Space Man

Submitted by Glenda:

Drake was a bit late to our date.  When I saw a guy in a woman's zebra-print blouse enter the restaurant, I repeated over and over to myself, "I hope that isn't him, I hope that isn't him, I hope that isn't–"

"Hi Glenda!" he said, "I'm Drake."

I complimented his blouse.  He didn't reply and sat himself down.  He told me that he was working on a play, an adaptation of a Charles Dickens novel, but set in the year 2100 and on a space station.  He asked me if I liked science fiction.  I told him that I wasn't a big fan.

He must have heard, "I love science fiction and everything to do with it," because he spent the next 15 minutes discussing the sorts of spaceships he was planning to include, the sorts of aliens he had written in ("Pointy-eared like Spock, only all blue!" was one gem), and the sorts of bowls they'd eat out of.  Seriously.

"Bowls all the time today are round," he explained, "But imagine in the future if they were square, or pentagon, or another cornered shape!"

I was ready to write him off until he asked, "So, how are you?"

I gave him a brief recap of my day (I'm a nurse) and told him a bit more about myself.  I asked him how long he had been writing, who his favorite authors were, etc.  The conversation seemed to be going well.

When dinner was served, though, he went right back on into outer space.  He discussed interplanetary treaties, light speed, and even did some hand gesture over and over again to show me how people in the future would greet each other, since so many alien species would necessitate the founding of a common language.

"I'm making a new language," he said, "It's one of the hardest things I've ever done.  It's mostly done with hand gestures, since most aliens have hands.  Ever notice that?"

It would have been an average dinner with a geek, except afterward, he asked if we could stop in a Dress Barn.  There was a sale on, apparently.

"Women's clothes are just more comfortable," he told me, "And don't get me started on skirts."

I asked him if people in the future, men and women both, wore skirts.  He stared at me and told me that it was a great idea and that he'd use it in his story.  "Greater mobility during gun battles... yeah!"

He ended up buying a skirt on clearance, and I had a sudden... thing to do.  Not involving spaceships.  Or blue aliens.  Or Drake.