He inhaled sharply, having been jerked out of his mindless space staring by her sudden exclamation.
"What? What happened?"
"My watch! I don't know where it went! It must've fallen off my wrist!" she said, panic seeping into her voice, as she frantically searched for it on her obviously bare arm. She stood up and looked around her seat, then bending down to look at the ground.
"Are you sure you wore it out today?" he asked calmly, so as not to provoke her already blazing fire.
"Yes! I did! I remember checking the time before we got here! Oh, can we please, please go back to that store to ask if they have seen it?"
He sighed.
"Alright, let's retrace our steps and see if we can recover it."
She jumped up and embraced him with gratitude.
"I know that it's much easier to just buy a new one, but this watch, it means something to me. Otherwise I wouldn't let it bother me so much."
He kissed her on the cheek, "I know, m'dear." Then patting her arm, "Well, let's get going then, shall we?"
The two of them started on their task, walking slowly, their bodies bent slightly forward, looking carefully at the ground. The passersby all glanced curiously at this awkward pair, wanting to know what they were looking for. He didn't notice them, and neither did she, for they were too engaged at the quest before them that their peripheral vision seemed to have shut down.
They gradually reached the store where she thought she had lost her watch. She looked at him with hope in her eyes.
"Fingers crossed!"
She strode excitedly across floor to the spot where her instincts told her the watch would be. He saw her start to kneel down, hesitate, then get back up with something shiny in her closed hands and a smile on her pretty little face. He smiled back at her as she walked towards him, a little bounce in her steps. He helped her put her watch back on.
"I honestly don't know how it fell off in the first place. It fits so snugly on my wrist." she said softly as she watched him gently close the clasp of the watch.
"The clasp is a little loose -- there is barely any resistance when I tried to close it." he said as-a-matter-of-factly, "I can help you fix it when we get home... Well there we go. Good as new." adjusting the watch band so its face faces upwards to the wearer.
"Thank you..." she said as she looped her arms around his neck and kissed him. He kissed her back. "You probably think me frivolous, getting so worried over such a small, minor thing, but now that I have it back, I just feel so much better about everything!"
He held her waist, looking deeply into those shiny eyes that he has looked into for so many years, and said, "I'm glad that you're happy."
He then broke the gaze and looked at his own watch.
"I presume if we head back to the restaurant now, food will be ready for us."
She smiled and linked up with his arm.
They walked out to the parking lot. He took out the car keys from his pant pocket, she, a step behind, fixing her lipstick. They both got in, seat belts clicking. The engine started up and they were in motion. The sound of the radio drifted nonchalantly in the moving backdrop, lazy and ready for rest as the daylight departs.
He was humming quietly under his breath, steering the car to the winding shape of the road. Headlights from cars in the opposite lane passed in and out of sight.
She gasped and sat up straighter in her seat.
He gave her a quick glance, and asked, "What's wrong?"
After a moment, she slumped back down and gave a sigh.
"I lost it again." Disappointment evident in her eyes and in her scrunched up brows.
"Oh." A moment of silence. "Would you like me to turn the car arou-"
"No. It's alright." she said abruptly. "That watch has caused enough hassle for today. Perhaps it's a sign... maybe it's best to let it go."
He didn't say anything, for he didn't know what to say that wouldn't tempt her mood. He released his right hand from the steering wheel and took a hold of hers.
They held hands as the backdrop moved on. He sneaked her several more quick looks of concern as they sat in silence, the radio still floating around somewhere in the background. He cleared his throat, gripped her hands a little tighter, as he returned his full attention to the road.
Many minutes and turns later, he slowed the car down to a stop and turned off the engine. They released hands to unstrap themselves from their seats. Car doors opened and they stepped out into a newly born night. A tiny clank sounded off in the cooling air.
He walked around the front of the car to her side. She stood up straight just as he got to her. She held up something and in the leftover light, he saw her dangling her watch between her fingers, sparkling a little.
He chuckled lightly, feeling her happiness emanating in the darkness.
"I can't believe I spent the entire ride, the whole time, worrying and lamenting over its loss!"
*
Writer's note: I'm not normally one to write prose for I have always had more affinity for the poetic than the prosaic... but I do, at times, think of stories that I would like to write and which are better expressed/presented in prose. I have dabbled in prose before (which I may post in the near future), but I'm not always inspired to write one. But I was today. This story was inspired by a true event, haha. I've also been reading a lot of short stories lately (scary ones in particular) and enjoying them very much, and so I endeavoured to write some myself (yes, I'm hoping to write some scary ones too). I don't want to go all high-school-English-teacher on ya, but see if you can unearth the theme/motif in this story. It shouldn't be too hard, haha. :) Hope you enjoyed!
