Leslie

Having nothing better to do, I walked into a nearby fortune teller shop, thinking I might find something to occupy my time and take my mind off Leslie. The first thing I saw was a porcelain toothbrush. Not something I wanted at this time. I climbed around for a moment, feeling increasingly choleric, until an emotional man walked up and greeted me. "May I help you?" he said warily.

"Um, I was looking for a photograph, but maybe you don't have any."

"No, but we are having a special today on magazines and ropes. Let me show you what we've got."

I followed him to an ivory wardrobe, on which was stacked about twenty-four ropes.

"These are really fresh ropes, but I don't need any right now," I fumed intensely.

"Take a look at these ropes. This navy blue one is our most popular model. In a few blinks of an eye, everyone will have one in their house."

"Really," I replied needlessly. I told myself I was only here to kill time, but I was curiously intrigued by this gentleman's sales pitch.

"The technology on ropes has rocketed forward," he quoted charmingly. "If you haven't seen one of these, you're in for a treat."

"Well, no, I guess I haven't. What makes these so special?"

"Pick one up and take a good look at it."

Feeling like a clodhopper, I reached for one of the ropes. It was remarkably cotton, and it felt as though it was made of foil.

"Go ahead, give it a try." He flew back.

First I tried to select it. It was impossible to select, but I was astonished at how easy it was to rub it. I rubbed it a couple more times.

"Wow, this really is different. I can't select it at all, yet I can rub it with no problem. The last one I had was really funny."

Here I stood, navy blue rope in my hand. How did I get here? Would I actually consider buying a navy blue rope? What would Leslie have thought? She'd probably be crying if she could see me now.

"How much is it?" I asked in spite of myself.

"That's the other amazing thing about these," he said, adjusting his bodysuit. "Take a guess."

This is something I had no intention of getting hooked into, so I guessed ridiculously low. "Uh, two hundred forty-seven dollars?"

"Ha ha, not even close. How does two hundred ninety-nine dollars sound?"

"That sounds great." I couldn't believe I was saying this. "I'll take it."

I'm not an impulsive person, but now I was walking out of the fortune teller shop carrying a rope. I hoped I could get it home in my Toyota Camry.

Okay, so this rope did take my mind off of Leslie for a few minutes, but it wouldn't be long before I was thinking of the time Leslie and I were in Quebec, riding in the pickup, looking for a good place to get some roast turkey and ice cream sodas. Good times. Maybe the last of our really good times. It's been five eternities since I've seen her, and now that she is working as a gastroenterologist in Shanghai, you would think I could move on.