Spock knew when he saw the empty table in the restaurant that he’d messed up. He didn’t realize how badly then. It was a table for two and there was a half-empty glass of red wine on the abandoned table. He also spotted a small individual teapot with a tea strainer and cup beside it.
Above the table was a giant red ball with a gold finial attached to it. It was sparkling with glitter. A Christmas bulb.
Guilt, shame, and disappointment in himself assailed him and his heart hurt.
He turned away and walked back toward the entrance of the restaurant where the hostess stood behind a podium.
“Excuse me. Can you advise me how long ago that man at the table left?”
“Oh, the admiral? Twenty minutes ago. He was stood up if you can believe it.” She made a tsking sound.
“I can believe it.”
She then stared at him. Spock knew the moment when she realized. “Oh. You’re the one he was supposed to meet.”
“Yes.”
She reached behind the podium and withdrew a small ornament box. “He left this.”
Spock held it in his hands, further dismayed. “Which direction did he go”
“Toward the park. He said to watch the ice skaters.”
Spock shoved the ornament box in his coat pocket and left the restaurant, hurrying toward the park.
Around him he heard festive holiday music and he recalled the date was December 24th, Christmas Eve. And also the anniversary of when…that was a few years back now and it was not something Spock really thought about. Vulcans didn’t consider such things important, but Humans…
He spotted Jim huddled in a coat sitting on a bench observing a group of boisterous ice skaters on the temporary pond the city had set up for the holidays.
Spock rushed over and sat beside Jim, who continued to gaze out at the skaters.
“I am sorry I was late.”
“Late? Ten minutes is late. Ninety minutes is a no show.”
Spock swallowed the heavy lump. “I…the meeting went far past the time I anticipated. And I…did forget the day.”
“Christmas Eve,” Jim said softly. He shook his head. “I know you don’t care about Earth celebrations.”
“I care about you and what is important to you. It was thoughtless and insensitive of me to forget.” Spock withdrew the box. “You left this.”
“My Christmas present to you.” Jim took it from Spock and looked at it. “We never did get proper rings. They were flimsy and bought in haste. I guess I thought it was time to replace them.”
Jim flipped open the box to display two titanium men’s wedding rings.
Unbidden and unwanted tears sprung to Spock’s eyes and he found it difficult to speak. Jim watched him but didn’t say anything.
His hand shaking, Spock took the box from Jim’s hand. He carefully withdrew one and placed it on Jim’s finger. Then he placed the other on his own.
“Same inscriptions we got on the cheap ones,” Jim whispered.
:”I saw. Did you…did you want to go back to the restaurant?”
“No, I have a better idea.” Jim stood and held out his hand for Spock to take. “Let’s go home.”
“Wherever you are is my home.”
Jim smiled then and holding Spock’s hand they left the park for home.
Comments
22 responses to “Flash Fic, July 24, 2023”
Oh Spock. It wasn’t on purpose but jeez. The heartbreak in Jim was acute. Christmas Eve and with rings? I’m glad Spock’s apology was heartfelt and they’re love is strong. That ending though!
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Yes not on purpose but definitely negligent lol
But all is well at the end
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See, THIS is why I’m divorced. Jim is a MUCH MUCH MUCH better person than I. It would be over if that were me.
Then again, Spock actually DID have an excuse – though not much of one to not contact Jim he’d be late. But all through this story you had Spock’s inner voice explain how it just wasn’t really important to him. He actually expected Jim to still be sitting there waiting for him after 90 minutes.
This one broke my heart from the first line.
Yeah, Jim is a MUCH better person than I.
I don’t forgive Spock.
Fortunately for this loving couple, what I do and don’t forgive makes absolutely ZERO% difference to them! LOL
A beautiful story. And I LOVE that picture and how Jim had used the ornament.
(But it’s gonna take a few minutes for the knot in my stomach to disappear.)
