Mindy barged into Danny's office with her usual amount of gusto, letting the door slam behind her.
"Danny! Danny! Can you believe this? Seventeen magazine says that Auden is not a good boyfriend! Can you believe this?" Mindy said, shoving the teenage magazine into Danny's face and placing her other hand sternly on her hip.
"Min, seriously?! Don't you ever knock?" Danny pleaded, throwing his hands in the air for emphasis. "Besides, Seventeen? I don't know much about women's magazines, but I am pretty sure the name says it all. Why are you reading a teenage magazine?" Danny asked incredulously. Somehow, he wasn't surprised.
"What are even you talking about, Danny? Everyone knows that this magazine is for young adults. I, being a very young 23-year-old have every right to spend my money on this subscription! That is besides the point here, Danny. I took the 'Is He a Good Boyfriend?' quiz and the final score was 13! Look at this, Danny!" She argued, handing the monthly to him and pointing towards her final tally. "Do you know what this means?" she sighed impatiently, " A 13 says that I need to dump him, like yesterday! Well, that's another month and a half out of my life wasted." Mindy plopped down into the chair in front of Danny's desk.
"What this means?! You are seriously talking to me about ending a relationship because a teeny bop magazine tells you to?" Danny said, clearly frustrated.
"Danny, don't look at me like that! This is serious. These quizzes don't lie. I have based several of my relationships on them!"
He almost chuckled at the thought of Mindy breaking up with this new stud of hers, Auden, because of a quiz. "You know how I feel about this new kid, what's his name again? Aubrey?"
Mindy interjected, "Auden, it's Auden, Danny. Ugh, you wouldn't know hipster if one slapped you in the face. Continue, what's your point?"
Danny sighed and continued, "Whatever. You know how I feel about Auburn. He wears skinny jeans. Real men don't wear skinny jeans, alright? So, if you want to break up with him for that, fine. Be my guest. But if you really like this guy and this stupid nonsense made up by a bunch of hormonal 15-year-old girls tells you to break up with him, well, don't. I mean, that's if you like him..." Danny considered his words carefully because he did not want to seem too interested in her choice of boyfriend.
Mindy sat a moment in silence, looked to Danny and slowly began, "Well, I mean, I like him..." quickly averting her eyes to the floor, "I guess there are things I don't like about him. Sure, the skinny jeans, well...yeah, they can get in the way. The other night, Danny, we were getting hot and heavy and no joke, I had to help him out of his pants. Not in the good helping way, if you know what I mean. I mean, like I had to peel them from him. I'm surprised he still had feeling in his legs after his blood circulation being cut off like that..."
Danny held up one hand to stop her from continuing. "Yeah, don't need to know the details, Min. But, I guess what I'm trying to say is that if there other reasons to break up with him, trust those instincts of yours. But don't base it on this nonsense." Danny lifted the magazine into the air and dropped it. It hit his desk in a loud thud.
"Yeah, ok. You're right, Danny. I need to break up with him because I am tired of drinking soy-mocha-super-grande-herbal-latte-cappuccino concoctions. A woman should be allowed to drink a cup of coffee without feeling judged as to whether she gets extra whipped cream on top!" She finished, straightening her skirt on her lap. She got up and walked out of the office, leaving behind the magazine on Danny's desk.
Just like that, Mindy was out of his office and the deafening silence settled back in its place. Mindy's random appearances in his office happened at least 7 or 8 times per day. She would storm into his office, he would fain annoyance and she would storm back out, leaving him to the silence that was his office after she left. But he didn't mind that much, he loved whatever interaction he had with her, however small or however insignificant to her. That and she would always leave behind her scented perfume which Danny had long ago learned to distinguish among all the other smells in the office. The aroma in his office would float around him, reminding him of her presence even though she was no longer there and would linger in his nostrils long enough until the next time she stormed in.
He took a moment to reflect on this latest installment of Mindy. So, she was breaking up with that hipster, Auden. Good. Danny didn't approve of him, well, he never approved of any of Mindy's boyfriends. He glanced down at his desk and saw the magazine which had brought on Mindy's epiphany still there. He flipped through the pages and came across the quiz "Is He a Good Boyfriend?" and noticed Mindy's notes next to her answers, in purple ink of course.
