Pedestal

John stepped under the vaulted arches of the shopping center. Above him the structure opened up into a magnificent ceiling decorated with paintings and sculpted reliefs. Over one of the archways a prominent relief depicted a beautiful woman standing between two groups of people, huddled together, admiring the woman’s beauty. One lady in the corner held her face in her hands, sobbing, presumably because the standing lady was too breathtaking to handle. She looks like Alexis, John thought. He suddenly understood how those admirers felt.

He checked his watch. He was a little late, but not improperly so. If his girlfriend had been waiting, she wouldn’t have been waiting long. And this restaurant was worth the wait. For Valentine’s Day, you couldn’t do better than La Vita Toscana. It may have been a bit much for their third date, but John wanted to start things off right.

John pulled open the elaborately carved, heavy wooden door to the restaurant. Warm air gusted out at him and rustled his hair, carrying along with it scents of tart wine and garlic. Inside, his girlfriend was seated along one of the benches at which people wait for their table to be readied. John initially noticed her deep red dress, subtly accented with heart shapes. It was a design that should have been gaudy, had every right to be, but she pulled it off with sophistication that hid what John knew was a giggly festiveness.

“John!” She stood and walked, nearly skipping, to him. “Quite a place for a third date, I’d say. You know, for the record, I’d be perfectly happy with hot dogs and a movie.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” John said.

“Last chance.”

“You’re worth it.”

“That’s sweet, but you only say that because you’d probably spend more at the theater anyway. Like the dress?” She mocked a model’s pose. “Isn’t it appropriate? Look at the hearts, see?”

“Love it.” John said. He imagined only Alexis could have worn it so well.

“Did you check in, Becky? The reservations are under my name.”

“Becky, is it? I see you’re getting comfortable. Two can play at that game, Johnny.” She said.

“Well, if you want to call me what my mother calls me, feel free. I’m certain that’s not exactly how you’d want me to think of you, though.”

“In that case I’ll think of some other appalling pet name. I’ll do it, you know I will.”

“Looking forward to it.” John said.

John reached out and grasped her hand. He led her to the hostess’s podium. The hostess checked her book and then led the two to their table, a cozy two-seater along the far wall, under a row of vibrant green plants. John pulled the chair for Becky, and she sat, daintily. John found her youthful manner charming, but felt himself sometimes longing for Alexis’s graceful maturity, though the two women were of a similar age.

Their server arrived shortly after and took their drink order. Iced tea for John, and for Becky “a red wine, whichever is your favorite.” Once the waiter had left, she hunched over and whispered to John, “I only asked because, honestly, I don’t know the first thing about wine,” she laughed. “Do you think he noticed?”

When the server returned, Becky ordered a salad for an appetizer. “You aren’t going to come all the way here and just eat a few bites of lettuce, are you?” John asked.

“No, no. I’m having a light appetizer because I plan to really clean up on the Ziti.” She said.

“Sounds like a plan. Maybe then I can save on the dessert.”

“No, sorry, I’m making it my plan to never fit into this dress again.”

“That’s an awfully forward goal for a third date. I heartily approve,” John said.

“Well… this is a really nice place…”

Their food arrived shortly after. John’s Parmesan Baked Salmon was served atop a heaping plate of pasta and vegetables in such a generous serving as to make the restaurant’s exorbitant prices seem much more reasonable. Becky’s Ziti was very nearly a mountain itself. “Yeah, good luck with that.” John said. Becky gave him a determined look and got to work.

“It’s strange to me that dining is a social activity,” Becky said between bites, “seeing as how it’s impolite to speak with your mouth full and we’re spending our time stuffing our mouths.”

“It’s like a movie in that way.” John said.

“Yeah, exactly. You can’t talk during the movie, so why go with someone?”

“That’s a very anti-social perspective. You don’t have a lot of friends, do you?” John smiled.

“Ha, well, that’s why I eventually became a veterinarian, I suppose.” Becky said. John wondered what Alexis eventually did after college. She was probably a doctor, or a surgeon. She was certainly brilliant enough to have done anything she wanted. A brain surgeon, likely. John found her fascinating, even after all these years.

John reached out and touched Becky’s hand.

“Don’t worry, there’s hope for you yet.” He said.

“Well we can’t all work in the socially demanding field of accounting.”

“Technically, I’m in HR.” John said.

“Have you ever watched The Office?” She asked.

“Ha ha, funny.”

“Maybe I’ll call you Toby.” She said.

The rest of the meal passed quickly. True to her word, Becky finished her Ziti mountain. “Maybe I should go into financial advising.” She said afterwards.

“Why?” John asked.

“Because I just saved you from bankruptcy.” She tossed her napkin onto her plate and slumped slightly in her chair. “I couldn’t possibly have dessert after that.”

“Better than I did, I couldn’t even finish.” John had finished the salmon and made a noticeable dent in his pasta pile, but couldn’t complete the task. “I guess this means I’m picking up the check after all.”

“I hope so, I couldn’t fit a wallet into my dress.”

After finishing, the two talked for a time while waiting for the check. Small talk, mostly, about work and college and their families. It wasn’t the in depth philosophical conversation John used to enjoy so much with Alexis, but Becky seemed a willing partner and that counted for something.

John felt the first tendrils of a deeper connection reach out to Becky, and knew he felt them from her as well, meeting somewhere in the middle. Maybe it wouldn’t ever take hold deep within his heart as John knew could really only happen once, and that special place had been claimed already, but he liked Becky. He wondered if he could ever love her.

They walked out of the restaurant together, through the heavy wooden door to the outside, and under the exquisite ceiling. Just under the vaulted archways John hailed a cab for Becky. When one pulled alongside the curb, John reached out and took her hand and kissed the back of it softly.

“I had a great time.” He said.

“Me too, really. Thank you for dinner, it was lovely.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow, get some rest.”

She kissed him. Then she got into the back of the cab and John closed the door for her. He watched her for a moment as she drove off.

John looked up to the sky and wondered if Alexis was gazing at the same stars, wherever she had gone after college. John’s eyes caught the arches above the walkway and followed them to that same relief he saw before dinner. Alexis stood there alone, defiant in her perfect beauty and daring the people huddling around her to stand in direct comparison. None could, he knew. None ever have.

John reached out to her but came up with only empty air.

 

Jules: Pedestal was another submission to the Flash Fiction contest on the Straight Dope forums. Same rules as the story “An Unpardonable Crime” with the exception that this story must carry a Valentine’s Day theme and contain the words Sob, Imagine, and Initially.

I intended for Pedestal to be a sad story about a guy who can’t get over a girl from his past and is sabotaging promising relationships now based on an idealized memory. I wanted to convey how memory gets distorted over time, but still affects our decision making in the present. It’s a theme I’d like to revisit in another format with fewer limitations, and with more time for development and rewriting. This is a first draft submission, something I became well known for throughout school. Such is the lament of a procrastinator.