WRITTEN BY CHRIS SPENCER
ILLUSTRATED BY SUE VAN ETTEN
April 12, 2017

“Excuse me—I must take this call.” My dinner date answers her cellphone and goes to the bar to talk. At the restaurant table next to me, a man leaves to do the same thing. I glance at the abandoned woman at the adjacent table and shrug. “It’s our first date.”

“Mine, too. So much for intimate get-to-know-you conversation,” she responds.

Annoyed, I get up and put on my coat. “I think I’ll go across the street to Village Pizzeria.” I take two steps, turn, and ask, “Like to join me?”

“Sure. We can both text them where we went.”

Chris Spencer founded the Short Story Smash, the 100-word story competition that takes place each year at WICA. You can read more about that here and here. 

Sue Van Etten is a founding member of the Whidbey Island Sketchers, the business manager for a prominent textbook author, a community volunteer, animal lover, and gardener. She planted herself on Whidbey Island 28 years ago and lives in the woods with husband, Dan, dog, Duncan, two felines, and assorted wildlife.

__________________

Story © 2017 Chris Spencer
Illustration © 2017 Sue Van Etten

Have a great story idea? Let us know here.

You may link to this story. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, please contact us.