea how the ship would ride the new wave she was creating. It was more of an impulse move, the combination of elements that had converged to spill out in a huff.
By the time Alice had closed her front door, tears were welling up and starting to flow. Where was her knight and why was he not in hot pursuit? James had always been very comfortable with her but tonight felt oddly strained. The banter and jabs had landed on soft tissue instead of witty armament. Something about the blown off meeting felt off. Alice was not going to back down and run after James. That was not her style. If he wanted her, he’d have to show his desires.
Alice looked at her phone as it beeped. It was a message from James.
“Hi love. I’m running late. I’m sorry. I know you said it was OK, but you know me and schedules. I’ll see you in fifteen” – James
This was different… mused Alice
The sound of James’ rat-rod firing up and peeling away didn’t do much to reassure Alice.
The sound of loud rebellious exhaust filled the neighborhood between screeches of tires. Looking at the clock, James felt he could make it in the time he had advertised. Throwing the car about, he carved the corners with determined aggression.
Pulling up to his girlfriend’s place, James jumped out with a box in hand and ran to the door of his lady. Pausing long enough to catch his breath, James knocked softly on the door.
“You really had to knock very softly?” asked Alice as she opened the door disinterestedly.
“Special delivery for Kit-Kat” James replied.
“Now is not the time to be funny” replied a growing curious Alice.
Furnishing his box victoriously, James handed the yellow box to Alice and took a slight bow.
“What is this?” Alice wondered as she felt the weight of the box.
“All instructions are inside. Have a fabulous night” James replied before pivoting on his tip toes and bouncing back to his car.
In puzzlement, Alice watched James leap happily back to his car. This was very uncharacteristic of him. Even the way he smiled as he got in the car and peeled away, James was being way too cavalier.
Shallows of the Deep 