27. Loveless

“Will you marry me?” Fred knelt beside her in the middle of the restaurant.

She could see his hands trembling as he held out the black velvet box. Blood rushed to her face. She looked at the ring and back at him. He was blushing with embarrassment and fear. A hushed silence fell over the restaurant as other tables started to notice them. The waiters made big circles, so they wouldn’t interrupt this special moment. She picked up the ring. It was heaver than she expected. The cold metal stung her hands as she slid it over her finger.

“Yes.” she said.

Flying off the ground, his arms wrapped around her body and his soft lips found hers. The other tables started clapping. Somewhere, a table whistled.

The rest of the night they where on the phone telling everyone they knew. It was almost midnight by the time she got on Facebook to change her status. A message popped up.

“Congrats” Roy said.

“Thanks” Her hands trembled so bad she struggled to hit the right keys. “He’s very sweet to me” she added.

“I’m happy that you finally picked a good one.”

“And he never hit me.” The moment it appeared on the screen she realized that she shouldn’t have sent it. A shiver ran up her spine making her eyes tear. She pulled a blanket over her shoulders and waited for his response. She clicked on his photo album. Her red haired replacement stood smiling next to Roy in each picture. The girl had vine arms that suffocated him. He’s gained weight she thought. She lifted her shirt and ran her palm down her belly. I’m still too fat for him though.

Still he didn’t respond. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.” She typed.

“I just wanted to congratulate you, that’s all. bye.” Roy sighed off.

Her arms caught her head as it came crashing down on the desk. “Fuck”.

A sharp beam of light filled the room. The door opened and Fred walked in. “Are you alright hunny?”

She wiped her face on her arms before sitting up. “Yeah, I just hit the desk.”

“Why don’t you come to bed baby?” He walked up and put a hand on her back. He looked at the screen and saw a single message from her coworker, Jessy, that just said ’Congrats.’ He reached over her and turned off the computer. “We still have some celebrating to do. If you know what I mean.” He nudged her side with his hand.

“Of course sweety. I just need to clear my head a little bit, you know? All this excitement and everything, I just need to drive around a bit.”

Every ounce of puppy dog oozed though his eyes. “Okay.” He said and kissed her. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She left him standing in the den while she slipped on her shoes and into the car. She drove past the restaurant and down back alleys. Eventually she found herself downtown. The street lights made the city glow yellow. It seemed almost magical, everything was so barren and yet so beautiful. Before long she was driving down a road that seems familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. All of the houses had faces, like old friends welcoming her back. She stopped in front of a house that looked like a football player. Black bushes below the windows looked like war paint. White gutters crossed in front of the red roof making a helmet. She just sat and starred at the house for a while. Then it winked at her.

Her pajamas were melting into her skin. She rolled down the windows to let in the fall breeze. Panting, she felt like melting into the leather seats. I just need to move around a little she thought. She got out of the car and started walking towards the footballer house.

Bright red and blue blinded her. A police car flashed as she froze in the lights.

The officer approached her. “Ma’am, do you live here?”

“Uh, no, I was just—”

“Can I see some ID?” He shined a flashlight into her eyes.

“I uh, didn’t…” She blocked her eyes.

The officer brought out a pair of handcuffs. “You’re coming with me, you are in violation of your restraining order.”

“What? No! I wasn’t trying to see him, I was just…” She looked at the house again and realized why the neighborhood looked so familiar. The house, the one with the inviting footballer face, belonged to Roy. He was poking his head out of the curtains, watching as the officer took her away.

© Chris Richards 2009