Book #2

a date

You.
Them.
Together at noon.
A date.

It would be a date.

Platonic, romantic, or something else,
it didn't matter to them.
They wanted to do something fancy
something fun
to show that they loved you.

Their invite said not to wear anything too special
but you could spare getting a little dressed up.

They met up with you at the entrance to the park, right by the road.
They walked,
you drove.
(Well, they didn't drive
because they were scared of driving.
They never felt the need to learn anyways.)

You two walked past the playground,
past the dog park,
into the trails.

The trails went on for a while,
in all honesty.
You could probably walk for hours.

You found a spot
in a slightly shaded field,
the grass its regular summer golden.

They tore out a patch of Scotch Broom -
invasive, they pointed out -
as a part of their "garden club duties".
(and to make space for you)
(and to show off a little too)

They pulled off the cloth around their waist
(which they almost always wore)
and set it as a blanket
on the ground.
They were allergic to grass,
but they didn't really care about that,
this was mostly for the mood.

They had carried a little cooler box,
which they opened to reveal a picnic.
Fresh grapes,
chocolate croissants,
turkey sausage,
a small block of cheese,
and two personal-sized bottles
of sparkling cider.

You must've chuckled
at their elaborate choice of meal
because they looked at you with this glint in their eye
that told you they had planned this for a while.

They invited you to start on anything
while they started slicing up the meat snd cheese
with the knife
that you got them for their birthday,
the one that they had been raving to you about.
Can you believe that was only a few months ago?

You noticed them look strangely at the sun
and you steadied their hand
as they sneezed at the light.
You blessed them
and laughed a little bit.
They asked if you didn't also sneeze at bright lights.
You responded that you don't look directly into bright lights.
You know,
like a normal person.

They remembered to drop the knife,
thankfully,
before bringing their hand to their face
in their strange laugh.

They knew how weird they were.
It was a point of pride for them.
You liked it too.
(And they liked how you liked it;
they liked you for that.)

You two chatted through lunch.
And after lunch, you chatted some more.
About life
and the world
and the things you enjoyed.

You pointed up at a tree
to make a point
and they had an idea.
While you continued explaining,
they climbed up the tree
and sat on the branch you pointed at earlier
and looked down at you
with a look -
that they were satisfied
and they loved you.