Love Is Blind, So Are Men

I was at the store one day when someone I didn't recognize pointed at me and yelled: “That’s her!” I stood frozen and unmoving as the young man who seemed to be in his mid-twenties walked towards me. “That’s my wife”. He quietly mumbled. “Wife?” I thought I was barely old enough to order a packet of noodles from a food delivery app, let alone marry someone. Reaching out for my pepper spray with one hand while clutching the bunch of lavender in the other. I slowly backed away from the man. Everyone inside Elise’s flower shop stopped what they were doing and glanced over the root the cause of the commotion. Elise who was behind the counter snorted and screamed, “Not again, Jackson!” A newcomer in the neighbourhood, I stood there appalled and internally panicking Wiley constantly reassuring myself that it was this man’s scherzando nature that was causing this. Elise looked over me with pitiful eyes while the man stood confused and said, “He’s half-blind when he’s not wearing his lenses. Old habit.”

I tutted and moved aside to let the man move towards the rack of Dahlias. He must have not heard Elise for he looked at the dahlias and enquired. “Have you seen my lenses Marie? I can't seem to find them. I ran here from work since you told me you’re having lunch at Joe’s. Do you mind if I have lunch with you?” Someone must have thought it was funny to laugh at the misery because they voiced out `yes' ' in a faminine voice and the poor fellow sat on the rack, knocking out the pot of dahlias onto the floor. The people around scuffled their laughter and the man apparently called Jackson rubbed his back and whined in pain. Elise stood there shaking her head at the decision made of this half-blind man picking up her phone, possibly to call the police. Jackson frowned at the silence of his “wife” and shook the person next to him, who happened to be a middle aged man. “Marie? Are you ok? Why are you saying anything? Did your boss send you to fetch coffee again?”

The said man dramatically sighed and but didn't mutter a word, causing Jackson's forehead line to crease further. “I need a pillow, these chairs are so uncomfortable”. He piped and scrambled to the nearest soft object he could fine, which happened to be a mute Pomerian immediately snatching it and sitting on it the Pomerian wriggled beneath him as the child whose pet it was screaming in temor. I did not know whether he was deaf or just ignorant of the situation, but he looked towards me and said, “one usual meal please!” and pulled out his phone. Suddenly, the door of the shop broke open and the bell chimed at a disturbing and amplitude above it.

A woman of possibly twenty five stormed through the door albeit painting heavily; and walked towards the man who was now attempting to unlock his phone by switching it off. Screeching at the sight of the child tugging his pet from below Jackson’s seated and the quiet muffling crowd watching the furry creature ears belch under pressure, she pulled Jackson out of his seat on the rack and dug out a pair of brown framed glasses from her to back and place it on his eyes. His face lit up in recognition which soon turned to confusion as he took in his surroundings. Hushing her husband immediately and paying for the damage at the counter she bowed and apologized to everyone.

The aftermath was quite disheveled, for I believe everyone around was either confused about their life like I was, or were making an imaginary story to tell their colleagues in town or felt pity for the man. Just as he began to be dragged out of his wife in the embarrassment of the situation the Pomerian spring angrily at him and took a sharp job to his glasses causing it too tall and shatter. He recoiled as a natural mechanism, turned towards the counter and shook Elise, “What just happened Marie? There was an uproar in the room and all I could hear before I was emphasizing tell on the floor was, “Not again!”.