i rushed to see her. i packed lightly so there would be a minimum of fuss. my brow sweated a little worrying that i would be late and that she would be disappointed in me. finally i arrived at the gate early, full of excitement and anticipation. but when i got there, she was not. there was no sign of her. later i was told that she was significantly delayed and would not arrive for some time. how could she do this? why?

i consoled myself in the bar around the corner. but overpriced beer and liquor only made things worse.

sure she apologized profusely and said it wasn’t her fault. she even tried to make it up to me later. but the joy of the day had long since gone cold.

the worst part was when she told me that she had given her last bag of honey-roasted peanuts to another man. all she had left were the dry roasted kind. but here was an extra bag for my troubles.

i knew then that it was over.