Joy Wilson

Double Take






Double
Take


Mandy was having
one of the longest days at work that she could remember. Her tiny
gray cubical felt like it was closing in on her. Relief overcame her
once the clock struck five. She quickly grabbed her things, waved
farewell to her co-workers, and headed for the door.
The line outside
the quaint tea shop was long. Standing in line with the California
sun beaming really wasn't bad at all. It gave Mandy the time she
wanted to think over her life, and to get the daily grind out of her
mind. Work was over, and now was time she could do things she
enjoyed. She skimmed over the heads in front of her to see how long
the line would be, unconsciously pushing up her glasses as she did.
The line slowly
moved forward.
Mandy, (like most
women) wanted a husband, two kids, and a nice house with a picket
fence. Her thirtieth birthday had come and gone and she was still in
her one bedroom apartment. She didn't really know what had gone
wrong. Why these things where not in her life yet. Her mom would say,
“You just haven't met the right guy yet.” While her friends all
said it was because she wasn't putting herself out there enough. She
thought it was due to the fact that most men lie on their on-line
profile. Whatever the case, her love life was nowhere near where she
wanted it to be. She didn't even have a boyfriend.
The line moved some
more.
With a quiet sigh
she pushed her lonely thoughts from her mind. This was not the time
to be thinking of boyfriend, she had the latest Nicholas Sparks novel
just waiting for her to read it. But who was she kidding, every women
she knew of on this green earth wanted to be with someone. She tried
to move her thoughts to what she had planned tonight: a quiet dinner
and then going to the local acting class. It wasn't much, but it was
the most fun she had since that one frat party in college where she
got a little tipsy and ended up dancing on the table. Her mood began
to brighten.
She was now in the
front of the line.
As Mandy went to
take a final step forward to the counter so she could place her
order, a man in a sleek gray polo shirt moved in front of her,
bumping her out of the way. Anger and shock came into her mind
first. Why would someone think they could cut in front? Who did he
think he was?Mandy knew what she had to do.
Tapping the gray
shirted man, she said, “Excuse me Sir, but the line starts back
there.” Mandy finally took notice that the whole shop was quiet.
She could now feel the eyes of every person staring at her, and she
knew her face would be beat red in a second. The man slowly turned
around to face her, letting his eyes lock with hers. It was then that
she realized why the room was so hushed. It was him. She couldn't
place his name, but his handsome face was everywhere; trailers for
his new movie were on the TV all the time, not to mention his guest
appearances on all the late night talk shows.
She didn't move,
and neither did he. He seemed to be studying her; trying to figure
out why this random woman would think to tell him those words. For a
split second his bright blue eyes left her to calculate those around
them, but then came back to rest his eyes back on her.
“My apologies,
Miss,” he said with a tip of his head. He left the front and
quietly waked to the back of the line. The only sound was of his
shiny leather shoes clicking on the stone floor tiles.
With a gulp and a
sigh, Mandy took her spot at the front counter and placed her
predictable order. She took her medium cup of hot steaming chi tea to
the table farthest from the line. Suddenly she wasn't interested in
the book she had brought. Her mind was too consumed with what had
just taken place. Did I really just tell a major movie start to go
to the back of the line? She thought to herself. How was I to
know it was what’s-his-name anyway? She rationalized. She took
a long sip of her tasty drink and tried to put the incident out of
her mind.
“Is this seat
taken?” The hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end to
the sound of the voice. If only she could remember his name! She
didn't want to look up, knowing his face would be looking down on
her. He was probably here to tell her off now, and say how his
attorney would be contacting her soon for making a public
embarrassment of him.
“No.” Somehow
the word came out of her mouth.
He sat in the seat
across from her and it became impossible to escape his gaze. He
looked distressed. The few lines his face had were wrinkled up with
curiosity.
“I wanted to
thank you,” he paused, and she knew he wanted her name, but her
lips were not moving even though her mind was telling them too.
Taking a deep breath she finally mouthed, “Mandy.”
“Mandy, I wanted
to thank you for putting some things into perspective for me. I am
not sure if you know or not, but I'm Rick Eaton. I just had a movie
released a few weeks ago. It's my first big hit. I hadn't realized
until now how much it has been affecting me. I am eternally grateful
to you Mandy. Would it be too much to ask if I could take you out for
dinner sometime, as like a thank you?”
A million things
rushed through Mandy's mind. The house with the picket fence was now
a large Beverly Hills mansion. The future husband was now a common
household named actor. Her children would be beautiful. The thought
she ended on though was none of these. It didn't really matter what
this man was because he had taken a very awkward moment and had
turned into one of the best she had ever had. He had made her feel
like she was important for a change, and that her actions mattered.
Maybe when she got control of her mind and mouth again she would tell
him she honestly didn't know he was a movie star when she asked him
to move.
“Yes. That would
be fine,” she said with no delay this time.
The two kept their
eyes locked for a few moments more, each thinking of what the future
date would be like. Both seemed to know that this chance encounter
had just changed their lives.  

All rights belong to its author. It was published on e-Stories.org by demand of Joy Wilson.
Published on e-Stories.org on 01/18/2010.

 
 

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