Love and Fate

Teresa brushed windblown auburn hair out of her blue eyes, parked her old Nissan Altima at Happy Joe's and rolled up the driver's window. The convenience store was celebrating its grand opening with banners, balloons, and promises of a steep fuel discount and freebies for stopping by.

It was on an alternative route home from work; she figured she'd see what the place was like, in case it was worth incorporating into her daily routine.

A message popped in from her best friend Bonnie:

Tonight's my first date with Jim! Wish me luck!

Teresa texted back a heart and a four-leaf clover: you got this!

Inside, though, she reflected on how many other guys Bonnie had dated over the years. They all seemed so promising, yet within weeks or months, something inevitably happened that showed their true colors. Bonnie could never find a suitable match, at least not for long, and her emotional rollercoaster was heartbreaking to witness.

I wish she wouldn't try so hard. I keep telling her she's better off alone, like me. I would never look at a dating app! I don't need any toxic drama in my life. You've met one guy, you've met them all.

She walked into the convenience store. The scent of barbecue quickly enveloped her from the modern kitchen, positioned invitingly in the middle of the floor.

"Welcome to Happy Joe's!"

A blond-haired male clerk waved from the checkout counter, grinning broadly. He wore a blue flowered tropical shirt, exactly like the store's life-sized mascot, who was sitting in the form of a plastic statue on a bench.

"Uh, wow. Quite a place."

Teresa turned her head right and left, taking in the sights. A coffee bar lined with elegant silver taps offered iced, nitro, and cappuccino, with luxurious customization options. Sleek, electronic touch-free fountains provided a host of icy beverages.

The bright, fresh, blue and white color scheme was vibrant and relaxing, and jazzy instrumentals played softly on the overhead sound system.

"Nice, huh?" A man appeared suddenly on her right. "I'm sorry, I need someone to hold my phone for me… would you be so kind as to—?"

"A selfie?" Teresa guessed, as he took his position on the bench alongside Happy Joe.

"Yeah. They're running a Facebook contest. The selfie with the most likes wins a gift basket."

"Sure, why not?" She smiled and arranged him within the frame on his screen, studying his appearance with curiosity.

He was clean-cut and handsome, with curly brown hair and twinkling blue eyes. When he smiled for the picture, it was naturally lopsided. She found this somehow endearing, spending an extra moment staring at the completed photo before handing back his device.

"Now it's your turn," he said, standing up and waving at the seat. "I wouldn't want you to miss out on the prize—that is, if you're interested. Typical gas station junk, but hey, that's why we're here."

"Might as well." Teresa glanced at a poster with the rules and a picture of the cellophane-wrapped prize basket, filled with candy bars, bags of chips, gummy bears, beef jerky, a thermos, and a stuffed Happy Joe.

"Don't say cheese, say Joe's!" The man chuckled as he prepped her phone camera.

When the photo came back, she wore a goofy grin, one arm flung playfully over the plastic mascot's shoulder.

"Best of luck to both of us, ma'am." The man nodded, gave her a parting one-sided smile, and walked towards the energy drink coolers.

Teresa immediately wished she'd asked for his name, or asked to swap photos. That's silly. Why would he give me his picture? He was so cute… She stopped, chiding herself for her sudden interest in a total stranger. But those keen blue eyes, that adorable smile…

Teresa shook her head, approaching the self-order kiosk to view Happy Joe's menu. It wasn't worth thinking about someone she would probably never see again.

***
But as she drove down the highway towards home in the gathering darkness of early evening, she wondered about her stranger. Where did he work? How old was he? No wedding band, and no pictures of family on his phone's lockscreen. Did he live alone? Was he lonely?

It was then, all by herself in the silence of her car, the truth of Teresa's situation hit her like a load of unwashed laundry: she was lonely. She had no one to come home to, not even a dog. Her house would be as quiet as her car unless she put on some music or a video.

Why, if I died tonight, would anyone even know? Bonnie would care. But a gal pal only goes so far… I can't expect her constant support. I should've developed a wider network. I have appallingly few friends.

She hadn't realized how much she wanted someone to talk to. Usually she just talked softly to herself at home. It never occurred to her to call herself lonely.

Teresa wondered if the man she'd so briefly met might be on a dating app in her area. Nonsense. For all I know he's married and from out-of-state. Why do I keep thinking about him?

His smiling face appeared in front of her eyes like a quivering mirage. She scowled and glared straight ahead, wishing the road home was shorter.

At a stop sign, she waited for the right time to move on, fingers tapping the wheel. When it was her turn, she accelerated.

Out of nowhere, a car shot into the intersection, tires screeching and horn blaring. Teresa swerved away as the other car spun out of control. They slammed into each other sideways with a tremendous shattering crash that sent her side airbags exploding out into giant marshmallow puffs.

