Happenstance
You had to admit, it was a beautiful day.
The sun held court in a soft blue sky. A coterie of clouds gossiped idly among themselves. The park was quiet but for the distant laughter of children and the cool hiss of the fountain. Old men sat on old benches at dominoes and chess sets trading old memories like Christmas gifts.
And there I stood, gray and grim as a wet December, in the last hour of my last day at my last job (at least until I found the next one), my last dime balanced on the nail of my thumb.
The last girl I'd dated left me last year and I hadn't seen one since. It had all been downhill from there. I hadn't been fired or laid off or let go. One day I had a job, and the next day I didn't. Funny how things disappear.
My dime was shiny, at least. That was something. The bottom of the barrel. The end of my rope. The very last hurrah.
It flashed in the sun as I flipped it into the air and made not a sound as it sank to join its brothers in the fountain.
No windfalls. No miracles. Just another dime in the water.
I turned to go and saw her staring. She sat at a table, alone with a board and two towers of checkers. She had eyes like chocolate and little pink lips.
"Want to play?"
I nodded and took the seat. "I've got nowhere to be."
"I'm Charity."
"I thought you might be."
She smiled. "What did you wish for?"
I took the red checkers laid them in a row. "A new rope."
"Think you'll get it?"
"I think I already have."
The sun held court in a soft blue sky. A coterie of clouds gossiped idly among themselves. The park was quiet but for the distant laughter of children and the cool hiss of the fountain. Old men sat on old benches at dominoes and chess sets trading old memories like Christmas gifts.
And there I stood, gray and grim as a wet December, in the last hour of my last day at my last job (at least until I found the next one), my last dime balanced on the nail of my thumb.
The last girl I'd dated left me last year and I hadn't seen one since. It had all been downhill from there. I hadn't been fired or laid off or let go. One day I had a job, and the next day I didn't. Funny how things disappear.
My dime was shiny, at least. That was something. The bottom of the barrel. The end of my rope. The very last hurrah.
It flashed in the sun as I flipped it into the air and made not a sound as it sank to join its brothers in the fountain.
No windfalls. No miracles. Just another dime in the water.
I turned to go and saw her staring. She sat at a table, alone with a board and two towers of checkers. She had eyes like chocolate and little pink lips.
"Want to play?"
I nodded and took the seat. "I've got nowhere to be."
"I'm Charity."
"I thought you might be."
She smiled. "What did you wish for?"
I took the red checkers laid them in a row. "A new rope."
"Think you'll get it?"
"I think I already have."