Take Two

He hops across the bridge like the pavement owes him something good. In one hand, a bouquet so colorful it looks less arranged than detonated. A whole tangle of all the best to you.

On the other side, three women spot him. Hands fly to their mouths, the universal gesture for I can’t believe this is happening, which usually means it absolutely is.

I’m too far away to hear a word, so I do what any idle stranger would do and start placing bets. The one on the left? The middle?

Then they swap places.

Ah. There you are.

A few hops before he reaches her, a phone comes out. Thank you, a hug, and the hug is far too short for all that hopping. Barely a second later, the phone is up again, and the moment gets watched on a screen while it’s still standing right there, holding flowers.

Apparently the footage didn’t make the cut. Bad angle, maybe. Missed the hop.

So they rewind him.

Back he goes, bouquet and all, to do the whole approach again. The hop has a slightly rehearsed spring in it now. And this time, there’s a camerawoman.

Take two. Hands to mouths, again. I’m fairly sure they mean it the second time too.

Somewhere on that phone, there’s now a flawless video of a man hopping across a bridge toward a woman who looks completely astonished.

The first take, the one where nobody was ready, belongs to a stranger who stood too far away to be in the shot.

Nobody’s posting that one.

Well. Almost nobody.