by Paul Beckman

Valentine’s Eve for men at the mall. I stopped to buy Amy a gift hoping to cement a relationship that had just gotten off the ground with a few hellos and one shared table at lunch in the work cafeteria.

Tuxedoed waitresses served complimentary champagne. I looked in jewelry and nightgown stores finally settling on a boxed set of Sinatra love songs covered by Polka King Frankie Yankovic which I set on her desk early the next morning at work.

After lunch there was an envelope and small package left for me which I opened immediately. The box held a pair of lovebird Peeps — one pink and one blue. I loved Peeps. Her card was a cutesy grade school card with a note. Thanks for the great gift. I’ll play it on the drive with my Polish boyfriend on the way to our favorite B&B for a romantic weekend.

I picked up the Peeps and bit the head off the blue one — the one that represented me. Then I put the Peep bodies back in the box and left it open on my desk. I looked at the lovebirds and thought about what should have been.

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Paul Beckman’s new flash collection is Kiss Kiss (Truth Serum Publishing). He has new stories coming out in Lost Balloon, Thrice Fiction, Fictive Dream, Blink-Ink, Flash Fiction Magazine, flash & cinder, and others. Blog: pincusb.com.