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Love, Toby
Meredith sat in the hotel lobby struggling not to itch herself raw. She clasped her hands between her knees and stared at the parking lot. Her phone rattled against the lip gloss in her purse.
Sorry, traffic. Be there soon.
‘I should have waited upstairs.’ She refused to give in to the insidious itch that was spreading across her arms and legs. ‘If I did, I’d be in no state to come down.’
She imagined herself upstairs, thrashing around on her bed, looking as if she was wrestling herself. ‘Boy, if someone saw me like that, they’d call an exorcist.’ She stifled a snicker, clenching her hands in front of her mouth.
‘Now, pull yourself together.’ She drew a deep breath and exhaled slowly. ‘You love Chinese food and you probably love Toby. Get a grip. It’s going to be fine.’
“Oh, my gosh. What is keeping him?” She mumbled through gritted teeth.
“Excuse me, Miss?”
She turned around to find the desk clerk looking at her. “Yes?”
“Are you Ms. Blake?”
“Yes.”
“I have something for you.”
Glad of anything to make her forget the confounded itch for a moment, she approached the front desk as the clerk produced an enormous bouquet. “Those are nice, but I’m waiting for somebody.”
“There’s a card.”
She reached into the cellophane to pluck it from the colorful blooms and greenery.
|
I hope you like these. Love, |
“Oh, thank you.” She took the bouquet and headed for the elevator. ‘That was sweet of him.’ She smelled the flowers as she re-read the card. “Love, Toby?”
She read it again and again. Not surprisingly, it always said the same thing. Love, Toby…
“Wow, he said it first.” She leaned on the elevator button.
“Honey, it’s here already.” An elderly woman said.
The hallway was spinning. She could see the aged couple step into the elevator and leave without her. She leaned on the wall, her breath ragged. The door slid open again, and she staggered in.
‘Wow, wow, wow, wow…’ She watched the floor counter rise to five. ‘What do I do? Gotta tell Ivy.’
She ran back to her room, clutching her flowers like a relay baton. She slammed into the door and fumbled through her purse for the key card. The phone rattled against her knuckles as she searched. “Oh, man, now what?”
They cleared a lane
Be there in 20
She tossed her phone into her purse and flicked the key card into her lock. Clamoring into the room, she slammed and locked the door behind her. She paced wildly as she fished her phone from her purse.
Do you know what he said?
No, what?
Love, Toby
What?
He’s stuck in traffic, so he sent me flowers and the card says Love, Toby
Is he in that huge accident on the highway?
He said they cleared a lane
That’s good
He said he’d be here in 20
That’s good
He said Love, Toby! Love, Toby!
That’s really, really good
How come he gets to say it first?
What?
That’s a really big step to take on a bouquet of flowers. Don’t you think?
Well, yeah, but he said it
He sure did
He can’t take it back
No, it’s right here in my hand
Well?
Well, what?
Do you love him, too?
Of course, I do
That’s good
Oh, wait, it’s him
Meredith flung her flowers, phone and purse onto the bed and dashed into the bathroom. She emerged a moment later to find the phone vibrating.
Almost there
“Holy smokes, that’s five minutes ago.” She grabbed her purse and took another sniff of the flowers before she left. They smelled like him. ‘How weird is that?’
She got to the lobby in time to catch him pushing through the rotating door. His smile was worth the wait.
She smiled back at him, clutching her purse in front of her. She didn’t want to run over and hug him. ‘Who am I kidding? I do so.’
“Hi, Meri.” He walked up with his hands in his pockets.
“Hi.”
“Did you, uh…”
“Yes, I got the flowers. Thanks.”
“Oh, sure. I felt bad about making you wait, but there was a terrible accident out there.”
“That’s awful. I’m glad you weren’t in it.”
“Thank goodness, no.” He looked back toward the door. “Are you ready?”
‘Am I?’ She studied the purse she was scrunching in her hands. “Yes. I think I am.”
“Great, let’s go.” He held out a hand.
‘It’s one thing to say, Love, Toby on a card.’ She looked at his enormous hand. ‘It’s an entirely different thing to hear him say it.’
She grabbed on tight as he pulled her toward the rotating door. Out in the darkened parking lot, he held her close as they walked to his car.
“Where are we going?”
He toggled the remote to unlock his car. “The Golden Sampan. I think you’ll like it.”
“Sounds nice.”
He opened the passenger door for her. “It’s alright. Probably not as fancy as the ones in the city.”
“I’m sure it will be fine.” She slid into the seat and pulled the door shut. ‘The city.’
He plopped down into his seat and started the car. “I had it cranked up on the way over here so it would still be warm when you got in.”
“Thanks, it’s fine.”
“Great.” He shifted into reverse and pulled out of his spot. “Yeah, I was wondering where to take you for dinner and I thought, since we both met Megaman-”
“Oh, wow. I thought of Megaman, too.”
“Their Wonton soup is, well, I think it would be Megaman-approved.” He threw it into drive and headed for the road.
“Toby, if I ask you something, are you going to get mad?”
“I don’t think so. Is it bad?”
“No, not at all.”
“Okay, what is it?”
“Don’t pull out yet. I want to show you something.”
He looked in his rear-view mirror before sliding into park. “What is it?”
“Did you mean this?” She pulled the card and handed it to him.