2/8/12

This may sound strange...
By Michael Plesset


“This may sound strange,” he said, “but sometimes I think that holding hands is the deepest intimacy of all. More than all the words, and more than all the sexual activity, which can be quite impersonal.”

“Well, that’s an unusual point of view,” she said, “I’d have to think about that.”

It was a warm evening, and when they finished dinner, they went for a walk. It was a busy Saturday night, and the sidewalk was crowded. He took her hand to keep them from getting separated in the crowd.

“Wow, the deepest intimacy of all, and right out in public” she said.

He didn’t say anything, but squeezed her hand.

She squeezed back. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes.

After she got home she called her friend Sarah.

“Hi Sarah, it’s me.” she said.
“Well, what happened, how did it go?”
“We held hands.”
“Yes, and …?”
“Well, that’s the main thing.”
“So are you saying it was boring?’
“No, he’s nice, he’s unusual.”
“That doesn’t say much, Hitler was unusual.”
“I hate to say he’s sensitive, that sounds like a weak thing.”
“So, are you going out with him again?”
“If he calls, yes.”

He did, and they planned to get together in a couple of days.

But before then, it happened, all she could remember was crossing the street, and the sound of the taxi’s tires screeching as it tried to stop before it hit her. Waking up in the hospital, she didn’t know how long she had been unconscious, and couldn’t see because of bandages she could feel across her face.

Still struggling to figure out where she was and what happened, she realized someone was holding her hand. It was him.


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Michael Plesset did undergraduate and graduate work in mathematics, philosophy, sociology and English literature, and attended seminary at one time. He has published poetry, short fiction and non-fiction articles. He has worked in the space program and the computer industry, wrote material for a stand-up comedian, and has taught English to Chinese students for the last 10 years.