Forty Days to Almost
Two widowed neighbors agree to rehearse dating each other for forty days, then discover one has accepted a job abroad.
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How it begins
Helen asked her neighbor to practice breaking up with her before they had agreed to date.
Peter put down the watering can.
"Is this about the tomato plant?"
"The tomato plant has made its position clear."
It drooped between their balconies, producing one determined green fruit.
Helen held up her phone.
"My daughter has put me on an app."
"Can she do that?"
"Apparently the terms allow emotional blackmail."
Peter considered this.
Since his wife died, he had become very good at considering things that required no decision. The weather. The price of compost. Whether the lift really made a new noise or had simply become a better listener.
Dating had not appeared on the list.
"What do you need?"
"Practice. Coffee. A walk. A conversation that isn't about the boiler."
"What's wrong with the boiler?"
"Peter."
"Right."
She explained the arrangement with the practical care she used for organizing residents' meetings.
Forty days. No promises. Honest feedback. A clear end.
"Why forty?"
"Long enough to learn something. Short enough to survive it."
He looked at the tomato plant.
Then at the empty chair behind his balcony door.
"Do we dress up?"
"For coffee?"
"I've forgotten the rules."
"So have I."
That was the first part of the proposal he liked.
Helen's phone sounded.
She read the message and turned the screen against her palm.
"Work?" he asked.
"Possibly."
"Good possibly?"
"A complicated possibly."
He could have asked more. Instead he picked up the watering can.
"Tomorrow, then?"
"Ten."
"And the breakup rehearsal?"
"We'll schedule it."
After she went inside, Peter watered the tomato plant despite its obvious lack of ambition.
Across the railing, Helen's phone lit again.
This time he saw the city name before she closed the door.
It was a very long way from their two small balconies.
Peter looked at the green tomato.
For the first time in months, waiting felt like something with a deadline.
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Outline and characters
- Helen proposes a forty-day dating rehearsal.
- Peter agrees with a firm end date.
- Their practical outings become emotionally revealing.
- Helen receives an overseas work offer.
- Peter finds an old letter he has never answered.
- They discuss grief without using each other as replacements.
- A misunderstanding makes their agreement feel dishonest.
- Helen tells him her decision before accepting the role.
- Peter chooses a future based on his own wishes.
- They decide how to stay together without either surrendering a life.
Characters
- Helen Wright, 62. Widowed resident considering an overseas job
- Peter Adams, 66. Widowed neighbor relearning what he wants from companionship
Series possibilities
- Helen and Peter help a friend negotiate a first date in a new country.
