Because he hadn't been responsible for his bills for years, it didn't occur to him that he needed to forward his mail so he could actually pay them, so the credit cards got canceled along with his health insurance. The repossession of the car was, to Grady, the last straw, and he wanted someone else to be responsible for his life again. It was worse for him because it happened when he was at happy hour with his friends. One minute, he had a car. The next he didn't. Same with his cellphone. He had a great unlimited plan and then he didn't. If I hadn't prepaid three months in advance, he would have been cut off much, much earlier.
He bought a cheap bottle of booze and started walking. He had heard from a friend of a friend that I was in the same neighborhood, so he'd been looking for my car. It was on the street because I just didn't think I could get into the garage without multiple attempts. I should have taken the time and replaced the car in the garage and I might have had a peaceful Sunday morning.
"I want to come home, Bernadette," he said. "Please, baby. I miss you so much." The tears in his voice were fake. He never actually cried unless he had been caught red handed doing something and the consequences might be grave.
"I'm not sure I even want to be friends, Grady. The answer is no." I went into the kitchen, found my coffee mug, and turned on the electric kettle. The big question was herbal tea or green? Herbal and I might be able to get back to sleep. Green and I'd be up most of the rest of the day but I could nap if I had to. I opted for green, better for my overall health and there might be a quiz later.
"I could move in for a couple of weeks and you'd never even know I was here." He'd been resting his head on his forearms and talking into the table. The third time I made him repeat it so I could actually understand the words they came out angry and bitter, just what a girl wants to hear when she is deciding to take a jack ass back.
Sure I would. He'd eat me out of house and home, leave laundry everywhere, and sent away for all the credit card offers that came in the mail. We had already done this dance and I wanted a new song to groove to.
"Please?"
"No. I'll make you breakfast and then you need to be on your way," I said.
"What are we having?" Daniel asked.
I could hardly hear him over Louie's barking. If this kept up much longer, I'd lose my hearing and then my mind.
"Never mind. I'll give you a ten spot and you can get something out," I said. Somehow my purse was in the bathtub with Bernard as his pillow.
(Yes I know I can't diagram a sentence to save my life, and my punctuation is crummy right now, but it is all about word count. Chant it with me! Word count~ Word Count! Word Count! You may now continue along with the story and forget that I have gone off the deep end with no outline and no idea where I'm supposed to be right now.)
One by one, the men who were now in my life, limited as their roles were, got up close and personal with the former man in my life.
"Jesus, Bern, did you open Boys' Town in XXX, XX or are you sleeping with all of them?" Grady asked after he folded his wallet closed.
Louie growled and then Bernard did. Sadly, Louie looked more vicious and could probably inflict more damage.
"You can just leave, Grady."
"You always were a lousy fuck, Bernie," Grady said.
When someone starts grinding on you in the middle of the night after a fourteen hour day, you tell me how responsive you are and just how much pleasure you get out of the situation.
When he walked out, I promised myself I wouldn't sling any mud, go down to any degrading level or acknowledge anything other than the good I had gotten out of the relationship. But you know what they say about resolutions and intentions? Yeah, I can't keep them either. I looked at Chris and asked, "Can I hit him now?"
Chris laid a hand over mine. "All he is is an asshole. You've been more than kind. Just keep it up for another couple of minutes."
"Yeah, yeah. Sticks and stones. But this is soft tissue damage that no one can see. Surely I can get even about this, right?" Slash his tires. Advertise his services as a stud. Talk to his girlfriend and tell her what to expect. Nah. All too drastic and if the girlfriend didn't know he was a conceited, narcissistic jackass by now, she might never learn and why did I need to help her? She became engaged to him when he was living with me!
My phone buzzed. Daniel answered it, "Bernie's bombastic house of burly bastards." There was a long pause when he turned to me and asked, "Do you have time today to talk to someone about a wedding dress?"
I nodded and held my hand out for my phone.
"Oh, so you are going to take me up on the offer to marry me so I can get the inlaws off my back?"
Every head at the table turned toward me.
"He's just kidding. Give me the phone, Daniel. You aren't being funny."
"I thought I was."
"No. Gimme." I wiggled my fingers to indicate my impatience. "This is Bernie."
Forty-five minutes later, Jan XXX showed up at my front door hoping to buy my wedding dress.
Things do come full circle, don't they?
~~
tbc
word count 1137
No comments:
Post a Comment