Seattle in Autumn
written by: Andy Cooper
Pure Hearts, Loose Jeans
We began as friends
on a first date.
Met at church—
I returned to faith
after my mom died.
Mia was kind, brought me
white people spaghetti,
white people tacos,
and white soccer mom
red wine nights.
But then, just friends,
only friends.
It should have been me,
but she got it in her head
to ask me on a date.
She looked me over,
picked early September.
I had the thought—
just couldn’t get the words out.
We rested on a blanket
over crisp leaves,
a brisk breeze
raising goosebumps
on her arms.
She scratched her sunburn.
She told me stories
about her father—
hands never working right;
her mother’s wild aim
with a gun.
She chuckled.
Three stints in rehab
before he learned calm
and to pour booze,
swirling down the drain.
Now her parents dance in the kitchen,
laughter healing old scars.
I reached, caught a pinecone
rushing for her head.
We paused, matched gazes,
I tucked her dark bangs
behind her freckled ear.
Mia’s lipstick glistened.
A horn honked.
We snapped back—
for a moment,
everything made sense.
Love and the rest.
She grabbed her chest.
“That could have killed me,” she joked.
“I’m sorry?” I said, narrowing one eye.
“The pinecone.”
She raised her hand.
“Oh, yeah,” I said,
shaking off the sugar rush.
“I’ll take it as a souvenir,” she said.
“I have a dresser full of first dates
to remind me: there’s no hope for me.”
She pushed out her lips,
blinked with a long stare.
I rubbed her shoulder.
“How long did you know her?” I said.
Our eyes matched again.
Our souls spoke again.
“She talked about you a lot at church.
I didn’t think you knew—”
“Your eyes say it all.”
I rubbed my neck.
“She wanted to set us up,” Mia said.
“How could we have worked together
and known so little about each other?”
“Don’t pretend I wasn’t in your heart.”
Mia gave me a lip bite and a sly wink.
“If I knew before, I would have—”
“But your faith needed to heal,”
she said, grabbing my hand.
“You healed my faith,” I said, voice cracking.
“Don’t blame me,” she said. “Thank God.”
We went home and sinned—
skinny-dipping,
loose jeans on the floor.
Baptized hearts.
- Seattle in Autumn - September 22, 2026
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