The Game

Karol kept looking at her phone, willing it to ring. She paced the floor of the living room, past the couch, around the coffee table and back again, over and over again. The silence was awful. She shouted at the phone, “Ring, dammit. Ring. Don’t you know how much I want to hear from you? Didn’t I make it clear last night how much I was attracted to you?”

She plopped down on the couch, threw her phone into the corner, then snatched it back up. “Maybe it needs a reboot,” she thought to herself. She pressed the button and held it down until the “Slide to Power Off” appeared on the blackened screen. Her finger hovered over the phone, then pushed the “cancel” option. “That was stupid,” she murmured out loud. “What if he tries to call while the phone is off? He said he’d love to have lunch with me….” she looked at her phone again, ‘”…and it’s two. I could record the game if he calls and wants to go out tonight. I guess I really should get dressed. Was he telling me the truth? Oh, he’s so cute! And man, can he dance!”

She walked into the bathroom and studied the reflection in the mirror. She slowly turned the rod on the blinds. “Dang! Why does it have to rain every weekend? It’s spring, for heaven’s sake! Time to get outside and have a little fun, not be cooped up inside.”

Karol dialed Anna, her best friend and asked. “Hey. Want to come over and watch the game with me?”

“Oh, Karol, I can’t! I’m going over to Philip’s house and watch the kids this afternoon.”

“You could bring them over here. I’m sure Philip and Corey won’t mind.”

Anna sighed. “I would, but little Ronny’s getting over the measles and has to stay in bed.”

“I guess it’s me and a pizza, then.” She slammed the phone down on the counter, then picked it up, afraid she’d cracked the screen. She set the phone down gently and opened the makeup drawer. She leaned forward toward the mirror and picked up the bottle of foundation.

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Tim slowly got out of bed. 11:00. He smiled, thinking about last night. He picked up his phone to check his messages. Dead!

“Damn!” He plugged in his phone, hopped out of bed and looked outside. Raining! “What else can go wrong,” he wondered. He took a pair of jeans, a jersey and a pair of tennis shoes out of his closet. He reached into a drawer, grabbed a pair of socks, walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

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The phone! It’s ringing! Karol looked at the caller ID. “Unknown.” Her heart started beating so hard, she could hear the blood pulsing through her ears.

“Hello?”

Nothing.

“Hello?”

“Hello. This is Robert from the warranty department for your 2018 Dodge….”

“That car was totaled six months ago,” she screamed into the receiver as she tapped on the red circled X.

Pulling the belt on her robe tighter, she plopped down on the couch and looked at the clock. An hour before kickoff. Too early to call in her order.

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Tim held the button down until the familiar Apple logo appeared on his screen. He checked his messages. Her phone number. Right there, along with a smiley face and heart.

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Just as Karol picked up her phone to order the pizza, the phone rang. It started her so much, she dropped the phone and it ricocheted under the couch. She quickly knelt down and tried to retrieve it. Nothing! She grabbed hold of the couch’s arm and yanked. Success! She swooped down, swept up the phone, and slid her finger across the front screen.

“Hello?”

“Karol?”

“Yes.”

“This is Tim. From last night. Did I catch you at a bad time? I didn’t think you were going to answer.”

“Oh, no. This is a really good time for me.”

“You sound out of breath.”

“Oh, I just had to run after an errant phone. It decided to take a trip under the couch. Had to move the couch to catch it!”

Tim laughed out loud. “Speaking of catching, you going to watch the game this afternoon?”

“Matter of fact, I am,” Karol answered. “I was going to order a pizza just as you rang.”

“What kind?”

“What kind of what?”

“What kind of pizza are you going to order?”

Karol giggled. “Oh, of course! A Supreme.”

“With anchovies?”

“Ugh, no. None of those salty little fish on MY pizzas! Why? Do YOU like anchovies?”

Time laughed again. “No way. I don’t like them either.”

Karol giggled.

There was a long silence. Tim finally spoke. “Hey, would you like to watch the game with me?”

“Wow, would I!” Karol thought to herself, but answered differently. “Yes. I think I would. Where?”

“There’s a sports bar that has five screens we could go to.”

“As fun as that sounds, why don’t you come over here? It’s much quieter. I also have some pretzels and cashews.”

“Got a big screen?”

“Actually, I do! Dad got me one for my birthday. He says football is much more enjoyable on that size TV.”

“Sold!”

“Good! I’ll order the pizza, but you better hurry. Kickoff is soon.”

“Beer or wine?”

“Oh, definitely wine. I know that’s weird, but I never learned to like beer.”

“Wine it is. Color?”

“Definitely red,” Karol answered.

“Merlot OK?”

“Absolutely!”

“I picked up a couple of 2019 Mojave Rains. I’ll bring them over.” Tim looked at his watch. “Wow. Kickoff’s soon. Text me your address and I’ll see you in a few.”

“Oh,” Karol interjected. “But first, I must tell you…”

“Tell me when I get there. I don’t want to miss the kickoff. Bye!”

“OK. See you then.”

Two minutes before kickoff, Karol’s doorbell rang. She opened the door just a crack to see Tim holding the two wine bottles in his hand and wearing a red and white 49ers jersey with “GAROPPOLO” and the number “10” emblazoned on it, red socks and a pair of red sneakers with white laces and “49ers” printed on the sides. She fully opened the door and stood there with her hands on her hips, wearing a Dallas Cowboy’s blue and silver jersey with PRESCOTT and the number 4.