For a long moment, she had no idea what happened. Teresa came to her senses when a flashlight pierced her window. Someone was shouting and banging.

"Ma'am! Are you ok in there?"

A cold shock jolted her veins at the familiar voice, now frantic. Could it be…?

"I'm alive! Help me out!"

He pried her passenger door open, as the driver's door was wedged into the side of the other vehicle. Teresa slipped out into the arms of the stranger from Happy Joe's.

"I was coming from the other side and saw the whole thing. I'm Nick Jones."

"Teresa Adams," she murmured, dazed.

He advised her to sit down a safe distance from the accident and went to get a blanket. When he got back he wrapped her up and knelt beside her, on the phone with 911.

"May I please take your pulse? I need to know if you're going into shock." Nick took her hand into his lap, finding the pulse point in her wrist with firm, skilled movements.

The next few hours were a blur of blinding police lights, endless questions, exchanging insurance information and getting checked out by EMTs. Teresa rode in the ambulance to the hospital for X-rays, tests and monitoring. Her totaled car was left on the side of the road to be hauled away with the other vehicle.

When she stumbled, exhausted, out of the hospital several hours later, Nick was sitting in the waiting room. He looked up with a furrowed brow.

"I had to know if you were ok."

"They said I'm fine."

"Will you need a ride home?"

"Yes, actually. Thank you so much."

When she got home, she collapsed in bed and slept for what seemed like three days straight.

***
Some sense of normalcy returned when she arranged with her insurance for a temporary rental car. Teresa managed to resume work after taking days off to recover.

In all that time, she hadn't heard from Nick. She couldn't remember if they'd exchanged numbers amid the chaos. But she knew he had shown incredible kindness, warmth and concern.

Why, oh why didn't I follow through with him? Who would wait for hours at the hospital to ask a total stranger if they need a ride home? He was meant for me, and I let him go!

Nick's friendly eyes and cheerful lopsided smile filled her dreams for a few days. Life had never seemed so dull and empty before. She wondered how she could have tolerated being alone all those years.

One afternoon as she was heading back from work, a construction detour sent her past Happy Joe's convenience store again. Teresa had, perhaps subconsciously, avoided taking that route home since meeting Nick. It didn't seem like it would be a "happy" place without him.

Goodness, I need gas. She pulled in because their posted price was still several cents cheaper than the going rate.

Inside, the same blond clerk greeted her, politely yet not quite so exuberantly as he had the first time, perhaps growing weary of his new job. The newness was wearing off; already one of the soda fountains was marked "out of order."

She took her place in the checkout line behind a man in a suit. Then she recognized his curly brown hair, his firm, kindly voice as he spoke legalese on the phone. Nick!

Teresa's heart skipped a beat. Her stomach fluttered. What a time for him to be taking an important call! She wiped sweat off her hands and tried to breathe deeply, patiently.

"I'm off work now. Yes, you can call back tomorrow. I'll make a note to reach out if we haven't heard from you…"

Nick hung up and put away his phone as he reached the counter. Teresa waited breathlessly as he paid for his gas and a soda. Would he even remember her?

As he turned around to leave, their eyes met. A thrill of delight ran through her veins as Nick's eyes widened in instant recognition.

"Teresa!"

"Nick!"

It seemed the most natural thing in the world for them to wrap their arms around each other right there in the checkout line, laughing and talking. They walked out to the pumps together so Nick could fill up his tank before his purchase timed out.

"I'm so glad you're still doing good. I've been wanting to reach out to you ever since, but I didn't know how." Nick ran a hand through his hair.

"I wanted to swap numbers." Teresa shuffled her feet. "I'm forever grateful for what you did, and…" she stared at the ground. Was it her place to ask him out?

He smiled that adorable lopsided smile.

"What say we go out to dinner this weekend? I think fate is pushing us together, and we should see how far it wants us to go… That is, if I'm not being way too forward," he added, turning awkwardly to hang up the pump. "I'm all alone in the world, and I'm beginning to think I need to find someone, you know?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Teresa almost skipped a little jig in place. "I'd absolutely love it."

***
"We met by accident," Teresa always said to her friends. "The chances of Nick and I finding each other in the usual way were about a million to one."

"We were meant to be together," Nick would add, patting her hand, on which a gold wedding band now proudly rested. "And you know what? Our gas station selfies tied for likes, and we had to split the gift basket between us!"

"Yes, you still have the stuffed Happy Joe after all these years," Bonnie giggled.

Teresa smiled at her best friend, who had also finally found and married one of the good ones. Jim was right there with them.

"Fate is a funny thing, isn't it?" she mused. "Somehow, it knows what's best for us."

Words: 1,957.
Written for "Share Your Faith" 
Prompt: fate.
Chances song ▼