39 at Last

Ellen settled onto the picnic bench and adjusted her skirt, glancing towards the children who scampered over the nearby playground. She was not much different than she had been twenty years earlier. A few more lines in brow and cheeks, a closer likeness to her mother, but the same hazel-green eyes which could slip from sparkling to contemplative in a moment. That very transformation took place now as she looked up and saw a man of about her own age sauntering towards her. He was of average height and wiry

build, with fluffy dark hair and a perpetual smirk. Their eyes met, and an answering smirk crossed her face. He dropped down onto the bench across from her and leaned forward on his elbows.

"Hello Miss Ellen."

"Hey Theo."

They stared each other down for a solid ten seconds, then burst out laughing. Ellen was the first to sigh and say laughingly,

"Oh man. I can't believe we're here."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Hey, I'm just here because you reminded me yesterday. You're the one who kept track for the last twenty years."

Rolling her eyes, she said,

"As if you weren't making quips about it for the last six months, Theo.

"Hey! I had to make those quips because you promised, and you can't go back on it just because I'm getting the better deal now."

She snorted. "You were always getting the better end of the deal, Theo. All our friends would have agreed at the time. I was the brilliant, gorgeous one. You were the snarky sidekick along for the ride." He clutched a hand to his chest as if wounded.

"Is this how it's always going to be? I say something nice and you are so touched you have to insult me? I mean I guess if that's your love language I can translate but-"

She grabbed his neatly pressed collar and kissed him, then sat back and burst out laughing at the expression on his face.

"Bet you weren't expecting that, huh?"

He sputtered, turning beet red and glancing around at the unfortunate children nearby who were groaning, having witnessed the spectacle.

"I-No, I mean, I thought-well, you...!"

Ellen laughed harder, then finally stopped to catch her breath.

"I've been waiting to

see that reaction for twenty years. No regrets."

Having recovered himself, Theo drew in a breath. "Well it's a good thing you didn't do it back then. I would have avoided you like the plague if you had stolen my first kiss. I must say, I had no idea you would do such a thing, even now, Miss Ellen. Quite scandalous." He smirked again. "Not that I didn't enjoy it."

She shrugged, matching his grin. "I figured, twenty years later, we've both had the first kiss experience. And there's no one to be scandalized anymore except ourselves. The benefits of seeing your expression were seriously starting to outweigh my scruples."

They paused, for a moment, thinking back. What a difference two decades could make. They had gone from being fresh young things on the cusp of life, to watching the nearby children with experienced eyes. Life had taken them in different directions, with

different people, spouses, churches. But there was still this spark of friendly camaraderie, with its core of loyalty and respect. Now, here they were again. Remarkably rendered single by conspiring events, at the very age they had joked about in their twenties.

Theo leaned forward again, gazing over her shoulder at the clouds gathering on the horizon.

"I guess we might have to cut this conversation short. Unless you want to be totally rain-soaked in the next three minutes."

"I'm sure you wouldn't mind that." it was almost absentminded, an automatic quip as she turned things over in her mind.

"I guess I’ll have to take a raincheck on it." She rolled her eyes, and Theo stood up as if to leave, then turned back, walking over to her side of the table. "You know what, Miss Ellen Young, in the interests of keeping you here as long as possible, I might as well go through

with it." He drew a ring from his pocket and held it out to her. Her eyes widened, mesmerized by the diamonds which were set into the entire circle of the band, glinting in the sunlight which peeked irregularly from behind the clouds. His eyes were laughing, as if it were all a joke, but the fingers holding the ring were tense and white. Behind her, the clouds shifted and roiled, turning the previously golden playground into a place of shadows and

angles. "You know we’ve always joked about getting

together, but were always too different to actually try it. Well, the time has come. I think we might have a chance. So I want you to look at this ring and think really, really hard about whether you want to be my-“ Thunder crashed, rolling across the sky. “Girlfriend.” He finished. She stared at him, incredulous, as the rain swept over them in sheets. Then she stood up and punched him, hard, in the solar plexus. Gasping, he took a step back and slipped on the grass which was slick with rain. She was already jumping up as he fell, and knelt by his wheezing form to inspect for damage. Then he started laughing in raspy chuckles, and she grinned triumphantly, lowering her head to hear his next words over the rain.

"You can-certainly-punch better now!" he said hoarsely when he had his breath back. "You dork! That'll teach you to tease me like that!" She told him fiercely. Then they both broke, shaking with laughter, and he sat up and pulled her into a kiss. After the kiss, they helped each other stand up and ran back to their vehicles in the rain. "We are such a cliche!" exclaimed Ellen. Theo grinned. "You can kiss better now too!" She raised her eyebrows. "Oh my word, Theo, how would you even know that?" Grinning wisely, he said "I have my sources." With that, they said goodbye and ducked into their vehicles, and Ellen found herself grinning at the steering wheel, quite satisfied with her afternoon.