Long-Distance Calls

42

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

"You know, I think you should go for it," Belle said over the phone.

"Go for it?"

"Yeah, it's what you've been waiting for, Pete," she explained, "your mom is finally opening her barriers. I think you should go ahead and tell her what's wrong."

"But, Belle, I know my mom. And I know the way she acts. If I start telling her about the anxiety and everything else, she won't take it seriously."

"Pete, think about. She said you could talk to her. What would be the point of asking you to talk to her, and then not taking you seriously?"

I sighed. "You make a valid point." The phone vibrated for an incoming call from Evelyn. "Hey, I have a call."

"Okay, Pete," the blonde one said, "later."

"Thank you, Belle," I said. "It always feels like I don't thank you enough."

"But you don't have to thank me at all," she said.

I smiled. "Avsama."

"Hey," she said with an uncharacteristic off tone.

"Listen, you were right," I said, "I... I lost my mind. Honestly, these past few days, they've been... man. But I see what you told me. It was shitty behavior at its worst. And for that I'm sorry."

"Well, why are you apologizing to me?" she asked.

"Because you sounded pretty mad earlier today," I said.

"I wasn't mad," she explained, " I was just scared. Scared of being wrong and disappointed."

"You're not wrong. I am different from everyone else. That much I can tell you."

"I can never know that for sure," she said.

"You can," I said, "when we'll meet. I'll prove it to you."

"If we meet," she corrected me.

"No," I insisted, "when we meet. Because I know we will, and it'll be the best day of both of our lives. And we'll be happy and we'll be able to act like a normal couple, eat ice cream together, go around hand in hand, kissing in the middle of the street, not caring about what everyone else thinks. We'll take pictures together and post them online, so we'll stick it to all the stupid doubters and haters."

"Oh, Avsam," she sighed, "how it feels good to dream."

"It's not a dream," I said, "it's a spoiler. We'll meet, one day. End of story."

"Okay, Avsam. I believe you. I believe in us."

"Do you want to watch a movie with me?" I asked her.

"Of course I do, honey."

• — • — • — • — • — • — • — •

As we watched Spider-Man 2 for the third time together, and her texts kept coming, for she was into the movie as much as she was the first and second time, I realized how grateful I was for my mom unwittingly saving me.

I realized how wrong what I was about to do was. Because in hard times we tend to focus on all the dark places of our life, and we forget all the bright ones.