Kelly

*Please tell me what you think! This idea popped into my head one day while driving. I hope to include this in a much larger work eventually.


         Kelly opened her car window and let the wind whip her hair. Whatever price she would pay with her appearance was worth it in this heat. Besides, it didn't really matter what she looked like anyway. It was Friday afternoon, she was on her way home from work, and all she wanted to do was eat dinner, watch the movie she had just rented, and then go to bed. It would be a great night. She drove on for a few minutes, tapping the steering wheel in rhythm with the radio. She pulled up to a stoplight and groaned to herself. Why did they even bother putting the light this far out in the country? A stop sign would have sufficed quite well. It had just turned red and there were no cars in sight. But after she had gotten pulled over last year for running the light, she was too chicken to try it again. Kelly glanced in her rear view mirror as a beat-up red pickup truck drove up behind her. She did a double take when she realized she recognized the driver. Wasn't he that guy who ate lunch at Fratellino's yesterday? That really charming, drop-dead gorgeous one? The ham and cheese, extra mustard, no mayo, side of fries, lemon iced-tea one? She couldn't really be sure, but it looked a lot like him. Wasn't there someone with him in the restaurant? Oh yeah, that kid. It must have been his nephew, because he kept calling him "Uncle Mark." Yes. Mark. That had to be it. Kelly glanced behind her again. Mark was gazing out his side window, seemingly completely oblivious to the car in front of him. She looked at the light again. Still red! How long was this going to take? Her eyes drifted back to her mirror. This Mark sure was a cute one. Yesterday at work her friend Janice was complaining that all the attractive guys always went to Kelly's assigned tables, while Janice got stuck with the fussy families and old women. Mark was Exhibit A in the case. She wondered if he remembered her. He had given her a fairly large tip, so that was a good sign. Kelly looked up to see that the light had turned green. As she put her foot down on the accelerator, she was reluctant to pull away. She might never get to lay eyes on Mark again. But as his pickup followed her down the road, she thought of a plan. It was a little risky, but he was definitely worth it. Before she could change her mind, Kelly braced herself and slammed on the brakes.

         "Are you serious?" Evangeline was stunned. "So let me get this straight. You purposely got in a car wreck with some stranger just so you could get his phone number?" She silently shook her head. Kelly was her best friend, but sometimes, she just didn't understand her. Like right now. She cradled the phone closer to her ear and waited for the response.
         "Well, basically, but not quite." Kelly said. "It wasn't really a full-out wreck, just a slight fender-bender. And I'd met him before, so he wasn't really a stranger. Besides, I didn't just get his phone number. I also got his name and address, and he has mine, too."
         "So are you going to have to pay for it? I can't believe you, Kelly. There have to be better ways to get a guy."
         "Hey, if you saw him, you probably would have done the same thing too. And no, his insurance will cover it, since he was the one who rear-ended me. He was quite nice about it all, in fact. After the police were gone and everything, he told me that he's kind of been out of it all day. He said his sister, Jessica, has some kind of scary-sounding disease, so he's been spending a lot of time taking care of his nephew, Caleb, while his brother-in-law is at the hospital with poor Jessica. Apparently it was Caleb's fifth birthday yesterday when they came to Fratellino's. But anyway, they just got news this morning that his sister took a turn for the worse, and probably won't live much longer. So in his distracted state, he was basically bound to run into someone out on the roads today. I guess it's a good thing that it was me, not some mean old man or something. Mark's a really nice guy. I think you'll like him."
         "Kelly! How can you let this guy go on thinking that it was his fault? You were the one who suddenly stopped for no reason in the middle of the road. And if all that about his sister is true, the last thing he needs right now is one more thing in life to deal with. But I guess it's too late for that now." Evangeline sighed and then gave in to her less sensible side. "So, tell me all about this Mark fellow. Do you two have any plans?"