She glanced at him. There was no doubt about it. She turned to walk away, but he spotted her. In a crowded Granville Island marketplace, they would meet for the first time in ten years. She courteously turned around to greet him, hoping to keep the encounter as short as possible, because she still had shopping to do.
”Hey, it’s been a long time,” he initiated. She looked at him intently, trying to see who this really was and replied with a nervous chuckle.
“Yeah it has.” She stared at her shoes, as she had often done in order to short circuit conversation. But as she grew absorbed with her footwear, her mind wandered. Groceries, clothes, bookstore, shower, nightlife…but this wasn’t part of her Saturday. They stood there for while. She wanted him to say, “So nice to see you again” and shuffle off. It never happened when she looked up. He was still there.
“I know that you probably want to get on with your usual Saturday. But usual is the usual, ya know? How about accompanying an old acquaintance for the day?”
She was taken aback by his candor. In spite of the abruptness of the encounter, she was intrigued by the proposal.
“And I’ll treat you to dinner. I mean its something long overdue.” To which she replied in cliché.
“So are you asking me out…on a date?”
“I wouldn’t put it that way. I mean we barely know each other now. I just didn’t want to wander the streets of Vancouver all by my lonesome,” he said with sedate joviality. She started to be swayed by his proposal, but still stood there silently, devising a response appropriate for the moment. When such a response was not forthcoming, he intervened again.
“You look like you’re on a schedule,” he said looking at her grocery list. “How about this? I’ll tag along with you for the morning as you go through that list. And if you aren’t tired of me after that, we can go on from there.” The slightest of smiles appeared on her face. She was amused that he was now a willing participant in her shopping escapades.
“That sounds like plan,” as she restarted her walk through the market. “And please try to keep up.” A playful haughtiness fused with her steps, as her Saturday routine was pleasantly disturbed.
