Alice & Bob

A mutual sense of camaraderie had helped Alice and Bob keep their relationship afloat. It hadn't been a smooth voyage by any measure, full of long patches of rough waters and heavy storms that refused to dwindle, but it was the acknowledged necessity to overcome those very obstacles what had turned them into scarred seafarers capable of navigating the seven seas and beyond.

They would never forgive me for using these terms to talk about their relationship. If it were up to them they would have chosen a different metaphor, since she can't swim and he trembles upon the idea of stepping into the sea, for he knows of the creatures that await him under the surface to devour his feet and then the rest. But they will never know. They are busy sitting at the table of an elegant restaurant.

"Since when do we go to these fancy places?" she asked. "We are more of a triple-sandwich-on-a-dirty-joint-that-doesn't-even-specialises-in-sandwiches kind of couple."

He laughed as he often did upon her remarks. She was referencing the time they first met many years ago when they bonded over the junkiest of junk food.

"That day. That damn day." His eyes turned bright. "If I could ask for anything, any thing, it would be to relive that day. Not that I have any complaints about what followed, but that day was heart-piercing special".

"Oh, it was, it was. Even if you tried to impress me with a flower. You fool didn't know yet how much I hate flowers as a gift." She paused. "There's however something else we can do."

"What?" he asked with the curiousity of a thousand children.

"I'm going out of the restaurant. I will come in again and spot you for the first time. Let's get to know each other all over again."

On her way out he grabbed a flower, a yellow tulip, from a bouquet.

That must be him. Bob.

Looks good. Handsome. Clean. Well, from afar.

Hopefully smells good too.

He came earlier, always nice. Always gives her the freedom to check him out and leave if she pleases. Not that she would, but she could.

Restaurant also seems good. Some place fancy but not a show off of wealth.

Somewhere between a McDonald’s and a W Hotel.

Somewhere they can both afford but wouldn’t go to everyday.

Somewhere... special.

Well, good enough to accommodate two people on a blind date.

Not like a coffee and run. Gotta stay for the whole meal.

He seems kind, which is normally not what she’d go for.

But here they are.

He bought a flower. How nice of him.

A conundrum at the first second, the one that will start them all:

Does she say she’s not a fan of flowers or the color yellow?

Take it and respect the gesture then throw it in some random garbage?

It’s not a plant, just one single flower.

A tulip. Ew.

A yellow tulip.

But he got it for her nonetheless.

Does he get one for every blind date?

Is that his go-to flower choice?

If so, she can’t. She just can’t.

No other boyfriend has ever gotten her a flower though. No other date.

Just Bob.

King of the minions, cute name, cute creature.

Short for Robert, probably, and she could go for that. Classy.

Does she have something against being cared for?

Could be.

Why else would she have a 100 in her wallet? He’d want to pay but by then she’d have the check in her hand with the 100, saying most guys mistake dates for girls to have free meals and she’d insist on paying, which’d make a dent in her savings, but not that much more valuable than her pride. She wants a connection, not a free meal.

Chicks gotta ruin everything for her.

They show up expecting the guy to pay, no money in their pockets, disrespectful.

Not her. She will respect people and people will respect her.

Nerves start getting the best of her, then she realizes she got lost in her head again, just plain staring at Bob from about 10 feet away.

Then in the next split second, Bob lifts his head and they make eye contact.

He smiles and waves her over. A warm smile. She smiles back. Also warm.

Bad start.

Now he’ll think she was hesitant but stayed because of the eye contact.

Damn it Alice. Be cool, be smooth. Not your first date.

She walks over and Bob stands up, showing he is the height she finds attractive, with his beautiful face and smell, gives her a warm hug.

She’s tense. Her hug isn’t as warm. But she loves his.

This will be a weird meal, she thinks.

And it will.

For both of them.

New things are always weird, but theirs will be more unique than anything they’ve ever experienced.

So unique they’ll always remember it with a smile on their faces; and after about 8 years, a framed picture of a yellow tulip she will some day draw will happen to be the thing they see first thing in the morning for about every day; because of the story he told that night about how he came to buy it.

But hush; she’s still unaware of her love for yellow tulips.

Let her be surprised. For the second time.

January 2019. Sant Just Desvern. Collab with CuberaJe, Barcelona.

Picture stolen from The Yellow Tulip Project