A Question of Love.
View all responsesA piece of flash fiction:Sitting on the park bench overlooking the boating lake on a cold winter’s morning wasn’t Ben’s idea of fun. Was this going to be another failed blind date? Goodness, how many more times does a man have to be stood up before he calls it quits?
Okay, so in his past, he might have stood a couple of dates up; he was just one of the lads back then. Now he could see it wasn’t the right thing to do. After all, age brings wisdom. Someone in his age group wouldn’t do such a thing. Ben checked his phone. Nope, no message to say the date was off.
Maybe, Simon was mucking him about, but he’d exchanged phone numbers with Lizzy. They even chatted on the phone and FaceTime over the net. It wasn’t as if it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. They had chatted about their past and hopes for the future. Explained, what had led to their loneliness. A failed marriage, a life partner passing away.
Ben looked along the path in both directions. Lizzy seemed sweet, but there was something about her. Ben liked her lively, laughing eyes. Her bright, positive attitude and outlook on life. What had she said about every cloud? Maybe he should learn to listen more.
‘Ben, every cloud has a silver lining. Something good always comes out of something negative. If I hadn’t been stood up on that blind date forty years ago I would’ve never met the man of my dreams. There I was sitting in the cold all dressed up with nowhere to go. Charles came along with a group of friends. I knew him briefly before. Seen him around.’
‘The love of my life,’ Lizzy had said. Oh, to have known such a love Charles had with Lizzy would have made him the luckiest man on earth, Ben thought as his phone buzzed.
‘At last,’ Ben said, pulling his phone from his pocket. His fingers were numb with cold.
The text read: ‘I know forty years is a long time to carry a grudge, Benjamin, and if you hadn’t stood me up… well, do I need to say more. At least, I’ve sent you a message to say there’s a lovely coffee shop behind you that’s just opening up about now. Who knows you might just meet someone nice in there while you warm up.’
(A woman scorned is never a good thing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯(¬‿¬))
I hope you enjoyed my tale.
Have a great day.