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(Obviously I WAY over idealize their relationship! But then I did my own for as long as I could. At least my inner self seems to be weirdly consistent – for good or BAD – through the ages.)
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Yeah see I guess I think if you’ve been married for say, ten years, you don’t end everything you’ve been to each other for those ten years because they failed to show up to a dinner, even an important one. So I don’t know, I guess maybe I need to start making Jim do all the mistakes against Spock so you stop hating my Spocks LOL. I don’t know the answer. But I certainly didn’t intend for this to hurt you enough to knot your stomach.
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Are you kidding? The world of fanfic would be mind-numbingly boring if you or anyone did. Character studies from every direction are not just important – they’re NECESSARY. If I bleed a little after some, that’s MY problem!
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I know but these are supposed to be “fun” to read (or mostly) and I don’t like making you (or anyone) feel bad
Still…part of it is I don’t like making Jim do anything wrong so I make it Spock LOL
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(wow have I changed 180 degrees on that, if you remember our original conversations 6 years ago)
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LOL I absolutely DO
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(oops shoulda added – that’s why you got ‘Shine Like the Sun’ to me IMMEDIATELY – so I’d see how wrong I was.)
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Yes and now you are a HUGE JIM(CHRIS) fan as well as of Shine Like the Sun 😀
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This one made me tear up. Goodness gracious Spock! Forgetting that Jim is waiting for you at a restaurant!? Even if the meeting ran late, he should’ve known enough to contact Jim and tell him. Can’t imagine waiting 90 minutes for someone who never showed. Jim needs a hug and Spock needs a serious lesson on relationships.
Still I’m glad that Jim accepts his heartfelt apology! I’m sure Spock will never make that mistake again! I’m wondering what the inscriptions are? Something in Vulcan?
❤️💚😘🖖
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I guess it was even sadder than I intended as both you and J were affected!
Hopefully Spock can redeem himself a little in the next flash
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I think it’s the ’90 minutes’ thing when Spock DID know it was an important holiday to Jim. If they’ve been married as long as it implies, Spock would be well aware of that day and their date’s importance to Jim.
The other thing is the rings. Like I say, Jim is MUCH better than me. I’d have taken the box back unopened and saved it for another time. Because for me, from then on, every time I looked at that ring, it would be a painful reminder of how Spock totally ruined all the romance Jim had planned for their date.
I just….I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t wear it now.
So – GREAT THING JIM IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN ME!!!!
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Okay but here’s the thing. Spock fully acknowledges almost from the FIRST sentence he screwed up. He also experiences “Guilt, shame, and disappointment in himself assailed him and his heart hurt”. It’s not like he remains clueless that his actions hurt Jim. And while he ALSO thinks that special holidays and anniversaries may not be important to him, they are to Jim and therefore they matter. He says this almost verbatim.
And Jim LEFT the ornament box behind, the hostess gave it to Spock, Jim didn’t give it to him.
I just don’t see why Spock needs to be so punished that Jim holds on to the pain and refuses to accept that Spock is remorseful. Humans are or should be capable of forgiveness. I’m sure in the years they have been together it’s not the first time either of them has been insensitive to the other.
Anyway, like I said, I regret writing it honestly but it’s already up and read now and I can’t do takesie backsies LOL
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Oh and in all this, there are workers creating HUGE amounts of noise so I apologize profusely if I am snappy 😳
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LOLOL – that implies you’re ever NOT snappy!
((((((((ducking))))))))
Ivan always was a snappy guy! But I’ve enjoyed discourse with him for over 6 years. 💚❤️😁
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WordPress is up to its old tricks of marking comments as needing approval!
LOL yeah I am snappy
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I’m not at all sorry you wrote it.
It just pulls things out of me.
But good writing always does.
Some carries me to Heaven.
Some hurts deep.
Such is the reason we write and read.
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Well thank you and I am glad it gets a reaction even if perhaps not the one I would have anticipated
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“Wherever you are is my home.” ❤
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thanks 🙂
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