Arts and Craftiness

Story Sent in by Harry:

I was on a double date with Nora, who I had been seeing for a few weeks, and her friend Alana and Alana's new boyfriend, Max. Not too long into the date, at a crafts fair, Nora took me aside and told me, "I don't think Max is good enough for Alana. He doesn't have anything going for him."

Max, it turned out, was in his M.D. residency, and came across, at least that day, as a gregarious, affable guy. In fact, he was hysterical, and spoke more than any of the rest of us. I liked him a lot in a short time, and Alana was also friendly.

After about two hours walking around, we all talked about what to do next, and I had a chance to speak to Nora alone again. I told her, "I think he's cool, and it sounds like he actually has a lot going for him." I then joked, "Are you sure that Alana is good enough for him?"

She sighed and said, "No. In fact… you're going to hate me for this."

"For what?"

She said, "I kind of want Max, now."

Just to clarify, I asked, "You mean, instead of me?"

"Yeah," she affirmed, "I said what I said before because I didn't think he'd do this much talking today. But I think he'd be a better match for me than you, you know?"

I nearly choked at her frankness, and she immediately became far less attractive to me than she had been. I said, "What do you think Alana will have to say about that?"

Nora said, "I'm a girl who goes after what she wants," and then she walked past me and right up to Max. She asked him, "Can we talk for a minute?" and drew him away from Alana and I.

Alana asked me, "What's that about?"

I lied, "I don't know." I didn't really want to be there anymore, as whatever was going to result from Nora's conversation with Max, I knew that it wouldn't possibly be good.

They spoke together for a little while, and during that time, I spoke to Alana. Soon enough, Max turned away from Nora, flashed us a grin, and said to Alana and I, "Nora wants to date me. You two cool with that?"

Alana and I looked at each other, then at Max, then at Nora, who turned a shade of pink and backed away. Max walked back to us and said, "She's been trying to convince me that we'd be better together. I've been telling her no, but she won't stop talking about it."

No one seemed to know what to say. Worst of all, we had all arrived together in the same car (Max's), which meant a very awkward ride back.

I suggested, "Let's get some ice cream," but Alana seemed to be in no mood for it.

"What the hell?" she asked Nora, and she advanced on her and even made it close enough to hit her (which, to be fair, I don't know if she would have done) when Max jumped in and held Alana back.

I ran over to Nora and said, "Let's just take a walk for a bit, burn off some steam. We can catch up with them later."

Nora said to Alana and Max, "I am so pissed off. I could kill both of you," and she tromped away. With a final glance at Alana and Max, I followed Nora, hoping to smooth things over and calm her down.

She made it to a glassblower's booth and looked at the various pieces. After a minute of silence, she turned to me and asked, "Can you take me home? I just want to go."

I replied, "We all came in the same car."

"Then let's walk."

We were about five miles away from any sort of public transportation that could conceivably bring us back home. When I informed her of this, she said, "Good, let's start walking."

I replied, "I don't really feel like doing that. I think that Max and Alana would be willing to set things aside."

"But I said that I could kill them."

I smiled, "I'm sure they'll forgive you."

She replied, "No, I mean, I really can kill them. I don't think it's smart for me to see them again. Ever. They'd die. Now are you walking back with me or not?"

"Probably not."

She walked away from the glassblower's tent and disappeared into the crowd. As for myself, I found Max and Alana, explained the situation to them, and the three of us had a good rest of the day together. When we left the fair in Max's car, I thought that we'd encounter Nora walking on the road on the way back to town, and as such, we planned to offer her a ride. We didn't see her, though, and I didn't hear from her again.

I'm still in touch with Alana occasionally (last I checked, she's still with Max), but Nora never comes up in conversation. I guess it'll always be a mystery.