Excerpt: An Autumn Story

The conversation turned to weather and politics, and at one point, though the exact moment in time remained unknown to either party, it was smoother and more natural than it had been previously, like a real conversation. At one point, Arnold even said something clever and Adrienne laughed. A genuine laugh. They finished their ice cream and walked back to the bookstore where they’d originally met. They said goodbye, exchanged phone numbers and promised to meet up sometime in the future, then walked away. In fact, it was one of those awkward walk-aways where they officially bid one another adieux but then had to walk away in the same direction. The result was that they were officially free of social bonds yet still tied by the physical world, which to ignore would have been to create a feeling of awkwardness, the last impression being that, and which to confront would have been worthwhile only if they were to have enough walking time together to make it funny. They had enough walking time together to make it funny, but didn’t realize it in time and when Arnold made his joke (“it looks like our date continues!”) Adrienne was about to turn a corner. She smiled and looked back at him, but it wasn’t quite right. While the last impression made them both feel uncomfortable, it did have the effect, at the very least, of summing up the afternoon perfectly well.