Thursday, July 22, 2010

Blind Date


Fiction Friday prompt: Pick two established characters, either from your own work or others’. Now write the scene/story of their meeting.

  
Paul stood at the entrance of the café and took a deep breath. He didn’t normally do blind dates. But his buddies had been bugging him lately. He didn’t date much, hardly ever got out of the cottage in the forest. So they had encouraged him to sign up on eHoney, a matchmaking site. Now he had to face his first match.

What if kept running through his head. Couples and families pushed past him and into the café. “Move it, buddy,” one dad growled at him.

Well, sooner I go in, the sooner I can leave. Paul smoothed the fur on his face and around his ears, pulled open the door, and entered.

He scanned the crowded diner. Cubs ran among the tables. Voices roared from the back, a large party it seemed. Near the window sat a lone female bear. She wore a blue bow above one ear, the signal she had emailed him she would wear.

Paul pushed through the fuzzy bodies and approached the table. He carefully observed her before making himself known. She wore a simple blue dress with white dots; a filly apron was around her waist. Her fur was carefully groomed. Paul liked the light brown color. He smoothed the fur around his ears one more time and stepped up to the table.

“Mary?”

She looked up at him and smiled. “You must be Paul.” She gestured for him to sit.

A waitress appeared almost immediately. “You folks ready?”

Paul looked at Mary and she nodded.

“Cold porridge, please,” Mary said.

Paul smiled as the waitress turned to him. “I’d like porridge, too. But make mine blazing hot.”

The waitress left. Mary shifted in her seat a little, smiling a small smile.

“You like porridge?” she asked.

“Oh, yes. Hot porridge, especially. I eat it regularly.”

“I haven’t met many male bears that like porridge,” Mary said. “What else do you like?”

They talked about various things, mostly small things, trying to learn more about each other.

As they left the café, full of porridge and information about each other, Paul cocked his arm.

“Would you care for a stroll in the forest?”

“I would love it. Long walks in the forest are my favorite things. One day I hope to live in a cottage deep in the forest, a place that could only be found by someone who’s lost.”

Paul chuckled deeply. “Let me tell you where I live.”

They walked arm in arm among the trees.

10 comments:

  1. I almost passed on this week's prompt. But, then appeared the idea for the first date of Papa Bear and Mama Bear (from Goldilocks' story). I enjoyed writing it.

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  2. Cute. The meeting of Mama Bear & Papa Bear. Well done with the dating jitters. They seem to be "just right" for each other. I especially liked Paul's comment at the end: “Let me tell you where I live.”

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  3. This was great. I never would have thought I'd find out how Mama and Papa bear met.

    http://johnpender.net

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  4. I loved this, it was cute and clever.
    eHoney is just great, an example of how you modernized a classic fable.

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  5. Simple and fun. I love your take on this week's prompt. I mean who doesn't know the two characters you've picked? Also the amiable tone suited it well.

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  6. Very cute, fun take on the prompt. I liked the porridge coincidence. And the eHoney comment was great. I enjoyed it very much!

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  7. This is a winner, Scott. You have wonderfully tucked in the hints at who they are and they are almost human. Great dialogue, too.
    Adam B

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  8. Cute addition to the ever-popular bedtime story. The dialog and tone were so innocent, I can easily imagine this being told to a sleepy child. Unique take on the prompt.

    Well done

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  9. Absolutely delightful!It would make a lovely cartoon!

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  10. Oh LOVE this!! But yeah I'm a sucker for the fairytale theme ;). Thanks for not passing on this one!

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