Honey, I really wouldn't know.

 

A couple rides in a car on a summer day. Their windows are up and the air conditioning is on. The car speakers are playing. The woman in the passenger seat has been staring out the window. She turns to the driver and says, " Did you see that?"

            Without looking at her he says "What?"

She reaches towards the stereo and kills the music with a twist. "I said did you see that?"

            "I heard you the first time. I didn't see it. What was it?"

"It was an old man picking his nose."

            "Oh. Funny." He waits a seconded before turning back the dial on the stereo.

The two drive along for a few minutes, listening to the music. But the passenger is restless.  As they reach a stoplight she turns down the music. "What are we listening to?"

            "This is Modest Mouse."

"Oh, really? I liked that one song they had that one time. They played it on the radio allot. What was that one called?"

            "Honey, I really wouldn't know."

He waits a little bit longer before turning the music back up. She stares at the side of his face for a while before asking, "Is something wrong?"

            He glances at her. "What do you mean?"

"I don’t know... It just seems like you don’t want to talk to me. Like every time I try to start a conversation you don’t talk back and then you just turn the music up."

            "It’s not like that. It’s just... I don't know"

"You don’t know? How can you not know?"

            He pulls the car over to the side of the road. He looks deep into her eyes. Without looking away he begins to speak, "I'm not cut out for stuff like this."

"What do you mean? Stuff like what?"

            Only now does he break eye contact, "I mean, stuff like…us."