In the End

“What’s the end of the Old Testament?”

“What do you mean?”

The woman brought her leg up onto the couch. “I mean I haven’t read it.”

The man nodded seriously.

“I know the New Testament is all Jesus,” she said. “The Old Testament is Moses and Genesis. But what comes at the end of the Old Testament?"

The man’s eyes went up to the ceiling and sat still. The woman leaned forward, drank some wine, and then placed the glass back on a see-though coffee table. “I don’t know!” the man blurted out and they both laughed.

Then he talked about his upbringing as a Unitarian Universalist. It was a very liberal upbringing with a focus on social justice and tangible human values. He liked black people. He was totally comfortable with anything. And on and on. And then she said the same things back to him in a different way so he would see that he that wasn’t any smarter than her. There was lots of enthusiastic head nodding.

The woman thanked the man for dinner. They both said goodnight. The door closed and the man’s apartment became normal again. It was still too early to sleep. He tried to read. He poured a glass of wine. He wished he’d kissed her. But nothing matters.