From my office, I observed Roslyn
hang up her phone
and lob it across her desk
as though its grip burned
words before said words became her enemy.
She cried and tried to hide it.
Roslyn held her face in her hands.
She said nothing.
But her trembling said more
than I’d wanted to know.
But the effort to feign normalcy caught
my attention.
I fixed my hair in the mirror.
I cupped my mouth and blew
to check my breath.
I pushed myself to my feet
and made my way to her office.
I stood in the doorway,
and wondered if I should mind
my own business.
I knocked.
Roslyn lifted her head.
She motioned me in.
“Everything okay?” I said.
Roslyn brushed tears with her fingers. “No, nothing is okay.”
“Anything I can do to help?” I said, more concerned than I’d wanted to lead on.
“It’s this guy,” Roslyn said, motioning. “I finally built the guts to ask him for a date.”
I shrugged. “We all go through it, pal.”
Surprised, she arched a brow. “You, too?”
“Yes. It happens more than I’d like to admit.”
Roslyn giggled. “So you’re not seeing anyone?”
“Unless you know something that I don’t.”
“I thought this guy was seeing someone.” Roslyn’s eyes drifted into thought and then aligned with mine. “The guy that I was going to ask—”
“You don’t owe me an—”
“—was you…”
I held a hand to my chest. “Me?”
“Emily said you were taken.”
I laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“My twin brother and Deborah are an item.”
“I’m sorry,” Roslyn said, shaking her head with closed eyes. “Did you say you have a twin brother?”
“I’ve had a twin since I was born.”
She laughed.
“Crazy, isn’t it?”
“I saw the picture of your brother and Deborah and thought it was you. I was giving her an earful on a voicemail.”
“Wait, I’m the one you wanted to—”
“Will you please go on a date with me?” Roslyn spoke with the desperation of a captive, pleading for freedom.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I planned to ask a girl on a date, too.”
Roslyn lowered her chin and sighed. “I understand.”
“So, will you go on a date with me?”
Roslyn lifted her chin and narrowed one eye. “Seriously?”
“Only one way to find out.”
“And what’s that?”
“Say yes.”
“Of course,” Roslyn said as her face glowed.
“And that’s how I met your grandma, Lexy.”
“Tell it again, grandpa.” Lexy blushed. She nestled in my arms, wrapped in a fleece blanket.