pavement

Discretely, Michael yawned to one side, raising the back of his hand to his open mouth as he did so. The last time he’d been out so late was at his nephew’s birthday party a handful of months ago. In a regular night, he would already be asleep. Tonight, however, it was nearing eleven p.m. and he was walking under the moonlit sky. 

The woman who had agreed to accompany him on a date was Samantha Hearing. She was a lovely woman, a single mother with a daughter who was looking to reenter the romance scene, or so said Michael’s colleague who had decided they were the perfect match. 

To Michael’s chagrin, Lily from HR had failed to mention that Samantha was ten years his junior. When Michael had realized this at the start of the night, he’d nearly walked out then and there, overly embarrassed on Samantha’s behalf. He sincerely doubted Lily from HR had told her their age difference either if her surprise was any indicator. 

“My daughter loves that tree! That one there.” 

Although Michael hadn’t known Samantha for long, three hours in and he was already aware of her tendency to stay in motion, unable to stay still for any prolonged period of time. Throughout dinner, Samantha would often twirl strands of her dark blonde hair around her index finger. Now, she had moved on to continuously reaching for her necklace as they walked. 

“She’s always wanted us to get one of our own but it’s been years already and we still haven’t looked into it.” 

The tree was beautiful. “Mhm. I see.” 

“Yeah…” Her hand reached for her sternum. 

Usually, around their county, oak trees were by far the most common. Michael doubted he’d ever even seen a tree similar to this one before. It was tall with tails of leaves flowing to the ground, not unlike party garlands that hang from ceilings. Michael wondered how long that tree had stood there. It was no wonder Samantha’s daughter had an obsession for it. It was beautiful. 

“Do you have anything that you especially find yourself enjoying? Something that makes you stop for just a second to get a better look?” Samantha asked, he words quick as bullets. 

“No, no. I don’t think so.” Bang. Bang. Bang. 

“…” 

“Well, I think maybe – a water bottle that I have.” A water bottle? “It’s very practical.” Michael pretended to be very interested in the nearest mailbox. It was absolutely hideous. 

“Oh… That’s nice.” Samantha looked uninterested. Really, why wouldn’t she be? 

Michael thought they had been walking for a while now. Hadn’t Samantha said she lived nearby? Although he didn’t dare mention it to Samantha, Michael was certain they’d made a square at some point. 

Reading his mind, Samantha followed, “You know what! Seriously, my house is really close from here. You don’t have to walk me the rest of the way. I’ve got it from here! You should be heading back, it’s pretty late already!” 

Should he leave as she says or should he insist on leaving her at her door? His father would be apoplectic if he ever learned that his son had left a woman further from her doorstep on a date. 

“It’s not a problem for me. I can walk with you the rest of the way.” He tries to smile. 

“Oh, okay then.” 

‘A water bottle that I have?.’ That sounds awful, Michael reminisced. If Michael had expanded more, perhaps that comment wouldn’t have sounded so out of place. However, it could have also made things worse. The water bottles I’ve owned in the past were quite large – as to contain more water, you see. However, I’ve found that large water bottles are more awkward to carry about. The one I have now is a quite perfect balance between volume area and size.’ 

“– morning. I should probably head in.” 

“…” Michael nodded senselessly. 

“OK well, I’ll see you then!” 

Samantha shut her front door with a slam. Michael sighed. Have a good night. 

As Michael walked down the walkway from Samantha’s door, he reached for his phone in his breast pocket. To his utter misery, he soon realized his phone wasn’t on him at all. Cursing his forgetfulness, he walked back to Samantha’s front door. 

Hello, I am sorry to bother you but it seems that I have misplaced my phone. Could you help me call a cab? 

“Michael?” 

“Hello. Could you help me call a cab?” 

“I’m sorry?” Samatha’s eyes were so wide all you could see was azure blue. 

“Sorry… I seem to have forgotten my phone and I need to get home. I’m sorry, could you call, a cab, for me… to get home?” 

Soft footsteps could be heard behind Samantha. A head of brown soon popped over Samantha’s shoulder. 

“Mom? Who is it?” 

“Oh, yeah sure! Uhm, come in while you wait.” 

As Michael entered, his eyes caught on the canvas over the entry table. ‘Home is where somebody notices you are no longer there. Aleksander Hemon.’ 

“This is my daughter Olivia. Liv, this is, uhm, Mr. Michael Fary.” 

“Nice to make your acquaintance.” Michael stretched out his palm to shake. 

“Yeah, nice to make your acquaintance too,” Samantha’s daughter returned. 

“Olivia!” 

“What?” 

Through the mirror behind the girls, Michael watched as Samantha gave the back of Olivia’s arm a small pinch. 

“I’ll go make that call. Give me a second, Michael. You can wait here.” 

Alone with Olivia, Michael took a seat on the sofa only to soon regret it as he sunk and sunk, and sunk. Discretely, he tried to push himself further out. Olivia snorted. 

“How old are you anyways?” The pre-teen asked, perched on the furthest end of the same sofa herself. 

“I’m sorry?” 

“I think you’re the same age as my mom’s dad. That’s why I’m asking.” 

“…” 

“Anyways, what do you think of my mom?” Not unlike her mother, Olivia began to twirl locks of her hair around her finger. 

“She’s a lovely woman.” Michael tried, struggling not to fidget with his hands. 

“No offense, but I think she could do better than you. Ms. Rogers next door was really insistent when she asked my mom to go on a date with you though.”

“…” 

“She’s just so desperate. If she chilled a little bit, she’d have a lot more luck!” 

“I’m sorry. I think I should wait outside. Could you let your mother know?” 

Determined not to think of what he looked like, Michael scrambled and huffed out of his seat. In a moment of luck, he managed to stay standing in his second attempt. A-ha.

“No, wait!” Faster than him, Olivia jumped between him and the door. 

“Yes?” 

Michael was starting to feel very hot. Tugging at his tie, he looked back in the direction Samantha had gone. 

“Can I call you Dad?” 

“…okay.” 

“…”

“MOM!!!” 

Stumbling past Olivia, Michael walked himself out their home, glaring at what he assumed to be his colleague’s house to the left. Fifteen blocks later, he hailed a taxi. Two hours later, he sent Samantha a text. 

I had a nice time tonight. However, I believe it better that we go our separate ways. Please, do not contact me again. Thank you. Regards, Michael. 

One second after that, Samantha’s number was blocked.