I could hear him talking, but he wasn’t really talking to me. He was talking at me, and I hated that.
I guess in a way, I appreciated it too. I mean, I know he didn’t open his mouth and blab about his life to just anybody. I suppose that would make me lucky. I didn’t necessarily feel that way. I let him say his peace, because I knew he was annoyed with his roommate, with his job, with the direction his life was taking. And I wasn’t gonna tell anybody.
Why should I? I didn’t really talk to anybody else.
“Sam, am I boring you?” Vince had stopped talking and I hadn’t realized it - too lost on my own derailed train of thought. Sam is short for Samantha. I hate being called Samantha.
“No, I’m sorry Vince. I got trapped in my head for a second. What were we talking about?”
Vince raised an eyebrow at me, but continued the conversation like normal. “Well, I was telling you about John ruining the camping trip, but… I don’t know, it was pretty fun all the same. Nice to get out.”
He sipped his beer, and I sipped mine. Silence did happen between us occasionally, but it wasn’t what you would call uncomfortable.
The question flew from my mouth before I had a chance to stop it. “How’s Layla doin’? You heard much from her since she moved to Oregon?”
Vince took a long swallow from his beer, thinking about how to answer what appeared to be a simple question. “She’s alright, I s’pose. She’s out and about a lot, like she wants. So that’s doing her a world of good. In all honesty, I don’t hear much from her. Maybe once every couple of days, and even then sometimes it’s only a text message. But it’s something.”
He looked away then, staring off into a distance I probably couldn’t begin to fathom. I smiled, mostly to myself because Vince was too busy thinking about the girl of his dreams.
Sometimes I wish it was me he thought about.
(349 words)
2 comments:
I felt that I was genuinely in Sam's head. I felt like, just then, I knew who she was, I could sit with her and talk to her and sympathize with her about the boys in her life. I don't know who she is or where she comes from, but hell if she isn't real. Every description of Vince was definitely through Sam's eyes. I love how every moment is full of Sam's emotion. This entire piece is - her. Well done.
This piece was great. I felt her pain. Loving someone who loves another is one thing I would never want to go through again. You really captured her feelings.
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