He started reading the quiz, quickly reassuring himself that his office door was closed, lest anyone be watching him. He smiled and decided to find out if he was a good boyfriend. Of course I am, he thought as he put his pen to paper. Thinking only of his interactions with the woman who was just standing in front of him, he began answering the questions. "You're having a bad day, does your boyfriend:" Well, that's obvious, he thought as he circled, "Tells you how wonderful you are and buys you ice cream."
He continued this way, making his way through each question and responding, even going so far as adding to his response with quick notes next to each question. He had just answered the last question when the door swung open.
"Danny, I completely forgot my magazine. I still haven't done the 'What's Your Perfect Date Spot' quiz." Mindy said nonchalantly until realizing that Danny had her magazine open and was filling out a quiz. "Oh my God, Danny. Are you doing a quiz? What do a bunch of hormonal 15-year-old girls tell you about your manliness?" she said, laughing. "You're too old for this, weirdo. Maybe I can write to Senior Magazine and ask them to include some quizzes in their issues like 'How Good are you at Bingo?"
Danny nervously gripped the magazine. Oh no, he thought. She can't look at my answers. "Come on, Mindy! Knock, will you? Whatever, I was merely looking at this to critique the grammar used in these dumb magazines. The future of our country rests on this generation!"
Mindy swooped down and grabbed the magazine from his tight grip. "Whatever, weirdo. You can read it once I'm done. Nevermind, scratch that idea. I wouldn't want you looking at these young girls and being all creepy." She frowned at him and slowly walked out of the office, just as quickly as she entered.
Silence. Oh, dear sweet monkey fritters, Danny thought. He nervously walked around his office. That was a big mistake. He waited...
Mindy made her way to her office, excited to find out where her perfect date spot was. She flipped through the pages until she abruptly stopped and had to flip back a few pages. She noticed handwritten notes on one of the pages, in black ink, definitely not hers. She stopped and looked at the page curiously. This is definitely Danny's handwriting, she thought.
She began reading, "You're having a bad day, does your boyfriend: "Tells you how wonderful you are and buys you ice cream". Danny's notes along the side of the page read "Ben & Jerry's Mint Chocolate Cookie, her favorite". That's my favorite ice cream, she thought. "Your celeb crush on Robert Pattinson is a bit much. Your boyfriend: "Took you to see Twighlight and lets you gush about how dreamy he is." Danny's note read "Caught the midnight viewing, hated it. She loved it." Mindy remembered having forced him to take her to the showing, for protection of course. She had argued with him that there would be throngs of teenagers and needed a strong man to protect her.
Mindy continued reading through the survey and reading Danny's notations along the side of the page. The last question: "Your boyfriend tells you how much he loves you:" Danny had struck through all the answers, effectively leaving it blank. He had, however written next to it "I can't. She doesn't know I love her."
Holy. Crap. Danny Castellano loves me, Mindy thought. First reaction: Doubt. Is it possible he took someone else to the midnight showing of Twilight? Second reaction: Absolute panic. Third reaction: Acceptance. Fourth reaction: Overwhelming relief. Fifth: Make a copy of the survey and Danny's unknowing declaration of love (to show the grand kids, of course) Sixth Reaction: Acknowledging that she had always felt the same for him, too.
Mindy took a moment to collect her thoughts and what she wanted to do. Danny Castellano loves me, she thought over and over. She felt butterflies. She remembered Danny's words from just a moment before. He had just told her to trust her instincts. Her instincts told her Danny was hers. She knew that he had always been hers. Now, seeing it in writing, from his own hand... Butterflies again. A smile spread across her face and she was truly happy.
Mindy barged into his office, with the magazine in her hand. She had a huge grin on her face, which caught Danny off guard. "So, I totally know that you are obsessed with me."
Holy. Crap. Danny thought as she inched closer towards him. Before he could react, Mindy had her arms locked around his neck. He could smell her perfume and feel her breath on his neck. Butterflies.
"Danny, ditto." She broke away from her tight embrace and smiled tenderly at him.
"Is that what the hormonal 15-year-olds tell you to tell me?" Danny said, barely able to form words through the knot that had formed at his throat.
"No. That's what this young, hot and amazing 23-year-old's instincts said to tell you."
:)