John walked back to Pete and Nick, his head slightly down, his hands deep in his pockets.
Pete crossed his arms. “Well?”
“She turned me down,” John said flatly.
Nick looked Pete.
“What you mean she turned you down? She was looking dead at you.”
“She wasn’t looking at me.”
John paused and pointed over his shoulder.
“She was looking at that dress. In the window. Behind me.”
Pete and Nick both turned to look at the boutique window display.
A red sequined dress sat on a mannequin, front and center, lit up like it was on a runway.
The silence lasted about two seconds.
Then they lost it.
Nick bent over laughing so hard he grabbed Pete’s arm just to stay upright.
Pete had both hands on his knees wheezing like something was medically wrong with him.
“Bruh,” Nick managed to get out between gasps. “She fell in love with the mannequin outfit and not you.”
“She picked the dress over you on Valentine’s Day,” Pete added, wiping his eye.
“The dress won, John. The dress WON.”
John stood there stone faced.
“Y’all are real supportive. Thank you.”
“Who told you to go talk to her,” Nick said, finally catching his breath. “We thought you was to talk to her not propose a love connection in front of a store window. That’s on you.”
“She said it was sweet though,” John mumbled almost to himself.
Pete pointed at him.
“She was being nice because she felt sorry for you. That woman had already chosen that dress.”
John looked back one more time.
The woman was already inside the boutique, reaching for the dress off the rack, holding it up against herself in the mirror, glowing like a bright sunny morning.
He exhaled slowly.
“Happy Valentine’s Day to me.”
Nick patted him hard on the back.
“Look on the bright side champ. At least you got a story to tell the youth.”
“A story,” John repeated. “Great.”
Pete started walking.
“Come on, Romeo. Let’s go get some food. Pretzel place is still open.”
John took one last glance at the boutique window, now empty where the dress used to be.
Even the mannequin had that sarcastic look like better luck next time.
To be continued…