Extra Jalapeños

He had flown in to see her

And they had met at the

Airport in Austin

***

They decided to go to Trader Joe’s

Where they picked up about one hundred dollars

Worth of groceries

***

They would then make the long drive to her place

Where he would prepare a meal that night

For he liked to show off his culinary skills

***

As they shopped for the evening’s dinner

He also liked to kid her about her lack of cooking skills

But she was a good sport about it

***

He definitely liked to kid her about things

And they had fun picking out what he would be preparing

For all appearances, they seemed like the cute couple they were becoming

***

He pushed the shopping cart out to her car

Then made light of how heavy the groceries were

She suggested he return the cart to the cart rack

***

He pushed the cart along, actually feeling pretty good about this visit

But as he returned to the car’s parking space

He found her car gone, and his backpack sitting in the space

***

At first he felt a sense of confusion

What had he done?

A strange sadness started to overtake him

***

Just as the sound of squealing tires approached him

He turned to see car pulling up

She smiled and said get in

***

He seemed quiet as they drove to her place

‘What,’ she said, ‘you can’t take a joke?’

He said of course he could as he thought to himself

There definitely would be extra jalapeños in her dinner tonight.