In Another Life (1993-1996)

I'll Be Right Back There For You

Lizzie was crying. Just sitting there on my bed, tears streaming out of her eyes, staring at the wall silently. In all the time I had known her, I had never seen her cry before. She was the witty one that made a sarcastic comment in a difficult situation, not the one who knocked on my door and sobbed into my shoulder. But here she was. The cup of tea I had made her when she had arrived was sitting, cold, on the table next to her; the biscuits I had given her were lying on the plate untouched. She was shutting down and I didn't know why. She had been in a state when she had arrived, crying so hard that her intakes of breath were deep and painful. Nobody else was home and I couldn't think who to call so I took her upstairs and made her a warm drink and gave her a snack, something I always liked when I was upset.

I looked at her, trying not to show too much of my worry in my eyes. She blinked, sending a wave of tears crashing onto her lap.

"I think," She croaked, her voice harsh from the lack of conversation, "I think I may have just broken up with Arthur." She looked from the wall to the damp patch on her jeans where the tear had landed. I didn't know what to say, the news shocked me. Surely the little arguments they had been having for the past months hadn't been that bad? I went over from where I was sitting and joined her on the sofa, rubbing her back gently.

"Why? I mean, what happened?" The Watson couldn't break up; I wasn't going to let it happen. Not this close to Valentine's Day! Their relationship had been everything I wanted if I was to get married.

"I was working in the café, taking orders and stuff, when he came up behind me and hugged me, oh god it sounds so stupid when I say it back, anyway he hugged me and I got annoyed. I know he's trying to make things better, he hates fights, but it was so annoying. I was getting pretty frustrated with him always hanging around when I was at work, not that he had anywhere else to go, so I told him to piss off. We've been so close to breaking recently that he snapped. I don't think he liked the idea of a fight; he just was getting annoyed too. So we began arguing, right there in the middle of the café, which made the customers leave, and I got annoyed at him about that. I yelled at him, all sorts of things that had been building up. I didn't mean half of them. And he began yelling back, saying that I didn't want to work with him, even though it had been both of our ideas to open the restaurant. So I screamed some crap about wanting to run the business on my own and not needing him crowding me everywhere I go. So he got really annoyed and retaliated by saying that without him on the till, we wouldn't have a business. Then I said the worst thing. I told him that without him, the business would be ten times better and he should shove off and stop stalking me like the vintage loser he had always been. I also said that I had only said yes to a date in university to get him off my back, and then I came here. I feel awful! Eve, I don't hate him. I love him! I really hate it when we fight, not that we've ever had an argument like this one before. What do I do?" I was thinking the exact same thing as Lizzie looked up into my eyes, hopeful that I might know the answer. The truth is I had no clue. I had never had an argument along the lines of what she had told me, so my personal experiences did not hold the answer. So the best option for me was to dig deep and think about what I would do in a situation similar to this,

"Nothing, do nothing." I said, after a moment of quite thought. Lizzie's eyes widened in shock.

"What?"

"Don't do anything. Let him calm down for a bit, you can stay here, and then do something amazing for Valentine's Day!" I said, seeing the plan form in front of my eyes. Lizzie sniffed, but wiped her eyes. She looked like she was beginning to see the plan too.

*

It was the 31st of December 1993, and we were gathering at ours to celebrate. Lizzie, Arthur, Wanda, Tim, Ben and I were all outside, wrapped in our thick winter coats setting up the fireworks. The drink was flowing thick and fast and it wasn't long before we were singing our heads off. Music from the 80's was blasting out from the stereo, and even though it was outside, Tainted Love could be heard half way down the street. Lizzie and Arthur were keeping the distance, Arthur talking to Tim and Lizzie, Wanda, Ben and I dancing madly about.