For Amanda

Twenty-One

Dear Amanda,

The rain hasn't stopped. The weather dragged me down this morning but still I managed to arrive in the shop ten minutes late. I was surprised to see Joe, still in his uniform and moving a dresser. He told me that Mr. Gonzales gave him one last chance to improve his performance and he's not wasting every bit of it.  He has associated with the customers well. Joe and I are sort-of good friends now. We've been exchanging silly knock-knock jokes ever since this morning even though they were a bit annoying.

It has been a tough day at work but still I managed to sell to five customers today. Mr. Gonzales was so pleased that he invited me to have drinks with him and the others after work. I turned down his invitation and told him I had to watch over Annie tonight. I think I'm getting better at lying since he actually believed the excuse I told him. 

When I was about to open the front door, I noticed the apartment across ours. Remember Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs who lived across ours for what seemed like forever? I heard from our other next-door neighbor, Rochelle, that Mrs. Jacobs had passed away recently and Mr. Jacobs was devastated. He spent two months staying in his bedroom and his only companion is his dog, Chief. I peered at his window and saw a few candles illuminating his living room. I knocked twice. I just wanted to know how Mr. Jacobs is doing. He opened the door and asked what I wanted. He smelled like he bathed in beer. I asked him how he was doing but he didn't answer me. Instead, he slammed the door shut. I knocked on his door again and he didn't answer. I heard glasses breaking and a loud thud inside, so I barged in and found Mr. Jacobs lying on the floor. I immediately dialled 911 and ten minutes later, an ambulance came.  

Mr. Jacobs suffered a seizure but he's doing fine now. He is still under observation and will be discharged from the hospital hopefully tomorrow. He woke up an hour after the doctors treated him in the emergency room and moved him to his private room. We had the chance to talk before the nurses gave him his medicine which made him fall asleep almost instantly. I asked him how he was doing again and told him about what I heard about Mrs. Jacobs. He tried to hold back his tears when he said, "She was an amazing woman, Brian, and I lost her. They say that everything in this world has an end; that nothing in this life is ever permanent. I don't know much about that shit, Brian, but I do know that my love for her is neverending."

He asked me about what happened to us since he never see us together anymore. I told him about everything that happened; about how our relationship has been on a rough path for so long and about how you left without saying a word. Then he told me, "Of all the things I've learned about life, Brian, one thing I'll never forget is this: there will be some things in life that aren't meant for you and there's nothing you can do about it. Sure, you had the time of your life with her but maybe there's someone so much better out there for you." 

Until now, Amanda, I don't think there's anybody else better than you. Yet.

Brian