Windward Review Vol. 20 (2022): Beginnings and Endings

Jason shrugged his shoulders with a frown. “It’s never this crowded,” he said.
“What do you want to do?”
She looked down at her hands. She’d gotten her nails done the day before. “I don’t
want to wait for an hour.”
“Right. Yeah.” He nodded, glanced back outside, then at her again. “Hey, Matthew
just told me about this great Thai place that he went to the other day. We’ll check that out.”
His smile returned, amused, like they were on a quirky misadventure. He was at his most
handsome that way, with his blond hair making him look like a teenager in a movie.
She followed him back outside to the car. After she buckled up, she slipped off
her heels while Jason tapped away on his phone to get the restaurant address, his screen
lighting up the dark car. A few minutes later, he put the phone in his cup holder and pulled
out of the parking lot.
Fifteen minutes into the drive, Rhiannon put her arm against the window and laid
her head on her hand. “How far is it?”
“Maybe another fifteen minutes or so,” he replied. “It’s downtown.”
“We should call ahead and make sure they have a table.”
“You can if you want.”
She put her arm down and looked at him. Her stomach twisted with hunger; she’d
skipped lunch thinking they would eat early. “Why didn’t you just call ahead at the other
place?” she asked, the words slipping out without thought.
He blinked rapidly. “I don’t know,” he said. “I just didn’t think to. They’re not
normally that crowded.”
“It’s a Saturday night, Jason, of course they’d be crowded.”
“What do you want me to do?” he asked. He glanced at her with wide, guilty eyes.
“I asked if you wanted to wait.”
“I wanted you to make a reservation last week.” Hunger made her bold, apparently.
“Why are you getting upset over this?” he asked. The light ahead turned yellow
and he sped up to reach it. “It’s not a big deal. Some people have, like, actual problems to
deal with, you know? And you’re picking a fight because you had to wait a little longer for
dinner?” He glanced at her again, then back at the road. “I was busy this week, too. I had
practice and I was up late scrambling to do homework. So no, I didn’t make the reservation.”
His anger echoed through the car. Rhiannon went silent.
A few seconds passed, then Jason sighed. “Rhi, I’m sorry.” He spoke in a quieter
voice, as if disguising the person who just snapped at her. Nothing to see behind the
curtain.
“It’s fine.” The fight had gone out of her.
“I screwed this up. I always screw up.”
“No, you don’t,” she muttered.
“You know I do, Rhi. I was just trying to make tonight special for you, and I managed
to ruin it.” His hands gripped the steering wheel as he sped through a light that changed to
red.
“Let’s just get to the Thai place and enjoy dinner.”
He kept shaking his head. “That’s not what you wanted. God, I’m so stupid.”
“Jason, it’s fine.” He pulled up to a light and put on his blinker. “It doesn’t matter.”
He didn’t turn the blinker off. “We already came all this way. There’s no point in going back.”
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