“Dinosaur-Shaped Chicken Nuggets” is a short story I wrote back in 2003. It was part of my submission to UCLA's School of Film.

DINOSAUR-SHAPED CHICKEN NUGGETS
a short story

         Tonight was a big night. Harold knew it and that was why he spent extra time showering and combing his hair. His mother knew it and that was why she ironed his shirt, even though she had arthritis and it hurt very much just to hold a fork.
         Something was going to happen tonight for Harold. He could feel it. He felt a sort of electricity in the air and perhaps it could just be that he was over-excited and hopeful but then again maybe not and something really was going to happen.
         Before he left for his date, Harold had to feed his mother her dinner, on account of the fact that she couldn’t hold the utensils. As he was spooning food into her mouth, he started thinking about his own dinner, which tonight would be with a lovely lady named Ursula and probably at Hometown Buffet. That was his favorite restaurant because they had dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets and he was sure that Ursula would love it because who doesn’t like dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets?
         “Just give me one grandchild before I kick the bucket,” Harold’s mother said as he was shoveling bits of bacon and beans into her mouth. he bacon was soft enough so she could chew and the beans helped with her bowel movements.
         “I’m trying, mother,” was his reply. And he was trying, very hard in fact, even though this would be his first date in four months.
         “I’m old. I’m gonna choke soon like your father did. Just give me one grandchild. I don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl or even a little premature.” Half a bean fell out of her mouth and down her chin and Harold wiped it up, dutifully.
         “I know, mother. You don’t have to tell me this before every date,” he said, softly. But what is he supposed to do if women don’t like him? It’s not his fault, really. He tries to be funny and holds doors open for women and does his best to be very nice, but when he asks for their phone number they always get real fidgety and say they ran out of minutes for the month already.

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         After Harold had spent his nightly time with his mother and fed her and cleaned her dishes and tucked her into bed, he left and walked to his apartment, which was actually next-door. He liked the independence of having his own apartment but also liked being close to his mother. Perhaps it was a little childish, but as of now she’s all he has and besides: sometimes he just needed someone to talk to and wanted the company.
         He stood in front of the bathroom mirror and brushed his teeth and thought of how great tonight would be. He’d never been on a blind date before and he knew this was his chance. He could easily make her fall in love with him with a little charm and he could just as easily fall in love with her, especially if she was as beautiful and gorgeous as his friend had described. But, really, Harold didn’t think that really mattered because she’s supposed to have a nice personality. Personality is what really matters. Well, even if she has bad acne or a tiny moustache, they have creams and waxes for those things.

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         Harold got in his car and was on his way. He thought it was a really nice car and Ursula would probably like it and that would add to his attractiveness. The car was old and had some flaws but she would fall in love with him anyway and she wouldn’t care that he didn’t really have money for a new one or for many other luxuries in life, to be honest. He had never been overseas except once as a child when his father was serving in Canada, but still, he had that old passport with that red stamp so it did count for something. And now, as a security guard supporting an ailing mother, he just didn’t have the funds to do anything about the car. So what if it had no radio and the seats were a little torn and the windows didn’t fully roll up all the way so that no matter how hard you tried so cold wind would blow you in the face if you drove faster than 20 miles per hour and maybe it wasn’t so great after all but hey it got him from Point A to Point B so get over it already.

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         When Harold picked Ursula up and saw her in all her stunning beauty, he got so nervous that he almost puked, sort of like butterflies in his stomach. He remembered to get out and open the car door for her and she smiled, which made Harold’s heart beat a mile a minute.
         The car ride was quiet with the exception of “Hi” and “Hello” and “How are you” and “Nice to meet you” because Harold was not a great conversationalist and maybe Ursula was shy, but it was probably more like she was speechless at what a gentleman he was and she was nervous she’d embarrass herself if she said something stupid. Harold didn’t mind that they weren’t conversing because there were definitely sparks, no doubt about it, and Harold could learn to love the silence, especially if it was coming from her. Harold could swear he felt something in the air, but maybe it was just the wind blowing through the car because of the broken window, but probably not. This was true love.

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