Isolated

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

From the moment Luke entered my life again after three years, he just wasn't the same.  You guys could see that just as clearly as I could.  He didn't have that same spark in his eyes, the one that allowed him to be a free spirit.  One that wasn't scared to voice what he thought, to show his feelings.  He was fun and liked to laugh before - more than he does now I could tell, even after seeing him only a few times so far since we met again. He changed.  He was guarded with the little amount of life he wanted to share with this world. He showed signs of what he was like before and we even joked a little last time we saw each other.  But this time, it was different....

Tonight... it was so surreal.  So surreal and amazing.  It was like this new stone-face Luke was fading and slowly, as more time was past and more beer was consumed, the old Luke came out.  Such a change it was too in comparison to what I have seen these past days when I saw him.  It took a while though starting with the first drink we each had between us. With the awkward chatter we started and somber air around us in the living room.

However, things quickly moved to a more special place between me and him.  One that I knew I would have to cherish deeply.  After all, this was the last time we would see each other.  We couldn't let that fact get in the way of what we both realized we wanted to do.  And that was to just laugh and have fun while we could. It took a little bit of time for Luke to loosen up a bit.  But after we sat on the couch and talked for a while and drank, that awkwardness and sadness in the air slowly filtered away.  In place came what I used to know between us as a real connection. 

We started to joke around.  We started to have fun, tease each other.  We started to laugh and I can thank what we had in the house to help.  Including a board game I pulled out from the closet and we started playing.   It made Luke leave his shell, slowly, moment by moment, until his old self was evident.

"Cheater! Cheater," I said from where I was laying on the floor, propped up by my elbows.  Luke was laying across from me, facing me, with the board game between us we were playing on.  It was a game that consisted of the basic idea of moving your pieces along the tiles to get to the end and win.  However, Luke didn't think I would catch him moving extra spaces than he should have. "I saw you move your piece five spaces, not four!" I said in a voice that was loud and accusing.  A voice that made his lips tilt slightly up in mischief.  That expression... it was mesmerizing to me and among the many that have left me stunned throughout this night.  I had either the beer to thank for this or - most likely - the fact that this was our last time together.  We wanted to make it last and have fun whereas I expected it to consist of just questions and answers like before.  I was wrong and I was happy it was this way too.

With us laying on our stomachs across from each other on the floor, board between us to be played on, Jack took his position as mediator quite serious it seemed.  He was laying adjacent to us, facing the board so he could watch in curiosity us move our pieces.  And each time we moved a piece, his tail would just start wagging as his eyes stayed pealed.  He even decided to chirp in at that moment, letting out a low bark after I scolded Luke.

His green eyes staring at me from across the board, they lightened as he instantly started to defend himself. He gestured to the board with the hand he was using to move his piece and kept looking between me and the board, making his case.  "No, I moved four spaces.  I was back here," he said, trying to sound as sure and serious as he could when he pointed to one of the squares on the board.  The square that was ahead of where he really was before.  

I smiled brightly, laughing at him as I found his eyes again shining in mine and trying to look sure of himself.  "You were not!  You were right here!" I grabbed his wrist and made him slide his finger back a space.