Meet-Cute
I tear a strip of cardboard off a box. To take a nap. And another. To take a nap not…
At the sound of a truck engine outside, I jump up and spot UPS.
“My package!” I cry.
I sprint out to the landing to check. Sure enough, headed up a flight of stairs is the delivery boy. He’s got on a tight hoodie today, and his mess of dark hair is covered by a beanie. He’s manhandling another large package.
It doesn’t look like a set of pie dishes.
He turns away from me.
I might as well make his job easier and go with him to get my stuff. I could use the fresh air and the high of a good deed. ’Tis the season.
“Hello,” I say cheerily.
No response.
“Excuse me.”
His earbuds must be up to an unsafe volume. I tap his shoulder.
He jumps at least a foot in the air and elbows me on his way. I crumple. He tries to catch me and only further accentuates my descent. The package crunches.
Sprawled over it, I look up to find icy aqua eyes on me, gorgeous eyes. In fact, his whole face is stunning. It’s pale with dark outlines where there’s hair, as if an artist carefully sketched him and only embellished the most important parts with color.
“Sorry,” I squeak.
He groans and not so much helps me up as tosses me off of the cargo. “Why would you just sneak up on a stranger like that?”
“I tried talking first.”
“Next time, try harder.”
“Sorry.” I do my best to smooth the crunched cardboard.
He examines it and mumbles something about how this is “just great.”
I apologize again while he scans the bar code, then walks away at a fast clip.
“Hey, wait!” I run after him down the stairwell. “Are all UPS carriers as zippy as you?”
“Job’s not done until the truck’s empty.”
“Maybe I can help you then. I’m expecting a package that I have reason to believe is on your truck.”
“Nope.”
“Um, are you arguing with GPS? Because my tracking info says it is.”
“Well, I don’t have any other packages for this building, and my loader never makes a mistake.”
“Can you double-check for me? It’s really important.”
“They’re all important.”
We arrive at his truck. A sudoku book and an aluminum lunch box are stacked neatly on the passenger seat. Otherwise, the driver’s cabin is spotless. A plastic LEGO character dangles from the rearview mirror.
I push past him. “Mind if I take a quick look?”
He steps in front of me, finally finding the decency to face me while we talk. He goes stiff, except for his eyebrows, which disappear behind his scraggly bangs.
I muster up the biggest puppy dog eyes I can produce.
He reaches for the side of his vehicle. I think he’s going to lean against it to recover whatever senses he just lost, but he swings up into the seat instead. “You’re slowing me down.”
“You don’t understand. I need that package today!”
“This isn’t open-heart surgery.”
“Excuse me if my problems aren’t important enough to merit your help…Miller,” I say, eyeing his name tag.
He turns the key. “I’m sorry you don’t have enough decency to keep from harassing the hourly laborers trying to stay sane during the holidays.”
“Well, I’m sorry someone took your joy and turned it into a turd.” With that, I twist on my foot to make my grand exit. The grunt of an engine disrupts me.
Dang it. I’m supposed to be the one vindicated here. I scowl at the back of his vehicle. Meanie.
He’s basically Santa’s helper. The least he could do is smile.
I would be way better at his job.
I stomp back up the apartment stairs. Now what am I supposed to do about the pie?
Audrey FurnasAdia has noticed Miller, the stoic guy delivering packages at her apartment, but this is her first up close encounter. This scene was the first that came to my mind when the idea for this novel hit me. I have my brother to thank. He worked for UPS a couple years back while on a break from college. When he shared with me about his job at our Christmas gathering, the two book characters and their conflicting personalities immediately took shape.