My eyesight has always been rather poor since I was a child, so Ive always had to wear glasses. As I got older, I switched to contact lenses, but there were still moments when Id nip out with the dog or head to the shops and completely forget them, or just couldnt be bothered to put them on. Thats exactly what happened on that one fateful evening. I dashed out to the local shop, bounded down five flights of stairs (we havent got a lift in our building), and only realised once I was outside that my glasses were still sitting on the kitchen table. I was far too lazy to go back, so off I went, stumbling half-blind.
There I was, hovering indecisively by the shelf of tinned fish, pestering the cashier endlessly with questions about what sort of fish was in each tin and what theyd been preserved in. The moment the cashier started tending to someone else, I turned to a girl standing nearby. I squinted at her for a moment and something about her seemed oddly familiarthe way her messy bun sat on top of her head like a set of quirky horns, the oversized red scarf wrapped around her neck, her long black coat…
Would you mind telling me which one is the mackerel in tomato sauce?
Wed been in neighbouring forms at school. I remembered her well, mostly for her eccentric style and the way she was always getting told off by teachers for having her fingernails painted in wild patterns.
This ones the mackerel youre after, she replied, a bit formally. Anything else?
Sorry, Ive left my glasses at homeI cant see a thing.
We meandered round the shop together, swapping stories about teachers and school. She laughed at some of the tales I remembered, shaking her head in recognition. After wed paid, I suggested we take a moment out in the crisp autumn air, or maybe grab a cup of tea or coffee and have a longer chat. She told me she worked in a veterinary clinic, which genuinely surprised meI hadnt imagined her going into a job like that. We swapped numbers, chatting about maybe meeting up another time.
Once I was home and wearing my glasses again, I saw shed messaged me five minutes after wed gone our separate ways.
Im sorry I lied. I wasnt in your form. I was in 5A at another school altogether. But if youre not bothered, maybe we could have that coffee some time. My treat.
Of course, I didnt say no. We met up again, and I honestly couldnt stop looking at hershe was even lovelier up close, far prettier than the girl Id thought she was.
We started seeing each other more and more, and now were actually dating. She teases me now and then, asking whether my bad eyesight was real or if I was just pretending to flirt, but we both know shes joking. I cant help feeling that fate played a rather clever hand in bringing us together.
