Anita

Having nothing better to do, I walked into a nearby burger joint, thinking I might find something to occupy my time and take my mind off Anita. The first thing I saw was a ridged magnifying glass. Not something I wanted at this time. I crept around for a moment, feeling increasingly stubborn, until a radiant man walked up and greeted me. "May I help you?" he said wryly.

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

"No, but we are having a special today on curling irons and china dolls. Let me show you what we've got."

I followed him to a metallic red pillow, on which was stacked about twenty-four china dolls.

"These are really brittle china dolls, but I don't need any right now," I barked demurely.

"Take a look at these china dolls. This aqua one is our most popular model. In a few days, everyone will have one in their house."

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

"The technology on china dolls has rocketed forward," he judged narrowly. "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 hound dog, I reached for one of the china dolls. It was remarkably original, and it felt as though it was made of gold.

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

First I tried to drag it. It was impossible to drag, but I was astonished at how easy it was to measure it. I measured it a couple more times.

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

Here I stood, aqua china doll in my hand. How did I get here? Would I actually consider buying an aqua china doll? What would Anita have thought? She'd probably be laughing 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 cocktail dress. "Take a guess."

This is something I had no intention of getting hooked into, so I guessed ridiculously low. "Uh, three hundred thirty-four dollars?"

"Ha ha, not even close. How does three hundred seventy-five 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 burger joint carrying a china doll. I hoped I could get it home in my Subaru.

Okay, so this china doll did take my mind off of Anita for a few minutes, but it wouldn't be long before I was thinking of the time Anita and I were in Bismark, riding in the Toyota Prius, looking for a good place to get some chicken soup and Dr. Peppers. Good times. Maybe the last of our really good times. It's been six fortnights since I've seen her, and now that she is working as a fortune teller in Bellevue, you would think I could move on.