| Romance- Concluded She sighed. "All I'm asking, Lowell, is for one date. To show Michael that I wasn't lying-" "Which you were." "Will you quit interrupting me with petty details?" she barked. "One date. I'll pay. Once I've established my taken-dom, I'll leave you alone." "Why are you doing this, anyway? What's so wrong with Michael Price?" A sigh. "Other than the suspension he got for bringing his pet snake to school?" "We were studying reptiles in science, though." "Yeah, prehistoric ones." "Still-" "It was a boa constrictor, Lowell! It ate the class pet!" "I always was of the opinion that Mr. Munchles was an ugly hamster, anyway." "Whatever." Geri shuddered. "He just creeps me out." "Hey, never judge a man by his pets. I'm my own goldfish, remember?" "I never said that was a good thing. If it were up to me, you really would be swimming around in that water glass. I just need to keep snake-boy off until I can get a real boyfriend." "Yeah, being my pretend girlfriend is sure to have the guys come a-runnin'." She smiled. "Oh, I'll dump you after Michael and his reptile lose interest." "How fun for me!" He clapped his hands in delight. Geri laughed. "I'm sorry. Will you do it? I really need some help here." "What will you do after you dump me?" "Just try to find a decent, normal guy, I guess. Someone who doesn't have a hang-up about things with scales." He pretended to think. "What about things with shells?" She shook her head, beaming helplessly. It was impossible to be mad at him for long. "Face it, Geri, you're just washed up when it comes to finding romance." "I see it as romance is playing tag right now. And as of today, you're It." He leaned his chin on his fists. "So what should I do after I'm dumped?" "I don't know. Maybe girls will go for that lost-puppy, rebound type thing." "Yay! I can find another girl who gives me voodoo dolls for Christmas!" They both burst out laughing. When it finally died down into awkward little sighs and goofy grins, she murmured, "I think I'm cursed in the romance department." "You and me both," Lowell said with a shrug. They fell silent and watched the realization on each other's faces. He shifted in his chair, looking down into his water glass. "Um- you want to go get something to eat?" She hastily stood to end the awkward moment. "Okay." They walked together toward the front door. Suddenly Lowell got down on all fours and began scrambling in circles around her legs. "We going walking now, huh, huh, huh?" he asked like a little boy. She laughed. "Are you seeing the world through the eyes of a dog, now?" He paused, about to chase his tail. "Things are closer to the ground down here. Freer. Less blurry. I like it." "Always good to try new things," she muttered, opening the door and watching Lowell bound out into the sunlight. |