Anton and Dante

“I wrote this cheesy romantic piece from a receipt I found in the parking lot of a Safeway. The receipt had been run over several times. Just like Dante’s heart.” JL

 Items purchased:

ALMOND JOY

TAKE FIVE, REGULAR

REESES P-BTR

REESES MILK CHOC

2 QTY M&MS CHOC

SKITTLES WILD BRY

TWIX CARAMEL

M&MS FUDGE BROWNIE

Anton and Dante

When Dante awoke, the pattern of the carpet pressed into his cheek, he forgot for a moment where he was. He realized that on the floor all around him lay wrappers proving someone had been on a chocolate bender. A second later, he recalled that he was that someone, and the why of it all flooded back to him in a wave of nausea.

Hours earlier, he had opened the text and thought for a minute, Anton had meant to communicate with someone else, but that was not right. Anton was as faithful as they come. So he had to face the reality that on this day, in the produce department, during an ordinary trip to 

the grocery store for dinner ingredients, his text notification went off and the words, “I don’t want to be your boyfriend anymore,” burned brightly on the screen.

They were now emblazoned on his brain along with the living room shag. And thus “dinner” was provided by the Nestle, Hershey and M and M Mars companies. One after another, Dante sat weeping and peeling, wrapper after wrapper, stuffing his mouth full of peanut butter, chocolate and candy coating. A half an hour later came the sugar crash and the inevitable lowering of himself and all that grief onto the floor.

Dante raised up on his elbows and looked around the room. To his surprise, there was Anton, on the couch, legs crossed and reading the paper. “What the hell, Anton.” Dante exclaimed! I am trying to be pathetic! What are you even doing here?” Anton lifted his head and with a barely imperceptible lift of an eyebrow, said slowly, “You only read my first text, didn’t you.”

Dante reached out for his phone with chocolate covered fingers, eyes on Anton, and suspiciously entered his passcode. The screen lit up and there was Dante’s first text, “I don’t want to be your boyfriend anymore,” and below it, a second “I want to be your husband.”

© 2021 Joan M. Leinbach