The candy was the most wonderful thing the young boy had ever seen and he strained to touch it and when he did he found that it was plastic.

There were balloons racing across the sky. He looked at them and saw a sign, something positive. And he reached for her. But she pulled away.

I was bored. I’d rather be fishing, I said. I’d rather you were Dan Rather, my girlfriend said. And I got dressed and left the room in tears.

I love you too, she says. He tries to suppress his frustration and says, I said beer. She calls her friend. And so their book writes itself.

He leans in for a kiss. He imagines the sweet taste of her lips. Their exquisite softness. And then he opens his eyes only to find her gone.