I had bad eyesight since I was a kid, so I always wore glasses. When I got older, I switched to lenses, but there were times when I would go for a walk with the dog without either, or I would manage to go out to the store and forget about my glasses. So it happened on that fateful evening. I was in a hurry to the fish market is not closed, jumped out of the house, fled from the fifth floor (we do not have elevators), and then I realized that the glasses forgot. I was too lazy to go back, so I went like this.
I stood at the shelf with canned fish, endlessly bothering the cashier with questions about what kind of fish it was and what it was preserved in, but when the woman started counting someone out, I turned to the girl standing nearby. I looked up at her for a moment, and I began to find something familiar in the murky silhouette. Such funny, sloppy two tufts on her head like horns, a big red scarf, a long black coat…
– Could you tell me, please, which of these is mackerel in tomato sauce.
We used to be in parallel classes and sometimes met in gym class. I remembered her well because she had a very unusual style, and the teachers always scolded her for her painted nails.
– This is the right mackerel for you,” she prompted somewhat formally. – Anything else to suggest?
– Yeah, sorry, I left my glasses at home, and I can’t see a damn thing.
We walked through the store together, I reminisced about our teachers, and she nodded and laughed at some of the stories. After shopping, I suggested we stay outside for a while, breathing in the frosty autumn air, having a cup of tea or coffee and chatting some more. The girl told me that she worked in the veterinary clinic, and I was still surprised that she had chosen such a profession. Before we left we exchanged numbers, discussing the possibility of meeting again.
Already at home, putting on my glasses, I read the message she sent me about five minutes after we parted ways.
“I’m sorry I lied to you. I’m not your classmate. I was in A class, and in a different school. But if you don’t mind, we can have coffee again sometime. My treat.
I did not refuse. I met the girl again, and I couldn’t get away from how pretty she was. Much prettier than the girl in my parallel class.
We started dating a lot, and now we’re dating. The girl sometimes teases me, asking if I really can’t see well or if I was just flirting with her, but I know that these are jokes and certainly not my tricks. At most, it’s a trick of fate. Set us up while I couldn’t look around.
