A Beautiful Brain

chapter 25

Rachel stepped aside and gestured for Kitty to come in without saying a word. Kitty walked in and the both of them moved to the living room where less than a minute ago, Rachel and Sam had been talking. 

“So…”, Kitty began 

“Okay… and why are you here”, Rachel asked. 

“Look, I never knew about you and Finn. If I did I would have…”, Kitty said, “I would have told you the truth” 

“Okay, I’m listening”, Rachel said, the word truth getting her attention 

“You know how you always exaggerate when you’re with your friends?”, Kitty said cautiously. 

“Well, I usually don’t have to exaggerate. My life is dramatic enough as it is”, Rachel said mockingly 

“Well, I do. I know that Finn and me didn’t work out but... I guess he’s not the only one to blame. I did sleep with someone else without breaking up with Finn first. I can understand that he was upset and I’m not angry with him.”, