Story 7

Story 7: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

“Just do it, Bob,” Adam pressed. “Just ask her out. What could possibly go wrong? Are you afraid that she will turn you down?”

“No, that’s not it,” Bob replied, “I don’t know what could go wrong. And that is what worries me. If I knew what could go wrong, I could prepare for it.”

“Look,” Adam pressed further. “You must have her number in your phone. Just call her and ask her if she would like to have dinner with you tomorrow evening.”

“What makes you think I have her number?”

“Because the two of you have both been volunteering at the animal shelter for months now. In fact, I remember at least once when you had to call her to trade shifts.”

“Where should I take her?”

“Some place simple where you can talk. Why not the sushi place over on Main Street?”

“What if she doesn’t like sushi?”

“Man, you are such an amateur,” Adam chided. “If she doesn’t like sushi, just ask her if there is a place that she likes.”

“I dunno,” Bob mumbled as he started fiddling with his phone.

After a short pause, “Hello Anna, this is Bob, we sometimes work together at the animal shelter.”

Another pause. “Well, I was wondering if you would like to get some sushi with me for dinner tomorrow.”

Another pause. “Great, I’ll pick you up around 7:00.”

Another pause. “OK, I’ll see you then.”

“That wasn’t so bad, was it,” Adam asked, looking eager for some details. “Like I said, what could possibly go wrong.”

“I still don’t know,” Bob protested. “That’s the problem. What could go wrong?”

* * *

Adam looked up and saw Bob bouncing into the place with a goofy smile on his face.

“You look like the cat who ate the canary,” he said, “how’d the date go?”

“It went great!”

Adam waited for some details.  Bob tried to make his smile less obvious.

“I’m waiting,” said Adam.

“Well, we went to the sushi place and ordered the same thing.”

“You ordered what she ordered,” questioned Adam.

“No,” replied Bob. “I ordered and she giggled. I asked her what was funny. She said she had already decided what she wanted, and it was exactly what I ordered. We seemed to be on the same wavelength, and it made me feel more comfortable. She relaxed a bit too.”

“Sounds like it went well.”

“It went great! I think we might even hit it off.”

* *  *

Bob was standing at the intersection of Broad Highway and First Ave. The walk sign was flashing Don’t Walk. He took his phone out of his pocket and texted Anna. “Watcha doing?” it said.

“Thinking of you,” she texted back.

Bob was in love. He looked up and saw the walk sign had changed to Walk. Still looking at Anna’s message, he stepped off the curb and into the cross walk. He felt like his feet were not even touching the ground. Then, .., It all happened so fast. He didn’t hear the horn blaring or the tires screeching. Somebody had run the red light. But Bob didn’t and wouldn’t know that. In fact, Anna’s message was the last thing he ever saw.

* *  *

Adam looked up and saw Anna. “Hey, Anna, what brings you here.”

“I was looking for Bob. He isn’t answering his texts or his phone. It isn’t like him. I’m worried.”

“Don’t worry,” said Adam. “What possibly could have happened?”

This story is a little over 600 words long. The recording is a little over 4 minutes.

Send an email to me at drjohnartz@gmail.com if you have a comment on any of my stories. And please check out my website at DrJohnArtz.com to see other things I have written.