Page 81 of Flirtasaurus
“He must have been before my time. I was tuning in from like ’06 to ’08. Like third through fifth grade.”
“Christ, you’re a child. And why was your mother letting you watch that smut in third grade?”
“She’s a complicated woman, my mom. Anyway, Mabel, people came back from the dead constantly. Lots of medical miracles. Characters were always talking to themselves out loud and confessing their dirty secrets when they thought no one else was around. That always cracked me up. Ugh, but when the characters said they wanted to make love, I always wanted to vomit.”
Just then, Ralph comes back to the table with his tray piled high with floppy French toast and already soggy Cheerios. “You’re going to vomit?” He sounds concerned.
“No, making love makes her want to vomit,” Mabel helpfully explains.
“You told them!?” Suddenly, Ralph is the one freaking out.
“Okay, I gotta go, guys!” I shoot to my feet. “Thanks a million for the help. Nothing else we need to do. Parents are all set to sign out at security with the kids once they’re finished with breakfast. So… peace out, cub scouts.”
Then I start hauling ass out of there.
And… Ralph follows me.
“Calliope, wait. We should probably talk, don’t you think?”
“I hear ya, and we will, but I kind of have to catch a train.”
“A train to where?”
“Home.”
“But you live right around the corner.”
“No. Home-home. Where-I-grew-up home.”
“‘Right outside the city’ home?”
“Yup.” I continue to hustle down the long marble hallway toward the exit.
“Can you please stop running so we can talk like civilized human beings?”
I stop and face him.
I pause.
I breathe.
“Ralph,” I say quietly. “I think last night proved howuncivilized I am, don’t you?”
He brushes his thumbs along my cheeks.
“Everything is going to be okay, baby,” he says.
“How can you be so sure? Also, did you just call me baby?”
“I’m a pretty insightful guy. And yeah, I think I did. That okay?”
This gets a tentative laugh from me.
“Yeah. It’s okay. Can we just… step outside to do this?” I can’t help looking all around me as I say it.
He drops his hands from my face.
“Sure. Let’s go.”
