Crossed wires

Rachel and Clark were staring at a painting. “The Rokeby Venus,” Rachel said as she inspected the painting. “It’s of Venus and her son Cupid,” she said pointing at the painting of a nude woman lounging on her bed while Cupid clutched a mirror. Clark glanced at the painting but was fixated at Rachel’s shiny dark hair that enveloped the frame of her face.

It was their first date after meeting on Bumble, and he had finally mustered up the courage to ask her to go to the National Gallery. She was even more beautiful in person, as she sauntered off near one of the red couches and patted down her white sun dress. “Look up,” she said playfully as she took his chin and tipped it forward. There was a beautiful stained glass ceiling in a circular pattern as he inched a bit closer to her. “I’m having a nice time,” he said coolly as he stared at the brick-colored walls. He met Rachel’s eyes and she went in for a kiss. While their lips hesitantly met, he tried to smoothly place his hand on her legs but it missed, as his hands fell into the crease of the red couch seats they were sitting on.

Rachel pulled away. “You okay?”

Clark pulled out a black moleskin notebook and shrugged. “Someone must’ve left this here?”

“Must be someone’s homework,” Rachel said as she snatched the tiny notebook and opened it up. Out popped a chunky envelope which fell onto the floor. Rachel swiftly grabbed it as a toddler with a teddy smiled and pointed at her. She smiled back and turned towards Clark. Her dainty fingers opened the envelope as cash peaked out from the top. She carefully counted the bills as Clark watched in amazement. She sighed and tossed her hair in a ponytail.

“There’s $20,000 in here,” she whispered.

Clark’s eyes bulged out. “You’re joking? Well, we can’t leave it sitting here.”

“Yeah, let’s take it to security and then leave,” Rachel said, getting up.

Clark paused, thinking about how much a new guitar would cost for him, thinking about getting a new flat for himself, thinking about how he could actually invite a girl like Rachel back to his place. He then thought about his mother wanting a new car and his brother always wanting the most expensive Lego sets.

“Okay, okay yeah for sure, but wait, do you maybe want to eat something first?” Clark asked quickly.

Rachel's eyes softened. “Yeah, of course, sorry didn’t mean to seem like I’m in a hurry, just a lot of cash in there! Makes me a bit uneasy.”

They both got up and Clark's eyes stayed fixated on Rachel as she tucked the envelope into her purple-knitted bag.

Rachel and Clark sat at the museum’s café as they sipped on lattes and sandwiches. Clark’s eyes flitted up and his voice echoed as he shifted his weight.

“What if we split the money?” he asked nonchalantly as he took a bite of his reuben sandwich.

She put her cup down and wrinkled her eyebrows. She folded her arms and gestured for him to continue talking. Clearly, she was not amused.

“It’s just that, you know, I would like to get my feet up and get my own place like we’ve talked about. Maybe be able to afford better instruments too for my music career. I mean, you work at three jobs just to maintain your flat. Would it be so crazy?” he asked leaning into her.

“Yes, absolutely,” she said firmly. “That money could belong to someone really struggling to make ends meet. I’d be pissed if I accidentally left money only for it to be stolen.”

“But isn’t it that person’s fault for being careless? Think about how much this can help you and maybe even your mom. You said she’s struggling as a single mom, right? I just think if no one has reported it, what’s the harm?” he said.

Rachel looked indifferent. A sweat of beat started forming on Clark’s forehead as he regretted his little push. Silently, she opened the little black notebook, and slid the envelope on the marble table between the two. “You want the money? Fine, but you can take all of it. I don’t want any part of it.”

“But what about splitting it at least?” he asked as his eyes shifted between the envelope and her.

Rachel sighed and grabbed his hand, “I mean, ultimately, you found it Clark, not me. So it’s your money now. Personally, I won’t blame you. I know how hard it is to struggle, so who am I to get in the way of pure luck? Maybe in some way, you were supposed to stumble upon this notebook. I mean how else are you going to become a famous musician? Do you need a box for your reuben?”

He beamed back at her. “Yes please! I mean if you change your mind, the money is yours, Rachel, I hope you know that.”

She grabbed to-go boxes for the two of them. “So do you want to take a few pictures of me outside the fountain? It’s still pretty sunny out and I could use some new profile pictures.”

Clark felt a little strange with Rachel now. Was this all some hoax? Was she really okay with him taking all this money? Was HE really okay taking all this money? He dropped the envelope on top of his reuben sandwich as he watched her place her fries into her box. Her hair was gleaming, and her skin was porcelain smooth.

They sat on the fountain kissing for a few minutes until she handed him her iPhone. Clark snapped a photo and looked beyond the phone. Here was a woman who was perfectly content working three jobs and struggling to make ends meet, and yet, when Clark looked at the photo, she had a glow about her that was intangible to describe.

After striking a few more poses, Clark and Rachel sat talking about the rest of the week ahead of them. Clark looked at his watch. “My mom is going to want me home a bit. I have to look after my brother tonight if that’s okay? I want you to think about taking half the money, okay?”

He kissed her nose affectionately.

Rachel smiled and handed his box over to him, as she held her hand out to hold as they walked toward her bus stop. As he watched her leave, he decided to take a long walk back home towards the tube station as he listened to a podcast. But somehow, he couldn’t focus. He almost felt a little….dirty for taking the money. But then he saw his little brother Steven waiting on their makeshift porch wearing a Pokemon hand me down. The thought of helping his mother and brother and even himself made up for any sort of guilt he felt before.

“Mom left already!” he whined.

“Calm down, calm down,” Clark said as he fiddled with his keys. “I have a surprise for you and mom.”

He handed his little brother the box and raised his eyebrows. Steven opened the box and widened his eyes.

“Are these truffle fries?” he asked incredulously.

Clark snatched the box from his brother’s hands. He had taken Rachel’s box by accident. He quickly went on Bumble to message her only to see her photo and message thread had disappeared.

She had unmatched him.