Unless the Fairies Kill You

Story Sent in by Andy:

Barbara wore a crazy blouse on our date. It was white with black polka dots. Impossible to miss, even if you were looking down to earth from outer space. And her pants? They were black. With white polka dots. It looked like she was ready to go to a mod party.

I didn't say a word about her outfit, but she brought it up soon enough. "You're dressed pretty normally," she said after we had our meals.

"I am," I agreed.

She said, "Maybe next time, you'll be ready for the fairies."

"The who, now?"

"The meadow fairies. They're expecting me right after this. In fact, ooh! What time is it?" She glanced at her wrist, where there was no watch whatsoever. "It's okay. I still have a few minutes."

I said, "I... I don't want to keep you."

She smiled. "You're not!"

When the check came, she insisted on paying for it. "I'm getting paid tonight, so it's on me."

It was around 8pm and a Friday. I asked, "You're being paid... tonight? Weren't you off of work at 4:30?" She's a medical receptionist.

She laughed. "The fairies, silly!"

Oh. Right. The fairies. How very silly of me. I thanked her for dinner and she hurried out as if she really had someplace to be.

She emailed me (on Saturday morning) to tell me that she was just making it to bed and she wished me a good night. The whole thing was weird, but we've set up a second date for two weeks from now, so I guess I'll find out.