Superhero?

Paige watched in disbelief as Kyle, her boyfriend of six months, effortlessly opened her locked car door. “How did you do that?” she asked, relieved that she wouldn’t have to call a locksmith.

“Oh, well, it’s a bit difficult to believe.”

“Tell me anyway.”

Kyle sighed. “Okay. Well, when I was a kid, my teacher told all of us to write down what superpower we would want. I wrote that I wanted to be able to open any door, even if it was locked.”

“THAT was your choice? You could have chosen anything, Kyle!”

“Hey, it’s not as if I knew it would come true. But yeah, anyway, I think that maybe my mom had locked us out of the car a few days before that…I don’t really remember. I just know that I thought it’d be so cool to never have that problem.”

“And then you actually got the ability? Just from writing it down?” Paige asked, doubtfully.

“I told you it was difficult to believe.”

“Hmm. Did all of your classmates get their superpowers too?”

Kyle shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know? You never asked?” Paige said. To her, this seemed an impossible thing.

“No. And then we moved. So, yeah…”

She stared at him. How could he have never thought to talk to his classmates about something so incredible? She certainly would have talked about it. “Well, since then, have you had fun? Have you gone into stores after hours?” she asked with a sly smile.

“I almost did. But the thing is, there are cameras everywhere. It’s not as glamorous as you might think. The extraordinary quickly becomes very ordinary after a while.”

“Yikes. That last sentence was kinda sad.”

“Well, I can’t just be in awe of myself all the time, you know.” He grinned and showed the dimple that Paige loved. “But it is nice", Kyle continued, “that I’m never locked out of my apartment or my car. It doesn’t matter if I misplace keys for work. And every now and then, I can help someone. Usually, though, I pretend to pick the lock. I don’t want to raise suspicions.”

Paige said, “Yet you let me see the truth.”

“Yes. No more secrets.”

“Okay. Good. But do me a favor, okay?”

“Sure.”

“Next time, for heaven’s sake, choose a better superpower! Like flying, or endless money, or invisibility.”

“All right. I get it. I’m lame. I have a boring (but undeniably useful) superpower. Will you still go to dinner with me tonight?” Kyle asked.

“Obviously, I’m not going to turn that down! And after that, we should go to the store and buy some spandex pants and a cape and a mask. Maybe even some underwear to wear on top of the pants.” Paige’s eyes flashed with mischief. She opened the car door. “Come on, My Hero. Let’s think of a suitable name for you along the way. Unlock Boy. Key Man.” She had quite a lot of fun all the way to the restaurant, making up names for her hero.