Short Story for English

The pushing winds forced her to turn around to protect her bare face from the cold. It was unnatural for the weather to be so grim this time of year, and the pressure from the frigid winds delayed Mia’s walk because she seemed to be pushed back an inch for each successful foot.

It was her anniversary tonight and she wanted to be at the restaurant promptly at 7pm, but she would never make it in 15 minutes in this kind of weather. She’d be lucky if it only took her a half an hour to fight the wind the entire distance.

Mia pulled out her cell phone and dialed Karl’s number to tell him she’d be a little late. He wouldn’t mind, he never did, but she wanted to believe a part of him would worry if she didn’t call.

“Hey honey, this weather is insane. I’m going to be a little late.”

“Alright, do you want me to go ahead and order, then?”

“Oh, no! I won’t be too much later. Just give me an extra 15 minutes and I’ll be there.”

“Well, I am really hungry. I was kind of expecting to already have our orders placed by now.” His selfish attitude ran shivers down Mia’s spine, but she knew it wasn’t his fault she was late.

“If you’re really that hungry, go ahead and order your appetizer until I get there. I promise I’m going as fast as I can. I love you.”

“Bye,” he hung up.

“Bye,” she sighed. With effort she fought the wind as she put her cell phone away. Mia had been planning their anniversary even since she and Karl reached 9 months together, but now she just wished she had planned to stay at home by the fire.

Finally Mia made it to the restaurant. She stepped inside and felt the immediate warmth of the heated lobby. The hostess led her to Karl’s table and handed her a menu. She sat down across from Karl and glanced at him before looking at the menu.

Karl busied himself with his cheese-sticks that he was dying to eat. The waiter came and took their order, picking up Karl’s empty plate and taking it with him. Karl and Mia were left to stare at each other.

Mia took this chance to take him in. While his stunningly blue eyes gazed into the distance, Mia noticed his nice outfit. She was glad he decided to dress up for the occasion, even if he considered a button down shirt and khakis dressy. He was leaning over the table with both elbows resting on the edge, hands folded together on his chin. He looked like a true thinker. He was one that would write a novel and become famous; one that could run the country or perhaps the world. He may not be doing anything big at the moment, but one day Mia saw him as being a great something.

She was the first to speak. “So, how was your day, honey?”

“Alright.”

“Anything interesting happen?”

“Not particularly.”

“Oh.” She paused for loss of thought. “Well, today at work, Mr. Limbzig mentioned that someone on his staff would be promoted next week. He also said that person would get a significant raise, too. I know that there are 5 of us he could choose from, but I do really hope it is me.” At the moment, Mia would do anything for a promotion, for a change.

“That’ll be nice. Then you can pay for a fancy dinner once in a while.” Karl meant to say it sarcastically, or at least Mia had hoped so, but he came off very rude and annoyed.

“If you didn’t want to go out to dinner, you could have suggested something else. I thought this would be nice for our anniversary.”

“It’s nice, Mia, don’t get me wrong. I love how thoughtful you always are about those types of things. You just always want to go out, go places, and do things.”

“There’s nothing to do at home.”

“There’s plenty we could do at home,” Karl hinted.

Mia sat in agitated silence. She loved Karl a lot. He was a really smart man who would someday be something big. He got along with all of her friends, though he never seemed to do anything with his buddies. He was very good looking, too. Karl just seemed to be incapable of devoting himself to anything: work, school, Mia. Mia also wished that Karl would feel the same way about her and she did about him.

She looked up at him; he blocked to whole world out with his cold eyes. Mia longed to understand the thoughts that swam behind those eyes; she longed to know his dreams and ambitions. Even though both she and he were still teenagers, she wanted a family. She wanted a man that would take her household and lead as father and moneymaker. She didn’t go to college because her first priority was a family.

The waiter brought both plates for them. Mia had ordered a simple fish salad while Karl ordered lobster and shrimp. Without thought, he dug into his food.

Meanwhile Mia nibbled at her salad. She had hoped one day Karl would be the man she was looking for. Most men feared commitment and only wanted sex. At the beginning of their relationship, Mia thought Karl was different from that, but now she wasn’t so sure.

As the summer after graduation went on, Karl began to be a slacker and started to want either to sleep or to have sex. Mia thought it was just a phase, a lost boy scared of growing up, but as it was now approaching March, Mia had to reconsider the situation.

Mia, lost in her thoughts, lost her grip of her fork and it spun to the floor. She looked down at it and without picking it back up, looked to Karl.

“Karl, what are we doing?” He looked at her, surprised at her question.

“Eating dinner.” He was evidently confused.

“But, Karl, I mean what are we doing together. You don’t want the same things I want. You don’t want anything at all. I want a family, I want a man who has a career, and I want children. You obviously just want to walk through life. I love you, Karl, but I also want someone to love me.”

He set his silverware down. “Are you breaking up with me?”

Mia sat there and thought about it. She couldn’t stay with him in his current state, and she knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t change.

“Yes, Karl, I think I am.” She stood up and he followed. She gave him a hug before grabbing her purse. “I’m sorry, Karl. I really do love you.”

Karl seemed unattached from the breakup, letting her go without a fight. As Mia walked out into the frozen air, she knew he would find another naïve girl to be with, and one day that girl would realize that he was dead.

The wind, cold and deadly, comforted Mia as she journeyed on home to start over.