Happy Valentine's Day!

It was a little after four o'clock and I hadn't eaten lunch yet. Sure, I'd snacked on an apple and some peanuts during my office hours, but a student came by and our meeting ran over, then I had to finish the paper I was grading when she came in. And then my 12:30 class started. By the time I was finally out of my classes, I was starving. I figured a quick trip to the Taco Bell across from the bus stop would be enough (bean burrito - no onions).

The cashier wouldn't give me a child sized soda. I only needed enough liquid to wash down the burrito, but apparently I had to have a medium drink. When did we as a people decide that "small" was no longer an option? I don't remember agreeing to that decision. I waited on my burrito with my too-large medium drink and looked for a place to sit. There are booths that run along one wall, and that looked more comfortable than the tables and their sleek swivel chairs. I would be able to see the street and watch it sprinkle as people walked by with their roses and boxes of chocolates.

I wasn't listening to the couple two tables over, not really. But then I heard the man say, "So do you want to be friends or not? I need to know now."

What's this? Was someone breaking up, in Taco Bell, on Valentine's Day? This was a bizarre moment that I would have expected in a pathetic movie that was trying to make you feel sorry for the leading character. You know the kind, where the hero(ine) gets dumped on for not being perfect, until one day (s)he finds the one who is perfect for her(him). Awwww.

So now I was listening, but trying to look like I wasn't listening--checking out the shoes of the lady in line, watching the tacos go down the assembly line, you know--not looking at them. They were both in their early-mid twenties, tall with dark hair. He was American, thin, cute in an average kind of way. She was Scandinavian, athletic, pretty, but not too pretty. They'd make a cute couple, not that I was looking.

The guy was hassling her about remaining friends, and she stayed quiet. After a moment, she said something I couldn't hear, and they started talking about school. Apparently they're in the same class. She cheered up a bit and said she didn't know it was Valentine's Day.

What? Because grown adults carry big white teddy bears holing a plastic red rose in one paw with a foil heart balloon that reads "I Wuv U" tied to the other all the time.

He said he hadn't remembered till yesterday. I wonder what he had planned for them.

Then she said she felt bad.

American Guy: Don't feel bad.

Scandinavian Girl: But I do.

AG: I'd rather us deal with this now. It's better that way.

He paused. I glanced out the window nearest to them and saw him look down at his empty tray.

AG: So do you want to give it a try?

SG: What?

AG: Being friends.

She rushes through her answer.

SG: I don't want to be friends if you're going to sit at home and be sad and think about me and wish we were together. That would make me feel bad, and I don't want to feel bad.

AG: Now that makes me feel bad.

If I were writing this, he'd try to reach for her hand and she'd pull away. He'd say, "Well, I guess that's it." She'd look at the floor and not say anything. He'd stand up, put his tray away and leave, not looking behind him. She'd rummage in her bag, check her makeup, sigh, and walk out the door. They'd see each other in class, say hi, and not sit together. After a while, she'd ask him for the homework assignments she missed because of a track meet. He'd ask for the answer to hard problem. And they'd chat about some new movie or a book they had just read. They'd end up being friends and realizing that their short romance was not that important.

But I'm not writing this. I left them there, at Taco Bell, trying to decide if they should remain friends because one of them might love the other too much after their month long romance, and neither could bear the guilt of making the other unhappy.