and Neil, then made a plate for
herself.
Lindy chattered through their
lunch of chicken salad sandwiches and Aaron found himself responding
to her. She was so damn cheery, he would have been an ogre not to
find her charming.
Somewhere in the course of the
vibrant conversation, Lindy said, “Our friend Cathy lives in the
next house over.”
Aaron came alive at the mention
of Cathy’s name. His whole body tingled.
“ We went to high school with
her,” Cathy continued. “She came back a few months ago after a
bad breakup.”
Aaron felt guilt wash over him.
He was responsible for that.
“ But she’s been seeing her
high school boyfriend lately, so I guess she’s gonna be all right.”
Aaron became numb. He was dead
weight on the chair he was sitting in. He died in that moment.
“ Yeah,” Neil said, unaware
that Aaron had just died. “I guess getting back with your high
school lover is the remedy for what ails you.”
Lindy and Neil looked at each
other and laughed, in their own private high school world. Aaron was
dead.
Lindy packed the used paper
plates and napkins back into the paper bag and stood to leave. She
kissed Neil goodbye and waved at Aaron.
“ It was nice to meet you,”
she said. “You should come out with us sometime, if you want to.”
They were so wrapped up in their
love for each other, they still hadn’t noticed that Aaron had
ceased to exist. He forced himself out of his grave.
“ Yes, maybe I’ll do that,”
he said.
And then Lindy left, leaving only
pixie dust behind. Neil got back to work, and Aaron kept his eyes
glued to the TV.
Near the end of the day, Neil
came back into the dining room.
“ I’m finished in there,” he
said. “We can move your stuff back before I go.”
They moved the couch and recliner
and console back into the living room. The olive-colored walls
enveloped Aaron, attempted to comfort him. The crown molding gleamed
like cream in a cat’s bowl.
He shook Neil’s hand and said
he’d see him on Monday. Then he collapsed into his recliner and
stared blindly at the TV. How could he win Cathy back from her high
school boyfriend? The odds of that did not seem good. They had their
memories, their music, maybe even a favorite song. Definitely a song.
He felt sick.
Aaron watched the clock on the
cable box while he tried to concentrate on television. He hadn’t
changed the channel for hours and had sat there during sports news, a
sitcom, and now an infomercial for weight loss. At eleven-thirteen,
he hauled himself out of the chair with great effort. He had not
eaten since Lindy’s chicken salad sandwich and he wasn’t hungry.
He put a bottle of water into his
backpack, then his bottle of scotch. He picked up a blanket as an
afterthought. His mind screamed at him that he was crazy, but his
feet carried him across the lawn, following the beam of the
flashlight. It led him to his path and he carefully made his way. The
only sound was the crunching of his feet on the path.
He didn’t need his binoculars
to see there was a truck in front of Cathy’s house. The light from
the porch didn’t reveal what color it was very clearly, but it
looked like it might be green. Definitely not Neil’s white truck.
He used the binoculars, hoping he could see into a window. But the
curtains were drawn, and Cathy was behind them. In her house with her
high school boyfriend.
Aaron sat on the ground and
pulled the blanket around his shoulders. He reached into his backpack
and pulled out the bottle of scotch. It went down his throat
smoothly. Every few minutes, he put the binoculars to his eyes and
looked at Cathy’s house, her front door, willing the boyfriend to
leave.
Aaron had plenty of time to think
as he kept his rabid watch. For the hundredth time since he had moved
to the bay, he questioned his actions. Surely Cathy would be
horrified to know he had been skulking in the woods, watching her
with binoculars. Didn’t a person have a right to privacy? She
wouldn’t
herself.
Lindy chattered through their
lunch of chicken salad sandwiches and Aaron found himself responding
to her. She was so damn cheery, he would have been an ogre not to
find her charming.
Somewhere in the course of the
vibrant conversation, Lindy said, “Our friend Cathy lives in the
next house over.”
Aaron came alive at the mention
of Cathy’s name. His whole body tingled.
“ We went to high school with
her,” Cathy continued. “She came back a few months ago after a
bad breakup.”
Aaron felt guilt wash over him.
He was responsible for that.
“ But she’s been seeing her
high school boyfriend lately, so I guess she’s gonna be all right.”
Aaron became numb. He was dead
weight on the chair he was sitting in. He died in that moment.
“ Yeah,” Neil said, unaware
that Aaron had just died. “I guess getting back with your high
school lover is the remedy for what ails you.”
Lindy and Neil looked at each
other and laughed, in their own private high school world. Aaron was
dead.
Lindy packed the used paper
plates and napkins back into the paper bag and stood to leave. She
kissed Neil goodbye and waved at Aaron.
“ It was nice to meet you,”
she said. “You should come out with us sometime, if you want to.”
They were so wrapped up in their
love for each other, they still hadn’t noticed that Aaron had
ceased to exist. He forced himself out of his grave.
“ Yes, maybe I’ll do that,”
he said.
And then Lindy left, leaving only
pixie dust behind. Neil got back to work, and Aaron kept his eyes
glued to the TV.
Near the end of the day, Neil
came back into the dining room.
“ I’m finished in there,” he
said. “We can move your stuff back before I go.”
They moved the couch and recliner
and console back into the living room. The olive-colored walls
enveloped Aaron, attempted to comfort him. The crown molding gleamed
like cream in a cat’s bowl.
He shook Neil’s hand and said
he’d see him on Monday. Then he collapsed into his recliner and
stared blindly at the TV. How could he win Cathy back from her high
school boyfriend? The odds of that did not seem good. They had their
memories, their music, maybe even a favorite song. Definitely a song.
He felt sick.
Aaron watched the clock on the
cable box while he tried to concentrate on television. He hadn’t
changed the channel for hours and had sat there during sports news, a
sitcom, and now an infomercial for weight loss. At eleven-thirteen,
he hauled himself out of the chair with great effort. He had not
eaten since Lindy’s chicken salad sandwich and he wasn’t hungry.
He put a bottle of water into his
backpack, then his bottle of scotch. He picked up a blanket as an
afterthought. His mind screamed at him that he was crazy, but his
feet carried him across the lawn, following the beam of the
flashlight. It led him to his path and he carefully made his way. The
only sound was the crunching of his feet on the path.
He didn’t need his binoculars
to see there was a truck in front of Cathy’s house. The light from
the porch didn’t reveal what color it was very clearly, but it
looked like it might be green. Definitely not Neil’s white truck.
He used the binoculars, hoping he could see into a window. But the
curtains were drawn, and Cathy was behind them. In her house with her
high school boyfriend.
Aaron sat on the ground and
pulled the blanket around his shoulders. He reached into his backpack
and pulled out the bottle of scotch. It went down his throat
smoothly. Every few minutes, he put the binoculars to his eyes and
looked at Cathy’s house, her front door, willing the boyfriend to
leave.
Aaron had plenty of time to think
as he kept his rabid watch. For the hundredth time since he had moved
to the bay, he questioned his actions. Surely Cathy would be
horrified to know he had been skulking in the woods, watching her
with binoculars. Didn’t a person have a right to privacy? She
wouldn’t
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