Happy Sunday!
Here’s a snippet from “Remember Me Not, My Love,” published by Less Than Three Press. It’s from a bittersweet scene between Terry and Ishmael in a park. Enjoy. 🙂
—
I closed my eyes at his candid disclosure, a sharp pain piercing me over all that he had endured.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, yet again.
“You said that already,” he replied. I looked at him. I wasn’t sure about the expression on his face, but it might have been reluctant amusement at my almost incessant apologies. There was nothing more I could say anyway. My tea sat untouched. I grabbed my backpack and got up from the table.
“Okay then. Well, thanks for being willing to hear me out. I gotta go catch the bus. You have a good night.”
As I grabbed my cup, he said to me, “Hey, Terry Conway. How come you don’t have friends? What happened to all your rich buddies? And why the hell are you working in a fucking shoe store? Shouldn’t you be working your way up the ranks at something corporate by now?”
Maybe he needed to give me some of the hell I’d caused him in the past. Whatever the reason, I had nothing to hide. I shrugged as I turned to walk away and said, “I came out.”
—
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That last line is a real punch in the gut. Great snippet!
Thanks 🙂
Wow, what a beautiful interplay of guessing what the other person is thinking, only to deliver that last line to perfection! Well done!
Thank you! 🙂
The is definitely full of bittersweet emotion and pain.
Indeed.
Oh, that last line. That’s rough. I hope things begin to look up for Terry. And apparently Ishmael too, though I don’t know what he’s endured.
He’s definitely been through a lot — homelessness, losing all his friends, being shunned by his family. He’s come a long way.
Even without knowing what Terry was apologizing for, I love the way Ishmael turned it around — and I love the impact of that last line.
Thank you 🙂