Love You Forever (2013 Wattys Finalist)

Chapter 37 - The Unexpected Truth

Robert woke up early the next morning with the bedroom dimly lit by the rising sun.  While he laid there listening to the sound of birds stirring, he felt a heaviness pressing on him.  It was the same heaviness he’d been feeling since the night before when he and Georgie walked home from the party.  

It was becoming clear to him now.  The longer he was in Chicago, the harder it was for him and Georgie to be around each other.  The strong bond they’d formed when they were trapped in the flat was still there even though their relationship was over, complicating what was already a difficult situation.  He’d been grateful when he realized they could be mates again, but time after time, their interactions were straying into areas friends didn’t normally go, and it wasn’t healthy.  They were never going to be a couple, and if they continued to cross that line, one – or both of them – were going to get hurt.

He pulled the pink floral quilt off him as he sat up with a sigh.  He was still exhausted after a restless night, but he was tired of lying in bed unable to sleep.  When he opened the bedroom door he was surprised Georgie wasn’t on the couch since it was so early, but all her bedding was still there.  He walked into the kitchen and found May alone, sitting at the table in front of her laptop. 

“Good morning,” she said smiling up at him.

“Morning,” he said, heading to the tea kettle.

After he had his mug ready to be filled with boiling water, he went to get a bowl out of the cupboard for cereal. 

“Oh, Robert,” May said, looking up from her laptop when she noticed what he was doing.  “Marianne is picking up bagels for breakfast on the way home from the farmer’s market, in case you’d like to wait to eat.”

“Oh, alright,” he said, putting the bowl back. 

As he passed the kitchen table on the way back to the kettle, he happened to glance down at the newspaper that was lying near Marianne’s chair and did a double take when he saw one of the pictures.  He went back and picked it up to examine it more closely.    

The picture showed an older, balding man who was wearing a suit and looking over his shoulder as he walked away.  He was smiling at the camera but his eyes were hard, and the smile seemed more of an angry grimace, as if he was upset his picture was being taken.  Robert could swear he knew the man, but from where? 

The title under the picture read ‘Samuel LeBlanc, also known as Sammy the White’.  He was thinking he didn’t know anyone by that name while he studied the man’s face. 

And then it hit him.

---Then---

Robert and the rest of his band mates had just returned to their flat and he was exhausted.  It was already after two a.m. on a Friday night and he’d been up since six that morning.  He’d worked all day with Joey at their house painting job, rushed back to their flat where they ate a quick meal, then packed the van with all their equipment and instruments so they could make it to the club in time for their show. 

He wanted nothing more than to climb in bed but they had to unload the van first.  It was too risky to leave everything in it overnight when it could be stolen.  Everyone was tired and grumpy as they carried things into the flat, trying to be quiet so they didn’t wake the neighbors.  When they were finished, Robert realized something was missing.

“Where are the wires?” he asked loudly to no one in particular. 

“What?” replied Lexie. 

“Did the wires get left in the van?” he asked, turning to face the rest of them.

“No, I made sure it was empty before I locked up,” Joey said.