What the Helmet

Story Sent in by Cindy:

Curt rode his bike right from work to our evening date. He was in a dress suit and bike helmet. I greeted him on the sidewalk, and he locked his bike on a rack. He kept his helmet on, though.

"You're keeping your helmet on?" I asked him.

"Of course," he replied.

And so it went. On the walk to the restaurant, through dinner, and through post-dinner conversation. I enjoyed our talk, but he kept his helmet on the entire time. I didn't ride bikes too often, myself, and so I half-wondered if it was something that bikers simply did when they had nowhere to put their helmets. But he easily could've taken it off at any time, so I continued to wonder.

Aside from that, the first date went fine, and when helmet-man asked me out again, a week or so later, I told him I was in. I looked forward to seeing if he'd show up in a helmet once again.

Helmet-man didn't disappoint. He was dressed a bit more leisurely (we were meeting on a Saturday) but kept his helmet on as we ate lunch, went on a short hike, and then went for ice cream.

Finally, over bites of chocolate coffee swirl, I asked him, "Why do you keep your helmet on?" I seriously wondered if he had a medical condition.

He replied, "I might decide to jump on my bike at anytime. Bike safety is important."

I said, "But you can always put it back on if you take it off."

He replied, "Bike safety is important."

I agreed, "It sure is."

He stared off into space and half-muttered to himself, "Bike... safety... is... important."

That was our last date.