1 + 1 Spoon
“Flora! Wake up. It’s time for the movie. You need to get ready.”
Flora barely moved.
“I need to sleep,” she mumbled, pulling the blanket closer to herself. “It’s only been seven hours.”
Jeni, her roommate and longtime friend, stood beside the bed, staring at her in disbelief.
“Only seven hours?”
She grabbed the blanket and pulled it away.
Flora immediately curled herself into the bed, refusing to wake up.
“Flora!”
Nothing.
Then, from somewhere near the pillow, her phone suddenly came alive.
Shape of You began playing.
Jeni glanced at the screen.
“Jade.”
Flora’s eyes opened.
She reached for the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Flora,” Jade replied. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in ten minutes to pick you up for the movie.”
Flora froze.
Her eyes widened.
Ten minutes?
She sat upright so quickly that Jeni nearly laughed.
Flora grabbed her phone and opened her calendar.
There it was.
Movie with Jade — Obsession.
“Oh no…”
She jumped out of bed.
The movie had completely slipped her mind.
She had taken what was supposed to be a short mid-day nap at 11 AM and somehow slept all the way until 4 PM. There was no time to think about what to wear.
She opened her cupboard, stared for a few seconds, grabbed a random dress, and rushed to get ready.
Flora was never really a makeup person. Most days, she was perfectly happy without it.
But today was different.
She was meeting Jade.
So, almost without thinking, she put a little pink shade on her lips and looked at herself in the mirror.
Just enough to feel a little different.
Just enough to feel good around him.
Jeni watched all of this with a knowing smile.
Jade and Flora had only recently started talking. They were still getting to know each other, which meant Jade knew very little about her life outside their conversations.
He didn’t know about Jeni.
He didn’t know that Flora had a roommate who had been her close friend for years.
And he certainly didn’t know that Jeni was the person who had just rescued Flora from a four-hour nap and helped her get ready for their movie.
Flora was still fixing her hair when her phone rang again.
Shape of You.
Jade.
“I’m outside, Flora. Come whenever you’re ready.”
“Okay. I’m coming.”
She hurried downstairs.
The moment she stepped outside the PG, she looked around.
Nothing.
No Jade.
She turned right.
Nobody.
She turned left.
Still nobody.
Then suddenly, Jade appeared in front of her.
“Hi. How are you?”
Flora wasn’t expecting him to appear so suddenly.
For a second, she simply stood there, caught off guard.
She smiled.
“Hi, Jade.”
Jade handed her the helmet.
But he completely forgot to give her the bag he was carrying.
Instead, he somehow managed to keep the bag with him while riding the bike, even though it was clearly getting in the way.
Flora noticed.
She looked at the bag.
Then at Jade.
Then back at the bag.
What was inside it?
She didn’t ask.
Not yet.
They reached the theatre about ten minutes early and walked into the lounge.
Jade looked at her.
“Flora, do you want popcorn?”
She gave him a look.
“Do you really think I’m going to buy popcorn, Jade?”
They stared at each other for a few seconds.
Neither of them moved.
Then they both smiled.
And just like that, they walked into the theatre without popcorn.
It was such a small moment.
But somehow, both of them found it funny.
She enjoyed the movie.
Jade didn’t.
When they walked out, Jade looked at her.
“Pizza?”
Flora shrugged.
“What’s stopping us?”
So they walked into Bean Pizza.
They stood in front of the menu, staring at it like they were trying to decode a complicated exam question.
Neither of them understood half the names.
So they eventually chose the safest option they could find.
Something with the word “chicken” in it.
Good enough.
After paying by card, the baker told them it would take about twenty minutes.
They found a comfortable table and sat down.
Jade placed the mysterious bag beside him.
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Flora noticed it again.
She couldn’t help herself.
“What’s inside the bag?”
Jade looked at her.
“You’ll know when you get down.”
Flora raised an eyebrow.
“Hmmm… okay.”
She didn’t believe him.
But she decided to wait.
The pizza arrived.
And strangely, neither of them took a photograph.
No Instagram story.
No food picture.
No unnecessary moment captured on a phone.
They simply ate.
They talked.
They laughed.
They spoke about random things and meaningful things, slowly discovering more about each other.
The pizza was supposed to take twenty minutes.
Somehow, they stayed there for nearly two hours.
Two people who had only recently started talking were suddenly sitting across from each other as though they had known each other for much longer.
Eventually, it was time to leave.
Jade dropped Flora back in front of her PG.
Before leaving, they exchanged a few words of gratitude.
“Thank you for today,” Flora said.
Jade smiled.
“Thank you too.”
He rode away.
Flora walked inside.
Jade continued riding.
For about ten minutes.
Then he suddenly stopped.
His eyes widened.
“Oh no.”
The bag.
He had forgotten to give Flora the bag.
He immediately hit the brakes, turned around, and called her.
Flora answered.
“Hello?”
“Flora, I’m sorry. I forgot to give you the bag I brought.”
There was a pause.
Now she was even more curious.
“So… now tell me. What is it for?”
Jade laughed.
“Let me reach there. I’ll be there in five minutes. I’ll explain.”
Flora came back downstairs and waited outside the PG.
Five minutes later, Jade arrived.
He got there so quickly that it almost looked like he had seen a finish line ahead of him.
He got off the bike and handed her the bag.
“Open it inside your room.”
Flora immediately started opening it.
“Wait, wait.”
Jade stopped her.
“I hope you can give me five minutes of patience before opening it.”
Flora smiled.
“Fine.”
She walked upstairs.
Jade watched her disappear inside before riding away again.
Inside her room, Flora placed the bag on the bed.
Jeni was nearby, watching with curiosity.
Flora slowly opened it.
Inside was a glass jar of blueberry cheesecake.
Her face softened.
But then she noticed something else.
Two wooden spoons.
She stared at them.
That was strange.
Truffles never gave spoons with the cheesecake.
If you wanted one, you had to ask for it separately and pay extra.
So why would Jade buy two?
Jeni leaned over and looked inside.
“Maybe one is for me.”
She grinned.
Flora laughed.
“He never even knew you were here.”
And then she stopped.
Her smile slowly changed.
She looked at the two spoons again.
One spoon.
For her.
One spoon.
For him.
Maybe that was the reason.
Maybe the bag wasn’t just a cheesecake.
Maybe it was a little thought he had carried with him throughout the evening.
Flora walked out onto the balcony.
She looked down at the road.
Far away, she could hear the sound of Jade’s bike disappearing into the distance.
She stood there quietly, holding the cheesecake jar with both hands.
And without even realizing it, she smiled.
A small, uncontrollable grin.
The kind that comes when you finally understand what someone meant without them having to say it.
Two spoons.
One cheesecake.
And a moment neither of them had planned.
Somewhere down the road, Jade accelerated his bike.
And Flora kept watching.
