Page 3 of How To Tackle A Crush
I regret the mini sausages.
Tell my wife I love her.
Someone has replied to that last one with
Too dramatic. You’ll be fine.
AJ takes a sip from a mug that has clearly been sitting there since yesterday and immediately pulls a face.
“Cold,” he says.
“That tends to happen when tea is left overnight.”
“I was hoping for a miracle.”
“I do not think miracles extend to beverages.”
He looks at me over the rim. “You didn’t go then?”
“I had three features to proof.” For once my social awkwardness paid off. “You?” I ask. “Why didn’t you go?”
AJ looks faintly offended. “I wasnot invited.”
“It was a company picnic.”
“Yes but apparently if you keep teasing others about missed deadlines people stop sending you friendly calendar invites.”
“That seems like a natural consequence.”
“Also,” he adds after a beat, “I had a dentist appointment.”
“That is a significantly less dramatic reason.”
“It involved drilling.”
There is nothing I can reply to that and instead head back to my desk and open my notebook. The blank page steadies me. There is something reassuring about margins and straight lines. Words behave if you are patient enough. People rarely do.
On the central planning board someone has written
TODAYS DEADLINES
Without an apostrophe.
I stare.
I look away.
I look back.
It takes approximately three seconds before I stand up and fix it.
AJ watches the entire process.
“You know nobody likes that,” he says.
“I am not doing it for popularity.”
“You definitely are not.”
