The following day I let Benny know about the delay as well. He didn’t say a word, just thought he ought to replace me with his nephew who’d be out of trade school soon and willing to work for minimum wage. I went back to fixing other devices, but now I was averaging eight a day. I listened to the radio while working, keeping it low so Benny wouldn’t hear. Apart from tuning in on the customers, I also liked following Albert, the building super, who mainly hummed Arik Lavie songs, and Nurit’s station, 101.3 FM, which had the best signal. She had this funny quirk of reciting useless trivia about different countries. For example, in Canada there were more lakes than in all other countries combined, and the name “Spain” originally meant “land of the rabbits.” And every day at noon on the dot, she thought of things she wanted to eat, like pasta with cream and sweet potatoes, or tuna salad with olive oil and feta. I also liked that while in person she was quick with the hurtful remarks, alone in her head she was much more hesitant—afraid that her boss thought she was too slow, or that her paycheck wouldn’t stretch to the end of the month. One morning I popped into the drugstore to pick up toothpaste. Nurit was at the cash register. She looked up and said, “Always buying off-brand, huh? Cheap-ass.” And I didn’t say a word, just went back into the shop and turned on the radio.

Two-soaps-for-ten-is-a-great-bargain-I’ll-buy-some-for-myself-too-bad-he’s-always-rushing-off-it’s-actually-nice-when-he-stops-by-oh-wait-last-month-it-was-three-for-ten.

My shoulders shot up. I made sure the door was closed and cranked up the radio. I listened to her station till the end of my shift; three more times she thought I was cute, and twice that it was a shame we didn’t know each other better.

The following day, we met at the entrance to the strip mall.

“You’re jumpy today,” she said.

“Maybe,” I replied, noticing the large beauty mark on her neck. I smiled. She smiled back. That day she had spent seven minutes and forty-six seconds thinking about me. Four times she had told herself that if I asked her out, she wouldn’t turn me down. I thought about it, and about how it had been exactly three years and four months since my last date.

I walked into the drugstore to buy a pack of gum. Nurit was sitting at the cash register; she looked at the gum and said it tasted vile. I asked her if she wanted to go out with me. She considered me for a moment, and said no.

I said okay, dropped my gaze to the floor, and went back to the shop. Shaking, I sat down on my chair in the back room. The radio was still playing her station.

I-always-have-to-go-ruin-everything-such-an-idiot-I-can’t-believe-it-fucking-moron-how-much-does-that-cost-twenty-six?-God-I-hope-he-comes-back.