This is a Not-So-Short Story, pt. 5
The previous installments:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once he finally put it out there, he felt his frame start to deflate. He felt comfortable with what he had to say. He felt happy that it was finally out there. He could finally feel the weight of everything that had passed in the past two months finally lift of his shoulders. Where there was a heavy weight, there was finally nothing. He would have laughed giddily if it weren’t for the seriousness of this conversation.
She shakes her head as none of this makes sense to her. She gets up off the couch and walks over to the kitchen.
She gently opens a cabinet and retrieves a glass.
She fills it with water.
She gulps it down.
She slams it down hard.
She returns to the living room, trying to maintain her composure.
“And who should I turn to talk to… Because I certainly can’t talk to my friends about this.”, she states angrily, “This is too embarrassing to talk to them about.”
“Well… if you need to talk to someone, you can talk to my boyfriend’s boyfriend. Maybe he can explain things better than I have.”, he says a little crest-fallen.
He walks over to a cabinet. He manages to retrieve a little slip of paper and a pen. He quickly jots down the name and number. He folds it in half and hands it to her.
“Here.”, he says as he presses the little slip of paper into her hand, “If you want to figure things out. If you feel like you need clarity, call him. He can tell you more than I can.”
He holds her hand for a moment. It feels small and gentle in his calloused hand. He moves in to kiss her.
She turns her head away.
He lowers his head. He knew he might have been asking too much trying to kiss her.
“Take whatever time you need. You don’t need to answer me now… But please, give me an answer at some point.”, he implores.
Her hand closes into a fist around the number that she gave him.
“I’ll think about it.”, she says with tight lips.
She jerks her hand out of his.
(To be continued)