Everlasting Spark

This is ridiculous.

The three words plopped into Oakley’s mind, as she took the key out of her car’s ignition. It was a rainy Wednesday evening but uncharacteristically warm for a winter night. Oakley was already running ten minutes behind.

This is ridiculous.

The thought plopped into her mind again. Her sister, Shaina, had convinced her to go on this date. She did not want to go. Not because she thought the guy was awful or anything like that, but because she just was not convinced love was a real concept. She was thirty-one years old. She worked as an administrative assistant for the city’s newspaper editor. She had a dog named Brutus. She lived in a small and quaint apartment, but she thought it was decorated. Oakley lived a decent life, but love had evaded her. She had dated a guy for two years and then he decided he wanted to join the circus. Oakley dated periodically after that but never had much luck. The last date had ended with the guy going to the bathroom and not coming back. Oakley watched as he got in his car and drove off. She never heard from him again.

Oakley had met Garrett, in the local coffee shop. She was waiting on her regular order of a cappuccino and a blueberry muffin when Garrett came barreling through the door. He was wearing black hooded sweatshirt and black sweatpants. His Nike sneakers looked brand new, and his beard and hair were neatly trimmed. Oakley had to confess; he was an attractive man. He ordered a regular coffee with caramel and a bottle of water. Oakley must have been staring at him, unknowingly, because he made eye contact wither her and smiled. Jeez his teeth are perfect, she thought. “Hey. My name is Garrett,” he offered Oakley his hand. She took it and said, “Oakley.” “I like that book. My sister told me to read it which left me no real choice.” Oakley looked down, remembering she had Joan Didion’s Slouching Towards Bethlehem in her hand. Twenty minutes later, they were discussing books they had read amongst other things.

Oakley realized she liked him even before they exchanged numbers, but she had put off going on a date with him. But after almost four weeks of pining over him and talking excessively about him, Shaina had told Oakley to stop dreaming and go on a date with him. “What is the worst thing that could happen? He joins the circus,” her sister had told her.

The car clock read 6:22. She put the hood of her black raincoat overhead and ducked into the restaurant. She was twenty-two minutes late now. Garrett was sitting in the back of the dimly lit restaurant. He was scanning through his phone when Oakley arrived at the table. He looked up and flashed his dazzling smile. “I was getting a little bit worried.” Oakley nodded. “I apologize. I am normally a punctual person.” She took off her coat and sat across from Garrett. She had decided on a simple emerald, green dress, and a pair of sparkling high heels. Her hair pulled back into a high ponytail and just a dash of mascara and lip gloss. She thought she looked decent enough. The restaurant, Garrett had chosen, was a top-rated Italian restaurant and the people around them were all dressed sophisticated and classy. Garrett was wearing a pair of black slacks and a beige dress shirt. Instead of fancy shoes, though, he was wearing Nike sneakers that matched his dress shirt. Oakley thought he looked amazing even with his personal style.

Two hours later, the pair were standing at Oakley’s car. The rain had stopped, and it was still unseasonably warm. They had both ordered the Chicken Marsala and it was delicious. They had discussed their favorite things from sports teams to favorite movies. Garrett talked about his amateur boxing career and the many different characters of people he had met throughout. It fascinated Oakley how vast their topics of discussion were. They could talk about the issues facing the world like inflation and environmental concerns but two minutes later, they could talk about the best sauce to eat French fries with. Oakley said ranch; Garrett said ketchup was an old but reasonable choice. She really liked him, which was frightening and exciting at the same time.

Lost in her thoughts, she had not realized Garrett was staring into her eyes with a very intentional look. “I had a really good time,” she told him. Garrett nodded. “Me too. Better than the last one I was on.” Oakley gave him a quizzical look. Garrett laughed. “My friend set me up on a blind date about five months ago. She told me I needed to socialize more.” Garrett sighed. “The woman spent the whole time talking about her life. How awful it was. Her job sucked. Etc. Etc.” “It would have been okay if we hadn’t been in a theater.” Garrett sighed again. “Let’s just say, everyone in the theater was not happy. Tonight was a much better experience.” Oakley smiled. “I should head home. I have an early work meeting in the morning.” “Totally get it,” Garrett responded. Oakley reached out and they embraced. Before they broke the embrace, Garrett put one of his hands on Oakley’s face. He kissed her. It lasted three seconds but Oakley felt a tingle. Is that what they call a spark? Before Oakley could say anything, Garrett kissed her again and then separated from their embrace. A light rain mist was falling from the sky. And the restaurant’s music speakers were playing Penny and the Quarters, You and Me. Oakley could hear it from the entrance speaker. Before she could gather her thoughts, she spoke. “That was…amazing.” The streetlight was illuminating Garrett’s light blue eyes; like they were twinkling. “They say first kisses can be overrated but I disagree.” Garrett took Oakley’s hand. He interlocked their fingers and they looked into each other’s eyes for what seemed like hours.

              Six months later, sitting on a beach with the sunset on the horizon, Garrett asked Oakley to be his wife. She said yes without hesitation. As she looked at the sparkling diamond ring on her finger, she remembered their first kiss. She remembered the spark she had felt. Then realizing even as time had come and gone, that spark had never gone away.