Pedestrians Who Stop

By John Humphreys

For Halloween one year, Carter bought a pumpkin. He was too lazy to actually carve it, so he drew a comically small face in Sharpie towards the top of the pumpkin, and decided to name him Richard. It was a joke, but giving Richard a name and face made Carter like the little fella, and his tiny face overrun by orange. He put him on top of the dresser, so his friend could overlook the room.

All of Carter’s relationships were always in passing, romantic and otherwise. As if his life was a sidewalk, and everyone he met was just walking in the opposite direction. Nobody ever told Carter, but he was an expendable friend. Abysmal to be around. He’d make plans with Jake, Cameron, and Liam to go out for bowling and beers, but they wouldn’t show up. Carter found himself trying to make the best of the situation, paying for another round of drinks, holding in his tears at KRAZY PINS, and waiting for when they’d finally show up. It hurt the first time, but the pain grew exponentially as he helplessly begged people to be with him. How unattractive.

Richard was just a pumpkin, but for some unknown reason, he didn’t rot. October, November, December, January, February, March, April, and now into May, Richard stayed fresh as the day he was picked. Carter marveled at Richard’s resilience, and one time, his co-worker, James, came over to borrow his phone charger. Carter explained to James how he’s had Richard for over eight months, and he looks good as new. James shook his head, “Sounds like it’s rotten on the inside. You should throw it out.” To Carter, it seemed so unfair to persecute his friend for such a normal thing. He looked at Richard’s unwavering smile, and appreciated having a positive influence in his life.

One day, Carter’s phone rang. His old friend Gracie called him after being in Norway for three years, and when he heard her voice, it felt like he tumbled over the first big drop on a rollercoaster. She was coming back home, and wanted to see if he was free. Her return felt like the end of a dark era, the return of something good, and the first thing he looked forward to in months. Carter realized this would be a lot of pressure, so he never brought up his troubles when they met. It was time to push the past to the past, and look forward to Gracie’s return. Lying on the floor, a dumb smile on his face, and he looked up at Richard. “Richard! Can you believe it? Gracie is gonna be back.” Richard smiled, and seemed kinda happy for him.

On the day of Gracie and Carters’ meeting, Richard was tied up at home, helplessly smiling, rotting on the inside. It was nice to have the home to himself for a little while. Richard was alone a lot more often now, and another five months flew by. October, again. Carter was moving his personal belongings into boxes because he and Gracie were getting a place together, and when he got to Richard, he didn’t know what to do.

Carter placed Richard down, gently, in front of a massive pile of trash at the dump. He was still flawless on the outside, and his smile hadn’t faded because Richard was just a pumpkin. Carter felt stupid, but all of his pent up emotions since last October cascaded from his heart, and he cried with Richard at the dump. Nobody ever stopped to say hello, but Richard walked beside him for a whole year. “This isn’t the end you know, I’ll see you around, alright buddy?” Carter walked out of the dump backwards, looking at Richard’s tiny smile, still positive in that world of trash (The thought made Carter laugh a little bit). He finally turned away and bawled his eyes out in a White Castle parking lot before he had to explain to Gracie why he was crying over his little pumpkin friend, because he certainly couldn’t explain that.