Oh! Wow!, a short story by Rico.Viejo. Date added: 2012-08-20. Times viewed: 1133.

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Intro: Guy loses out, again.

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Andy heard a soft voice behind him say: "Oh, Wow!"

He turned to see a pretty girl, in a dress and holding a knapsack.  

"The boat? I ..," Andy said. Andy had taken it upon himself to replicate an old whaleboat. The Maritime Museum people had been so impressed, they'd asked to exhibit it. Andy had hung around the first day to hear people's comments.  

"You built this?" she said, running her slim hand along the gunwale.  

"Yeah, I ..."  

"You carved this?" she said, feeling the outline of a bluebird he's carved near the stem. "Ow!" she said, moving her finger quickly into her mouth.  

"A splinter?" said Andy, in panic.  

"Of course not," she laughed, showing him a wet, uninjured finger. "It's perfectly smooth! I was just teasing you!"

 

She was dazzling him with a smile when there was a call: "Angie!"  

"Betty!" Angie replied, running to a girl by the door and hugging her. "So good to see you!"  

Angie led Betty to Andy and said: "This is—I don't know your name ..."  

"Andy."  

"Andy and Angie," she laughed. "Is that fate or what? Andy built this beautiful boat! And I love it!"  

Betty gave Andy an appraising smile. To Angie, she said: "Why the dress?"  

"Came straight from work. No time to change. But I've got shorts, a top, and Adidas in my bag," said Angie.  

"And an alarm clock, a toothbrush, and a nightgown?" said Betty. The two girls laughed together at this. Betty gave Andy another interested look.

 

"Betty, Angie!" called another girl.  

"Helen!" the two girls cried, running across the room to her. Lots of hugs and kisses and chatter.  

The man who had come in with Helen walked over to the boat and kicked it. "Solid," he said.  

The three girls joined the two men. "This my new husband, Jimmie. Isn't he gorgeous?" Helen said. "Jimmie? The drab in jeans, here, is my old roommate, Betty, and the always-beautiful in the dress, here, is Angie."  

Jimmie nodded at Helen's ex-roommates, disinterestedly.  

"And this is Andy, who built this beautiful boat," announced Angie, putting her hand on his shoulder.  

The men nodded to each other. Jimmie left them and strutted around to look at the other exhibits.

 

"He's such a boor! I saw your face when he kicked your boat," whispered Angie, moving her hand to squeeze Andy's arm.

 

"Lobster and corn and clam-chowder—a real New England dinner," said Betty, "to be fixed in the kitchenette of the cabin I got for Angie."  

"Oh, Wow!" said Angie. "Enough for Andy, here, too?"  

"You're invited, Andy," said Betty, winking at him.

 

It was a short walk across the park to the motel.

 

"Oh, Wow!" said Angie, squeezing Andy's hand, and pointing their hands at a sun-gleaming yacht against a wall of dark cloud. "Isn't that beautiful?"  

Andy gazed at Angie's delighted face and happily agreed. The sun reflected off the yacht's spars and into Andy's heart. "Oh! Wow," he thought.

 

Andy helped them move corn and lobsters from car to cabin. 

 

"We forgot to get butter," Betty yelled, from the kitchen.  

"We passed a market about fifteen minutes from here," Helen yelled back. "Jimmie and I will go get it."  

"No, you go, Baby. I'll hang with Andy, here, and your roomies," said Jimmie.

 

Immediately at the sound of the car driving off, Jimmie disappeared into the kitchen area. Betty yelped: "Hey!"  

"Nice butt," said Jimmie, reappearing and walking to the bedroom door. He tapped on it.  

"Yes?" replied Angie.  

Jimmie opened the door and said: "Don't you look pretty like that!" Angie laughed.  

Jimmie went in and closed the door. Through the thin wall, Andy could hear Angie's pretty laugh, her 'Oh, Wow!', a slightly hysterical laugh, then soon, a steady creak from a worn bed frame.

Betty, out of the kitchen, and Andy looked at each other in shared embarrassment.  

Helen burst into the cabin. "Andy? Your tour with Angie? Forget it! It's starting to rain. I'm penniless. I need butter money. Where's Jimmie?"  

"With Angie," said Betty, sadly. The sound of the bed was evident.

Andy watched the joy and exuberance drain out of Helen's face, as the sunshine had just drained out of his heart. "Look," he lied, "I had a huge lunch. Thanks, but I'll skip dinner."

As he stepped out into the rain, Betty said: "Nice meeting you," and Helen said: "Cool boat."

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