The Man in Yellow

Chapter 5: The Date

Black shoes, or blue? The dress was already blue so maybe blue shoes would be too much, you thought. Black it is. As you put on the flats you think, "Would blue shoes really be too much? The man wears a yellow hat." But having already made up your mind, you settle with black.

You stand back in front of the mirror for a full view. You wore a long sleeved white shirt under the baby blue plaid overalls. You notice notice a very minor cowlick and decide to brush your hair one more time, but the hair now moved towards the brush on its own so you let it be.

You hear a knock on the door. You grab your blue handbag and return to the mirror. You do a small twirl and pose. You look cute and you know it. And there he was, in a yellow suit. A different suit than usual.

"Hey," he begins, "Wow. So, um, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

With time to kill before the restaurant reservation, you decide to go to a movie. You'd been wanting to see a film about the illegal bird trade in Brazil. But you just couldn't focus. You stole glances at Ted every few moments, and thought of him being next to you when you weren't.

You think to yourself, "What am I doing? I need to calm down. It's not like much can happen here." He seems focused on the movie and you try to do the same. "He must really like macaws," you think, "Blue was a good choice."

You feel a sudden warmth touch touch your hand. You look down at the armrest and move your hand closer to his.

The restaurant was, to your honest opinion, bland. One of those fancy restaurants with white interior and dimmed lights. At first you planned to order a salad, but Ted said, "Are you sure? People like us can't come to places like these a lot so it's better to make the most of it. I'm getting a whole ass steak. You don't have to be shy." So you ended up getting a steak as well. You deserved it, after all, having been able to get this far into the night without dying.

The server soon came with two silver domes. They lifted the cloches to reveal the saddest, tiniest piece of meat on the plate with basil on top for extra flair. You and Ted both looked down disappointed at the overpriced slab.

At the moment you forgot you didn't want to sound ungrateful and let out, "What the hell is this?"

"A waste of my last two paychecks," Ted said disillusioned. He let out a deep sigh. "How about we just get pizza after this?"

The pizza was filling, and actually taste two paychecks worth.

As you walk back to your apartment, your heart is only just starting to slow down.

You look down shyly, "Thanks for today."

"I had fun," he blushes.

He takes your hand and brings it to him, pressing it against his lips. You both wave goodbye without a word and he leaves silently. It'll be hard to go to sleep tonight.