Leafing Through an Old Manuscript

It is a cold dank day with the sky the color of a soiled mop. The doorbell rings and I rush to the door. I have been waiting for this moment for one full week. I open the door and my breath hitches at the sight of his face. He is as handsome as he was when I had first laid eyes on him. He is telling me something, but I am so mesmerized by his presence that I do not hear a thing. He repeats himself and that is when I gather my wits and usher him into the house.

I lead him to my washing machine which has its mouth full of my soiled clothes of last week, refusing to chew or throw up. He quickly sets to action- opening a screw here, removing a nut there. His damp red overalls stick to him framing his shapely body. The logo of the company Love Repares- we do all kinds of repare works is splayed across his back.

He keeps working and I keep staring at his back like a lovesick teenager. It is more than two decades now, but he is as fresh in my memory as the hero of the movie I watched last night.

He was the coolest dude of high school who all the girls crushed on. Me included. All the girls would try and vie for his attention. Me included. All the girls would melt away if he so much as looked their way. Me included.

I remember my oiled pigtails, my bitten nails, my non coordinated outfits and my steel, flat, leaky lunchbox. That was him- the most handsome and loved guy, swarmed by the hip and hep girls. And this was me- a wallflower!

He completes the job, tries on the machine and tells me, “It’s done Ma’am.” I smile at him, my irrational heart hoping that he remembers me. His smile is tentative as he gives me the bill. I pay, and he gathers up his things and starts walking out.

It has been a cold dank day with the sky the color of a soiled mop. And now the charcoal heavens open to a faint drizzle. I spot his umbrella at the door. I pick it and run behind him in the rain. He takes it and gives me a broad smile; the same smile that rocked so many hearts eons ago- mine included. I realize I am getting wet and rush back into the house.