March 17 - Blarney

Spencer had taken a liking to the sandstone. It was his little perch where he could soak up lamplight and wait for stray crickets to fall like Chicken Little's sky and land in his square foot of desert, where he could snatch them up in his fangs and fill his appetite.
Speaking of spiders and meals:
Our furry friend seems to have become somewhat accustomed to his new surroundings. For the first two days, he moved very little without some form of being antagonized, whether it was a squirt with the misting bottle, a cricket on the head, or a puff of hot breath in his face.
One unlucky cricket stumbled into Spencer's spinnerets. Reacting to being goosed, Spencer quickly jumped several inches in the air (SPROING!), turned around, and immediately sank his fangs into the perpetrator.
For no other reason than bringing up conversation about a date, it was time to head to Jack's to see Michelle so I grabbed a bunch of laundry and dumped them off at the Laundromat, then went in to Jack's. Rick (the first to touch the spider) was at the front counter. Before I said a word, he gestured to the back of the store, near the dog cages.
Michelle was there, filling dog and cat bowls with food.
"Hey, how's your spider?" she asked.
"Oh, he's fine. What are you doing after work?"
"Nothing, really."
"Would you like to go out for dinner?"
"I don't get off for another hour."
"Oh, that's okay."
"Sure, I'd love to."
"You like Chinese?"
"I love it."
"China Dragon?"
"Yeah, but there's one problem."
"What is that?"
"I have a boyfriend."
The conversation reached a stopping point. Then I carelessly invited him along, too. She laughed and said, "Well, maybe it's better if we don't go out."
The more I look back at that moment, the more I think the conversation should have gone like this:
"Hey, how's your spider?" she asked.
"Oh, he's fine. What are you doing after work?"
"I have a boyfriend."
"You like Chinese?"
"I have a boyfriend."
"China Dragon?"
"I have a boyfriend."
"Well, maybe some other time?"
"I have a boyfriend."
"Alright, you have a nice day then."
"I have a boyfriend."
But it didn't go like that at all. In fact, I found it quite miserable.
I quickly put my tail between my legs , stopped at China Dragon and took my Moo Goo Gai Pan and my sorry self home. Good ole Spencer was still on his perch, waiting to launch into yet another cricket in the middle of the night so I could delight in the sounds of a cricket's life literally grinding to a halt while I tried to sleep. It was okay, though. I knew he wouldn't ever reject me for a dinner date.
I sat in front of the television, beside the spider, and enjoyed dinner. Alone.