A Chance Encounter

AREN’T YOU THE ONE I SAW EARLIER TODAY?
Woman: CORRECT, THAT’S THE REASON FOR MY AVOIDANCE.
Man: IS THIS CHAIR CURRENTLY IN USE?
Woman: AFFIRMATIVE, AND THE ONE NEXT TO IT WILL BECOME VACANT IF YOU DECIDE TO JOIN.
Man: SHALL WE RETREAT TO YOUR ABODE OR MY DOMICILE?
Woman: PRECISELY. YOU PROCEED TO YOUR RESIDENCE, AND I SHALL…… ENJOY THE NOW VACANT CHAIR YOU SO KINDLY CLEARED. I believe separate residences, and indeed separate afternoons, are precisely what we both require.”

And with that, she gestured pointedly to the newly empty chair beside her, a silent invitation for him to witness her profound disinterest. He stood for a moment, the enthusiastic proposition hanging awkwardly in the air, now deflated and limp. A flicker of understanding, or perhaps just the cold draft of rejection, finally seemed to penetrate his optimistic demeanor. He mumbled something about having “misread the signals,” a colossal understatement if ever there was one, and retreated, not to his domicile, but rather in the general direction of anywhere that was definitively not in her vicinity.

The woman, with a small, satisfied sigh, settled into the now available chair, pulled out a book, and finally enjoyed the peace she had been so diligently attempting to secure all day.