I think to myself that it doesn't make sense
as she repeats the sentence upon my request. I watch her lips move knowing what
is coming next. I turn and walk to a window as she continues to speak hearing
her ask where I am going. I do not reply.
I stare through the glass at the rainy spring day. Drops form on the branch of a small tree. I count the seconds between each drop as I try to remember the last time I had seen him.
The thought process is interrupted by another memory, like a commercial for happier days. He and I are running down a sidewalk as rain falls. He jumps into a low area in the lawn where the water has collected. The water splashes in my face as I leap to join him. His mom had jerked us from the water and made us stay inside the rest of the day, but it had been worth it.
I guess it was almost ten years since the last time we had seen each other. He had shown up at my graduation party with his mother. Our talk was forced and uncomfortable. I felt embarrassed to be graduating after he had quit school, and I guess he had similar feelings but who knows for sure. It is funny how the care-free days of youth dissipate with age, and how a close friend becomes a stranger so quickly. Once upon a time we'd ask or say anything to each other, but I never got the courage to ask him anything that day. He left soon after our uncomfortable chat. A chill sweeps my body as my mind confirms it was the last time we spoke.
It seems like the stuff in a movie or book, but I only think that since it involved me. Two years after my graduation party I was knee deep in college life while he was serving time for robbery. It would be the first of two stretches behind bars. The only bars I have ever seen have drinks on them (that seemed funny before I typed it). He managed to have a little boy between jail times. I have no idea of the boy's whereabouts.
I remember another time when chills covered my body. He and I were at a local store with his older brother, Cliff (another story, but don't ask). He gave us instructions on stealing a few things before we entered. I stuff the items in my waistband and nervously strolled through the doors, but Patrick wasn't so lucky. We waited around until his mom arrived.
Funny, he never gave me or his brother up. I guess that is a good thing, but it makes me wonder if that was the moment our lives diverged. Our families were (are) basically the same and neither of us had money. What would have happened if he had been successful that day while I had been caught?
The rain is now flowing continuously from the branch as the pace of the rain drops has increased. I turn to see her now talking to our mother. I wonder if they are still talking about him. I want no part of her comments on his (or my) life, so I stand while waiting for the conversation to end. I look up and smile, hoping he notices.
I stare through the glass at the rainy spring day. Drops form on the branch of a small tree. I count the seconds between each drop as I try to remember the last time I had seen him.
The thought process is interrupted by another memory, like a commercial for happier days. He and I are running down a sidewalk as rain falls. He jumps into a low area in the lawn where the water has collected. The water splashes in my face as I leap to join him. His mom had jerked us from the water and made us stay inside the rest of the day, but it had been worth it.
I guess it was almost ten years since the last time we had seen each other. He had shown up at my graduation party with his mother. Our talk was forced and uncomfortable. I felt embarrassed to be graduating after he had quit school, and I guess he had similar feelings but who knows for sure. It is funny how the care-free days of youth dissipate with age, and how a close friend becomes a stranger so quickly. Once upon a time we'd ask or say anything to each other, but I never got the courage to ask him anything that day. He left soon after our uncomfortable chat. A chill sweeps my body as my mind confirms it was the last time we spoke.
It seems like the stuff in a movie or book, but I only think that since it involved me. Two years after my graduation party I was knee deep in college life while he was serving time for robbery. It would be the first of two stretches behind bars. The only bars I have ever seen have drinks on them (that seemed funny before I typed it). He managed to have a little boy between jail times. I have no idea of the boy's whereabouts.
I remember another time when chills covered my body. He and I were at a local store with his older brother, Cliff (another story, but don't ask). He gave us instructions on stealing a few things before we entered. I stuff the items in my waistband and nervously strolled through the doors, but Patrick wasn't so lucky. We waited around until his mom arrived.
Funny, he never gave me or his brother up. I guess that is a good thing, but it makes me wonder if that was the moment our lives diverged. Our families were (are) basically the same and neither of us had money. What would have happened if he had been successful that day while I had been caught?
The rain is now flowing continuously from the branch as the pace of the rain drops has increased. I turn to see her now talking to our mother. I wonder if they are still talking about him. I want no part of her comments on his (or my) life, so I stand while waiting for the conversation to end. I look up and smile, hoping he notices.
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