Funny how things work out; before the world fell apart, things like cellphones, laptops, and cars were some of the most important things in the world to some people. Now they sit useless, not even worthy of trade. I guess in this new world, if you can’t eat it or kill a zombie with it, you don’t need to own it anymore. Weird how things can change so quickly.
Claire put the dead cellphone aside. “So John. Before the world went to crap, what did you do for a living?” Before I could answer, she interrupted me. “Wait, let me guess. With your shooting skills and knowledge of anti-zombie tactics, you must have been a cop, or maybe a soldier. Right?”
I laughed a little. “Actually, I worked in the telecom business. I designed cell tower sites and other things related to voice and data networks. In fact, just before the outbreak, I had gone freelance.” I fished out my wallet, another useless artifact from the pre-zombie world, and retrieved one of my business cards. I smoothed out the card, and handed it to Claire.
“Cool, you had your own business. Was it successful?” she asked, reading the card.
“Not too bad. It was actually picking up a little. By the way, keep the card. You might need my services one day.” Claire broke out into a fit of giggles.
After she composed herself, she said, “Telecom design, huh? Well, how did you learn to kill zombies and save college girls?”
“Well, I didn’t know anything at first. I picked up a few things from people I met, and learned a few things on my own.” I raised my beer to my lips and took a sip. My wedding ring reflected the light from the fire.
Claire noticed my ring. “I didn’t know you were married.”
I looked at my hand. “Oh yeah. I meant to take that off at some point,” I mumbled.
“Is she beautiful? I imagine you have good taste in women.” Claire said, scooting a little closer.
“Oh yeah, she was very beautiful. She was also the best part of my life in the old days.” I retrieved Gia’s picture from my pocket and handed it to Claire. “Her name was Gia.”
She held up her flashlight to take a look. “Wow. She’s gorgeous. Great hair. How did you two meet?”
“We met online. Some of my friends thought I wasn’t dating enough, so they put my profile on one of those online dating sites. It was a joke at first, but then she emailed me. We had a date a few days later. A couple of months later, we were married. We were together for two and a half years.” Remembering Gia was causing tears to well up in my eyes. I hoped I wouldn’t start bawling in front of Claire.
Claire handed the picture back. “She looks like a great lady. Do you know what happened to her?” she said in a low tone.
“I don’t know. I suppose she’s gone, or one of those things out there walking around.” That did it. I could feel tears beginning to fall down my cheeks. I was actually going to cry a little in the darkness.
Claire watched the tears roll down my cheeks. After a few minutes of silence, she leaned in and gave me a kiss. It wasn’t a greeting-a-favorite-uncle kind of kiss, but a real kiss. It was a kiss usually reserved for men going away to war or something. Claire’s lips felt cool and smooth. She was a pretty good kisser.
After a few seconds, our lips parted. We sat there for a few minutes staring at each other in the semi-darkness. I could hear my old heart hammering in my chest, and my face felt hot. Claire’s kiss had set a few things in motion.
Claire kind of stared at me, with a little half-smile on her face. A deep red blush started to spread across her cheeks. She leaned back in for another kiss, but I put my hand up and stopped her. “No. Claire. We shouldn’t. I mean, we could, but it’s not right.”
Claire stopped. The blush got deeper. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She stood up, grabbed a flashlight, and quickly strode off into the darkness of the store.
I sat there in our dark campsite for a
Claire put the dead cellphone aside. “So John. Before the world went to crap, what did you do for a living?” Before I could answer, she interrupted me. “Wait, let me guess. With your shooting skills and knowledge of anti-zombie tactics, you must have been a cop, or maybe a soldier. Right?”
I laughed a little. “Actually, I worked in the telecom business. I designed cell tower sites and other things related to voice and data networks. In fact, just before the outbreak, I had gone freelance.” I fished out my wallet, another useless artifact from the pre-zombie world, and retrieved one of my business cards. I smoothed out the card, and handed it to Claire.
“Cool, you had your own business. Was it successful?” she asked, reading the card.
“Not too bad. It was actually picking up a little. By the way, keep the card. You might need my services one day.” Claire broke out into a fit of giggles.
After she composed herself, she said, “Telecom design, huh? Well, how did you learn to kill zombies and save college girls?”
“Well, I didn’t know anything at first. I picked up a few things from people I met, and learned a few things on my own.” I raised my beer to my lips and took a sip. My wedding ring reflected the light from the fire.
Claire noticed my ring. “I didn’t know you were married.”
I looked at my hand. “Oh yeah. I meant to take that off at some point,” I mumbled.
“Is she beautiful? I imagine you have good taste in women.” Claire said, scooting a little closer.
“Oh yeah, she was very beautiful. She was also the best part of my life in the old days.” I retrieved Gia’s picture from my pocket and handed it to Claire. “Her name was Gia.”
She held up her flashlight to take a look. “Wow. She’s gorgeous. Great hair. How did you two meet?”
“We met online. Some of my friends thought I wasn’t dating enough, so they put my profile on one of those online dating sites. It was a joke at first, but then she emailed me. We had a date a few days later. A couple of months later, we were married. We were together for two and a half years.” Remembering Gia was causing tears to well up in my eyes. I hoped I wouldn’t start bawling in front of Claire.
Claire handed the picture back. “She looks like a great lady. Do you know what happened to her?” she said in a low tone.
“I don’t know. I suppose she’s gone, or one of those things out there walking around.” That did it. I could feel tears beginning to fall down my cheeks. I was actually going to cry a little in the darkness.
Claire watched the tears roll down my cheeks. After a few minutes of silence, she leaned in and gave me a kiss. It wasn’t a greeting-a-favorite-uncle kind of kiss, but a real kiss. It was a kiss usually reserved for men going away to war or something. Claire’s lips felt cool and smooth. She was a pretty good kisser.
After a few seconds, our lips parted. We sat there for a few minutes staring at each other in the semi-darkness. I could hear my old heart hammering in my chest, and my face felt hot. Claire’s kiss had set a few things in motion.
Claire kind of stared at me, with a little half-smile on her face. A deep red blush started to spread across her cheeks. She leaned back in for another kiss, but I put my hand up and stopped her. “No. Claire. We shouldn’t. I mean, we could, but it’s not right.”
Claire stopped. The blush got deeper. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She stood up, grabbed a flashlight, and quickly strode off into the darkness of the store.
I sat there in our dark campsite for a
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