just let it all go, forgot about it, started a new life somewhere. How invigorating that must have been, what a relief.”
I called bullshit. “Invigorating, my ass. She also left behind a lot of hurt people and unfinished business.” I could feel permanent ridges forming on my brow, just about where a dull headache was beginning to build.
“Russell, you can’t understand.” His face carried a look I’d never seen there before; his voice was that of a stranger. “You haven’t gone through what we’ve gone through.”
Maybe not. I crossed my arms over my chest and regarded this man on whom I’d once harboured a secret crush. Right then all I wanted to do was shake him until some sense dropped into his head.
What followed was an uncomfortable silence, both of us unwavering in our stances, and at the same time hurting inside because of this chasm that was opening up between us, right before our eyes, a chasm that threatened our friendship. Which was deeper? Where could we go from here? What could either of us say or do? Jared sipped at the dregs of his wine, his face wincing as if the alcohol had gone sour. I stared into the licking flames of fire.
Finally I could take it no longer. Saying something, anything, was better than this anguished silence. “So what are you asking me to do?” I asked him. “Exactly?”
His golden-green tiger eyes latched onto mine. “I’m asking you to try to understand, and to help me convince Anthony that it is time we parted ways. Maybe not forever, but for now.”
50 of 170
3/15/2011 11:02 PM
I averted my eyes once more towards the roaring fire, and I may have even let out a “humph.”
“Will you help me?” he asked plainly.
In a voice so quiet I wasn’t even sure he could hear it, I answered. “No.”
He nodded solemnly. “I think I should go.”
Getting up at five a.m. is not my favourite thing to do, but do it I did, and I was on the road with a full thermos of coffee, bottle of water, two pears and a map, and heading for Estevan by six. It was still dark out and frosty, but the radio weatherman was promising a sunny albeit cool day in the single digits. My route took me south through Dundurn, Hanley, Davidson, then on through Moose Jaw, Milestone, Weyburn and finally into Estevan, clocking in at a little closer to four-and-a-half hours than five.
It was a long drive, but it gave me time to chew on my discussion with Jared the night before. We’d left things at an uncomfortable point. I needed the time to think about my reaction to what he’d been asking me to do: to help him convince Anthony to end their relationship. Was I being short-sighted? Insensitive?
Inflexible? Bullheaded? Should I have agreed to help him? But as lengthy as my trip and as strong as the coffee I drank were, my distaste for Jared’s request never left my mouth. It just wasn’t right.
Estevan, about ten minutes north of the North Dakota border, is nicknamed the Energy City, with 11,000 citizens and a bustling economy heavy on coal, oil and gas, farming and ranching. I found the Comprehensive School easily enough and was told I’d have to wait until noon to meet with the principal as he was busy teaching a class. So I drove around town and generally twiddled my thumbs until it was time to return to the school and meet with Mr. Thorson. I already knew from a cellphone call made on the road that Matthew Moxley was no longer a teacher at the school, and that was certainly frustrating, but I was convinced my next clue regarding his whereabouts was somewhere in Estevan.
“I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing,” Principal Thorson said after the requisite handshakes and
“let’s have a seat in my office” and “can I get you something to drink?” were done with.
“Well, I’m hoping it wasn’t for nothing. It would be a great help if you could tell me a little more about Mr. Moxley, like when he left Estevan and where he might have gone?”
The principal scrunched
I called bullshit. “Invigorating, my ass. She also left behind a lot of hurt people and unfinished business.” I could feel permanent ridges forming on my brow, just about where a dull headache was beginning to build.
“Russell, you can’t understand.” His face carried a look I’d never seen there before; his voice was that of a stranger. “You haven’t gone through what we’ve gone through.”
Maybe not. I crossed my arms over my chest and regarded this man on whom I’d once harboured a secret crush. Right then all I wanted to do was shake him until some sense dropped into his head.
What followed was an uncomfortable silence, both of us unwavering in our stances, and at the same time hurting inside because of this chasm that was opening up between us, right before our eyes, a chasm that threatened our friendship. Which was deeper? Where could we go from here? What could either of us say or do? Jared sipped at the dregs of his wine, his face wincing as if the alcohol had gone sour. I stared into the licking flames of fire.
Finally I could take it no longer. Saying something, anything, was better than this anguished silence. “So what are you asking me to do?” I asked him. “Exactly?”
His golden-green tiger eyes latched onto mine. “I’m asking you to try to understand, and to help me convince Anthony that it is time we parted ways. Maybe not forever, but for now.”
50 of 170
3/15/2011 11:02 PM
I averted my eyes once more towards the roaring fire, and I may have even let out a “humph.”
“Will you help me?” he asked plainly.
In a voice so quiet I wasn’t even sure he could hear it, I answered. “No.”
He nodded solemnly. “I think I should go.”
Getting up at five a.m. is not my favourite thing to do, but do it I did, and I was on the road with a full thermos of coffee, bottle of water, two pears and a map, and heading for Estevan by six. It was still dark out and frosty, but the radio weatherman was promising a sunny albeit cool day in the single digits. My route took me south through Dundurn, Hanley, Davidson, then on through Moose Jaw, Milestone, Weyburn and finally into Estevan, clocking in at a little closer to four-and-a-half hours than five.
It was a long drive, but it gave me time to chew on my discussion with Jared the night before. We’d left things at an uncomfortable point. I needed the time to think about my reaction to what he’d been asking me to do: to help him convince Anthony to end their relationship. Was I being short-sighted? Insensitive?
Inflexible? Bullheaded? Should I have agreed to help him? But as lengthy as my trip and as strong as the coffee I drank were, my distaste for Jared’s request never left my mouth. It just wasn’t right.
Estevan, about ten minutes north of the North Dakota border, is nicknamed the Energy City, with 11,000 citizens and a bustling economy heavy on coal, oil and gas, farming and ranching. I found the Comprehensive School easily enough and was told I’d have to wait until noon to meet with the principal as he was busy teaching a class. So I drove around town and generally twiddled my thumbs until it was time to return to the school and meet with Mr. Thorson. I already knew from a cellphone call made on the road that Matthew Moxley was no longer a teacher at the school, and that was certainly frustrating, but I was convinced my next clue regarding his whereabouts was somewhere in Estevan.
“I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing,” Principal Thorson said after the requisite handshakes and
“let’s have a seat in my office” and “can I get you something to drink?” were done with.
“Well, I’m hoping it wasn’t for nothing. It would be a great help if you could tell me a little more about Mr. Moxley, like when he left Estevan and where he might have gone?”
The principal scrunched
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