The love I never got

 Most people were counting down the seconds for the clock to hit five on Friday night. Everyone that is, except for poor Adam Star.  In his dreams, he was going out with the beautiful red-haired Allison Grey.  But deep down he knew that at 5:00 a white Ferrari would pull up to the Cargill office and the Zac Efron -looking Thomas Storm would drive off with Allison.  Adam, on the other hand, would drive off in his five-year-old but fully paid-off Hyandai Kona. 

 

Adam remembered the day he first met Allison. It was orientation day in late August, three years earlier. At the time, Adam still had a slight stammer when he was nervous, but nothing like the stutter that had plagued him through junior high.  Like most people who suffer through junior high, Adam was a little insecure.  He had a good job and a few good friends; he spent a lot of time playing video games and role-playing games.  Things that Thomas Storm would characterize as nerdy.

 

For Adam, Friday nights were no different from any other night. He would drive his reliable but decidedly not-sexy car home, take a shower, feed and walk the dog, put on sweatpants, order take-out and play Call of Duty with his online friends, Peter, and George. While Adam did enjoy this stuff, he was not satisfied. He wanted to spend Friday nights with Allison and take her to Dave and Buster’s, or a movie theater, or even the Chanhassen dinner theater. Any one of those things would have made Adam’s life a lot happier.

 

Alison was an accountant and she worked in a box on the other side of the building from where Adam’s box was.  Unlike most pretty girls, Alison was friendly and shy.  And Adam was pretty sure that she liked him, but of course not as much as she liked Thomas. Who would choose a Hyandai over a Ferrari?

 

Soon, it was Monday morning and most of the Cargill workers had returned to their workstations.  Adam was one of those people.  He was always a “bright and early” employee.  Every morning, he would check in, say hi to his friend Lewy, order some coffee from the Sodexo café, and then head up to his workstation.   

 

Adam’s jobs included organizing HR files, closing remedy tickets, and delivering telecom devices for board meetings. Sometimes, he would walk by Allison’s desk, and he would pray for something clever to say, but he never did. The trouble was Adam was shy and lacked confidence when it came to women.

 

Lewy, who was successful with the ladies, told Adam the best way to win a woman’s heart was to write her a poem.   At least that is what Lewy’s father told him.  On this particular Monday, with very little to do, Adam started to write the poem.  It wasn’t very long, or very personal, but it was from Adam’s heart.  He waited until Allison left for the day, and then he put it on her desk, along with a rose.

 

What Adam did not know was Allison was beginning to get tired of Thomas.  He was muscular and flashy, and who wouldn’t be flattered to be seen with a Ferrari-driving hunk.  But he never had any money, because all of it went to his car and his clothes.  The worst thing about Thomas was he was self-absorbed.  He was always looking into the mirror and never at Allison. 

 

Tuesday morning, Allison walked into her cubicle and noticed the rose and the poem.  She hoped it was from Thomas, but in her heart, she knew it wasn’t.  Still, she called Thomas and thanked him for the gift.  “You’re welcome, I am glad you liked it”, he said.  Still not convinced, she decided to test him.  “How did you know I love orchids?” she asked.  “They’re my favorite, so I knew you would like them too”.  She didn’t know what to say, so she mumbled a good by and hung up.

 

At that moment Allison knew it was over with Tom.  She knew that he would never write her a poem or leave a rose on her desk.  Allison decided she needed to find out who really cared for her.