Out Of Nowhere

Walking along a sidestreet, heading for the gym, noticing a credit card lying on the ground, picking it up, looking around, seeing a woman standing by a car, calling to her, hi there, is this yours? The woman giving me a guarded look, seeing the credit card, mouth shaping into an O, reflexly reaching for her purse, taking the card, smiling, oh, thank you.

Asking her, are you okay, can I help at all? No, car’s broken down, just waiting for rescue services. Okay, good luck then, hope they come soon.

At the gym, enjoying her aftermath. Attractive open face, unfazed by the car’s breakdown, seeing it as something that just happens, waiting patiently. Pleasant educated voice, engaging somehow beyond the meaning of the words. Slightly windswept look, probably just from standing outside, but unfazed by that too.

Finishing up at the gym, thinking, the exercises were easy today, hardly noticed the twenty minutes on the rowing machine, it was almost as if she were in the same room, me putting in some extra snap to impress her. The invisible spectator, standard athlete motivation.

Stepping into the street, gym gear still on, heading home. A voice calling out, hi, good workout? The woman still at the car. Smiling at her, yes, thanks, are you okay? Yes, still waiting. Oh dear, it can wear you down, these long delays, what’s the problem with the car, anyway? Oh, flat tyre, see, there.

Telling her, oh, that’s nothing, I’ll do it, shame I didn’t know before. Stripping down to teeshirt, no operational benefit but allowing newly flexed muscles to be on show. Lifting out the spare wheel, jacking the car up, changing the wheel. The woman calling the rescue services to cancel.

Flat tyre stashed away, tools replaced, job done. Pause. She asking, are you from around here? Yes, about a mile away, how about you? About five miles away. Oh, well, we should meet up maybe for a coffee some time. Yes, that would be good.

Okay, give me your phone number, I’ll text you something, then you have mine. She complying. Texting her, reminder, coffee with R, sometime soon. Adding an x, no, seems too forward, deleting it, now it looks too bald, adding it back. Send, click. Her phone squawking, she ignoring it but nodding at me, acknowledging.

She climbing into the car, starting it. Me knocking on the window, seeing it wind down, oh, I don’t think you mentioned your name. Carol. Oh, okay Carol, see you soon.

Walking home, feeling wonderful, wondering, what is it, you can be with a woman for just a moment, it seems as if you know her and she knows you better than you do yourselves? And always coming out of nowhere. Well, I wonder where this will lead.