Appreciation Day

“Noah,” said Betty. “This isn’t a surprise. This is just you being your usual weird self. When you said surprise, I thought you meant like a movie, or dinner, or, I don’t know, maybe you bought me a gift.”

“Don’t be afraid,” replied her boyfriend. “Surprises are no fun if you’re afraid.”

“Okay,” said Betty. “It’s Appreciation Day. And we’re appreciating what? A wood crib with an old blue tarp over it that ought to have been replaced long ago?”

“You’re thinking too much. You sound like a grown-up already. This is a sight to enjoy and be thankful for, not to worry about.”

Betty rotated her bicycle pedal backward and forward with her free foot to express her impatience as gently as she could.

“You know,” she said, “I have plenty of teachers at school. And there’s my mother and father and plenty of relatives if that wasn’t enough. Why don’t you and I just … hey, my uncle Teddy is here. He could drive us to the shopping centre and that miniature golf course inside one of the buildings where you play in the dark and the only thing lit are the golf balls. Now that would be fun. Let’s do that!”

Noah sighed. It was a muggy day and foggy all around except for right where they were and a few yards to either side. He could feel the sweat forming under his arms that soon would roll down toward his waist. He could feel his disappointment that Betty was unable to share in his appreciation. And he could feel that persistent tug of affection that he always felt with her around.

“Okay,” he agreed. “Let’s do that.”

He felt a strange satisfaction that evening as he lay in bed beyond the easy reach of sleep. He felt appreciative of everything. It had started with the green that had burst like shooting stars through the blue, which was the surprise he had so wanted to share with his girl. But that appreciation had grown even stronger when he gave in to her and went to play golf in the dark and got to hear her laugh when she beat him on almost every hole. To hear her laugh when he could not see her beautiful face.

For some reason, he could not see her now, even as her laughter persisted in the darkness of his bedroom. It was as if she were with him even more than if they had been under the covers there together. And yet he could not imagine her face.

“Surprise, surprise,” he whispered, to no one at all.

21 August 2024
Texas Jim
Prospect, Nova Scotia
www.granitecoast.ca