Gottaluvapril -

He limped to his car. The key fob wouldn’t work—battery dead, because of course. He unlocked the door manually, sat in the driver’s seat, and just breathed for a minute. The frozen peas went on his head. His glasses fogged up.

The story: a rogue shopping cart, a patch of black ice that had no business existing in April, and a physics-defying face-plant into a concrete wheel stop. He’d been trying to rescue a lady’s runaway cantaloupe. The cantaloupe, naturally, was fine.

Then he put the car in reverse, drove home, made mac and cheese, and ate the cantaloupe he’d nearly died for. gottaluvapril

Leo gave a thumbs up so sarcastic it should have required a permit.

He laughed. It hurt his face. He laughed harder. The sleet turned to actual snow—fat, wet flakes that melted on his windshield and made the world look like a shaken snow globe. April, everyone. He limped to his car

His phone buzzed. A text from his sister: “First allergies of the season! My eyes feel like they’re full of sand. gottaluvapril”

Leo stared at the screen. Then at the sky, which had started spitting sleet. Then at his own pathetic reflection in the rearview mirror—forehead lump, runny nose from the cold, a smear of mud across his cheek. The frozen peas went on his head

He typed back: “Just ate pavement in a grocery store parking lot. Shopping cart came out of nowhere. It had a death wish.”

Three dots appeared. Then: “Was anyone filming? Could be your big break.”

It wasn’t even ripe.

He’d left his jacket at home.