fiction technique--- piece two---
“So what did you do?”
“What do mean what did I do? I did what most people do when they walk in on their roommate making out with another guy. I just kept on walking.”
“So… you didn’t say anything about it? They didn’t know?
“Oh yeah sure they knew, the guys giggled like little school-girls while I was trying to open the door to my room.”
“And have you talked about it since?”
“No, I mean, would you want to have that conversation with your roommate? Hey buddy, that was cool huh? Me walking in on you and your friend goin at it. No, definitely not something I was looking to revisit. I mean it isn’t like he hasn’t walked in on me before. A man, woman, whatever floats his boat, I’m not casting any stones here.”
A coy smile spread across her face and she seemed pleased with my reply. Outside the window a man helped a woman in a bright red dress across the street. The wind was picking up and the ruffles of her dress fluttered like a sheet on a laundry line. The clouds were moving at some speed over-head and people hurried to get inside. Every once in a while one or two would stumble into the diner, shaking off what little snow had fallen already.
“Why’d it take us so long to have dinner together?” I asked.
“Well, honestly, I don’t really know. I’ve been busy. You have been busy. We are just busy people. That’s all. I think mainly it was because you never asked me. You used to be so caught up with that other girl.
“Oh her,” I said through my chagrin.
My thoughts reverted to Amy. She was probably off with some wide-chinned men’s health model holding hands or worse. I am still caught up with that other girl. And you sitting across from me are just a stepping-stone to making her jealous, an inch in the miles I have to go to get her back. Amy is quite possibly the only reason we are here in this mildly priced café sipping black coffees and having minute conversation over people we both kinda know. You will never amount to what she was to me so don’t even try.
“Yeah, I am long done with her.” A lie. “She was so horrible for me, I just don’t know what I was thinking lettering her lead me on and treat me like she did. I spent so much of my time trying to figure her out, only to come the conclusion that I couldn’t.” All true.
“People do funny things when they are in love.” She said, also very true.
She held her coffee with both hands, twisting it at the bottom and running the rose painted fingernails of her other hand along the lip of the cup. Her eyes were bulged as if she had just woken up or was lacking a days worth of sleep. Almost like Amy used to look when we would wake up next to each other and she would whisper to me something like “I love you,” or “your breath stinks, go brush.”
-
-
-
A couple passed outside the window holding close to each other, both smiling and laughing through the bitter cold. I wondered if I would ever be that warm again.
“I apologize I didn’t mean to bring it up,” she said breaking through the silence that had gone on much longer than I had realized.
“Oh no, don’t mention it. It really is no big deal. I am just tired. I have had a long day.”
“Yeah I can imagine,” she said “it isn’t every day you walk in on your roommate with another guy.”
“Yeah, ha, you got that right,” I said as I pressed a one-sided smile to my lips and took another sip of my coffee, signaling to the waiter I was ready for the check.
“What do mean what did I do? I did what most people do when they walk in on their roommate making out with another guy. I just kept on walking.”
“So… you didn’t say anything about it? They didn’t know?
“Oh yeah sure they knew, the guys giggled like little school-girls while I was trying to open the door to my room.”
“And have you talked about it since?”
“No, I mean, would you want to have that conversation with your roommate? Hey buddy, that was cool huh? Me walking in on you and your friend goin at it. No, definitely not something I was looking to revisit. I mean it isn’t like he hasn’t walked in on me before. A man, woman, whatever floats his boat, I’m not casting any stones here.”
A coy smile spread across her face and she seemed pleased with my reply. Outside the window a man helped a woman in a bright red dress across the street. The wind was picking up and the ruffles of her dress fluttered like a sheet on a laundry line. The clouds were moving at some speed over-head and people hurried to get inside. Every once in a while one or two would stumble into the diner, shaking off what little snow had fallen already.
“Why’d it take us so long to have dinner together?” I asked.
“Well, honestly, I don’t really know. I’ve been busy. You have been busy. We are just busy people. That’s all. I think mainly it was because you never asked me. You used to be so caught up with that other girl.
“Oh her,” I said through my chagrin.
My thoughts reverted to Amy. She was probably off with some wide-chinned men’s health model holding hands or worse. I am still caught up with that other girl. And you sitting across from me are just a stepping-stone to making her jealous, an inch in the miles I have to go to get her back. Amy is quite possibly the only reason we are here in this mildly priced café sipping black coffees and having minute conversation over people we both kinda know. You will never amount to what she was to me so don’t even try.
“Yeah, I am long done with her.” A lie. “She was so horrible for me, I just don’t know what I was thinking lettering her lead me on and treat me like she did. I spent so much of my time trying to figure her out, only to come the conclusion that I couldn’t.” All true.
“People do funny things when they are in love.” She said, also very true.
She held her coffee with both hands, twisting it at the bottom and running the rose painted fingernails of her other hand along the lip of the cup. Her eyes were bulged as if she had just woken up or was lacking a days worth of sleep. Almost like Amy used to look when we would wake up next to each other and she would whisper to me something like “I love you,” or “your breath stinks, go brush.”
-
-
-
A couple passed outside the window holding close to each other, both smiling and laughing through the bitter cold. I wondered if I would ever be that warm again.
“I apologize I didn’t mean to bring it up,” she said breaking through the silence that had gone on much longer than I had realized.
“Oh no, don’t mention it. It really is no big deal. I am just tired. I have had a long day.”
“Yeah I can imagine,” she said “it isn’t every day you walk in on your roommate with another guy.”
“Yeah, ha, you got that right,” I said as I pressed a one-sided smile to my lips and took another sip of my coffee, signaling to the waiter I was ready for the check.