Third date. The big one. Will this relationship go any further, or are we done? I invited her to my place, and she accepted. I cook a pretty mean chicken. So it was time to go shopping.
The local supermarket was on the basement floor of a nearby shopping center. An old building, but that’s what you get for living in rural Japan. The bubble, you know? It didn’t do great for places like this. The escalators looked like they were installed in the 1980s. Forty years later, the only update they had was probably a few screws tightened now and again. At least they worked.
But my back wasn’t working today. Elevator it is. Why not? I thought to myself. It’s right there. Plus, I parked on the roof anyway. I can treat myself to a ride in the elevator. I don’t need to hit my daily step count yet. I have a long night ahead of me. I smiled to myself and slammed the button.
As the elevator made its way down, I decided to shake my ass to the song in my head. Nobody is watching. I doubt that security camera even works anymore.
Ding.
The doors open and I stroll out. Instead of the bustling supermarket, all I saw were a few closed shops and a little flower shop.
My heart nearly stopped until I noticed a sign hanging from the ceiling.
B2.
Okay, second basement. I guess I never had any reason to go down here before. But hey, a couple of flowers might be a nice way to start the date. I made my way over to the old man sleeping behind the register.
“Afternoon!” I said in Japanese. “Could I get a rose with some of those little flowers that you can wrap them in? Not quite a bouquet but you know, bouquet like?”
He stared at me.
Shit, did I fuck up the words? I’ve been studying long enough that my pronunciation wasn’t that bad. But I always had problem talking with men. Especially old men. They never seemed to understand me, nor me them.
Eventually he stood up with a grunt and started poking around in the flowers. What felt like an hour passed before he turned around poked at the register and then pointed to the green digits. Seven hundred yen. Not too bad.
I paid, thanked him, and looked around for the escalator. Most of the lights were off. I suppose you might as well save money if the only one using the whole basement is an old guy with a flower shop. Whatever. Elevator time. I hopped in, hit B1 and did my shopping.
The date went well. Very, well. The chicken? So damn juicy. I loved it, and she loved it. And the flowers. And then, me.
Of course, I had been a longtime single guy up until that point. When she asked if I had anything for breakfast, I looked in the fridge. Fuck. Nothing. But hey, why don’t we go buy some stuff to make pancakes. She smiled and agreed. So we drove off to the supermarket.
I was in heaven. Like the night before I parked on the roof and head over to the elevator. As we waited for it to arrive I noticed her looking around. Suddenly, she gave me a peck on the cheek. Bliss.
“You know, it’s funny,” I said as we entered the elevator. “I was here yesterday to get groceries but did not think about breakfast.” I went to press the button for B1. It was the bottom one.
“What’s wrong?” she said, noticing my sudden change of mood.
“I, uh, could have sworn there was a B2 in this building.”
“Maybe you’re thinking of another place?” she tried to help.
“Nah, I mean, there wasn’t much to it, but it was definitely here. It’s where I bought your flowers.”
“Oh, you got me flowers too?” she said with surprise.
“Uh, yeah, the rose I gave you yesterday.”
She stared at me.
“You know, when I picked you up from the station?”
She stared at me.
“That was five minutes ago. You did not give me flowers.”
I blinked.
“I thought it was cute that you said we’d go shopping and cook dinner, but that talk about breakfast is a bit much, isn’t it?”
I began to feel sick.
The elevator door opened.
“Look,” she said. “I’m going to go home. I can walk to the station.”
“But, I…”
"Sorry, goodbye."
I drove myself back home. I opened the door to my apartment to find a rotten rose on the kitchen table.