“Life With Polly Paxton”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: “It’s my theme song!”

The theme song for Life With Polly Paxton begins blaring over the radio.

Polly perks up and exclaims, “It’s my theme song!”

I chuckle. “I get it. It’s because your name is Polly too, right?”

She looks at me strangely for a moment before nodding. “Sure. Something like that.”

I snag another fry with my finger and pop it into my mouth. “For real, though, I honestly don’t understand why people watch crap like Life With Polly Paxton. I mean seriously, it’s just a reality show about this rich girl who thinks she’s better than everyone else.”

Polly frowns. “Actually, the viewership is pretty good right now. According to the data I have, the numbers are actually growing every day.”

“Pfft, yeah, right. And where did you get those numbers? Did you just pull them out of thin air? Or did you go around town and ask everyone what they thought of Life With Polly Paxton? Please tell me that isn’t what you do in your spare time. Or even worse, please tell me that you don’t watch Life With Polly Paxton.”

Polly stays silent. I take that as a sign that she does watch the show.

“Okay, just so I get this out there, you’re pretty, okay? Maybe not the prettiest woman I’ve dated, but your looks are good enough for me to forgive you for watching brain-numbing junk like Life With Polly Paxton.”

She continues staring at me.

I raise an eyebrow. “Hello? Earth to Polly?”

I wave a hand in front of her face. Suddenly, her face screws up and she stands up, slamming her hands down on the tabletop.

“Listen, jerk,” she spits, leaning in so close that I can feel drops of her saliva hitting my face. “I decided to use my one day off to come on this date with you, and not only have you wasted my time, but you’ve also insulted me and my life’s work. So here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to pay for my meal, and then you’re never going to contact me again. Got it?”

I smirk, flicking away a droplet of spit from my nose. “Oh, come on, you aren’t really going to walk away now, are you?”

In response, she scoffs and grabs her purse.

“Waiter!” she calls, waving him over. Immediately, her anger is gone, replaced by a sweet smile. “Hi, I’d like to order two of everything you’ve got on the menu. I’m having a family gathering tonight, you see, and my date has kindly agreed to pay for everything. I’d like it for delivery to Bellingview Park at seven o’clock tonight.”

The waiter stares at Polly with wide eyes for a moment before stuttering, “Y-you got it, miss.” He scurries off back to the kitchen while I shake my head. Sure, Polly’s pretty, but she’s not speechless-pretty.

Polly turns back to me.

“You can’t seriously think that I’m going to be paying for all that, do you?” I scoff.

She smiles. “It doesn’t matter what I think,” she says. “It’s what the waiter thinks.”

The waiter returns with a receipt that touches the floor. My mouth drops open as Polly winks at me before hoisting her handbag over her shoulder and strutting out the door.

The waiter drops the receipt in front of me. I stare at him. “You don’t honestly think that I’m paying for that, do you?”

The waiter shrugs. “We’ve got your information on file from earlier, so you’ve already paid for it.” He pauses before adding, “And can I just say that you’re one lucky man for getting a date with Miss Polly Paxton.”

My heart drops. “That was Polly Paxton?” I whisper, staring out the door to try to get a glimpse of her. “The Polly Paxton? Multimillionaire Polly Paxton?”

“You didn’t know?” the waiter asks with a frown.

“No,” I whisper before pulling out my phone. I need to get another date with Polly Paxton.

Final Comments: When I first started, I had no idea what I was going to write. But then the story formed at it turned out to be a lot of fun!

Overall Rating: 🙂