Sister.

3

Tina hadn’t seen Brody in years, five years exactly. The years had been kind to him, and apparently so had fortune. She had not expected to see him again, much less at this party. But it made sense. These were the same friends they had kept while growing up.

She had  not known that he was back in town, and no one had bothered to tell her. She was sure that at the least, one if not more of her friends knew that he was going to be here today but none had deemed it fit to inform her of his return.
Seeing him again brought back memories. Memories that she’d rather not remember. Not because they were sad, but because he was the past and it  did not serve any purpose to hold on to that past. To do so would mean undoing all the work she’d put into forgetting him.

He was her first, her first love, her first kiss, her first everything. They were in love once, really in deep. he was probably her one true love, but love did not pay the bills, nor did it get her the fine clothes and jewelry that she liked to don on. She wanted a life of luxury, and love alone was not enough. And so they’d broken up, she had broken them up.

Then came Michael, sweet, funny and kind Michael, probably a bit too sweet. They  met while at the university, he was the tall, good looking, smart and soft spoken guy who surprisingly enough was rich, or his parents were at least. Surprising because one did not often find rich kids who weren’t snubs. Michael was one of the few who had money as well as respect for others. That was what she liked about him, he didn’t turn up his nose at her or laugh at her naïveté, when it inadvertently showed up. Rather he treated her with respect and as an equal, and as a friend.  In time, their friendship grew into more and they began dating. She liked him well enough, and so had agreed. But she didn’t love him. He was too perfect, too good. Perfection was good, but it was not what she wanted. There was no excitement, no adrenaline rush like with Brody. With Michael everything was planned and organized, even his love making seemed to follow a pattern.

She liked her men a bit rough around the edges, men who could be assertive at times, she liked a man who was up for adventure, a man who could take her in more positions than three, and make her body sing. Ultimately She liked them like Brody.

Michael was a good man, he was kind, hardworking and sweet. Too even, and she had developed tooth ache.  Despite all of these, when he proposed she accepted. She reasoned that he could give her the fine things in life that she wanted, and given time she may come to love him too.
Their marriage was a good one, not the best, but it was good. All that she desired she got, he loved her there was never any doubt about that. In time she’d come to accept Michael as the man he was, but she did not come to love him back like she’d thought she would.

There was no spark, there was no excitement. It was a rather dull routine, one that she quickly grew tired of. So she tried to live vicariously through her sister and through her friends, occasionally partying like she was still yet unmarried. Michael never approved of the parties, but she went all the same. 

This was one such party that he had been opposed to. He did not like her friends. like precious, he thought they were a bad influence. But he’d grudgingly agreed when she told him Precious was going too. Not like she needed his permission or anything, but peace was always better than war.

Michael had much respect for her sister and was quite fond of her too, which wasn’t surprising, the two shared a lot in common. She often thought that he’d gotten married to the wrong sister. She had less in common with Michael than he did with her sister, foremost of which was being a great bore, they both excelled at being boring. It was almost a chore being in either of their presences. Michael’s especially. They both were intellectuals, one with a somewhat sour disposition, the other always had a smile for everybody.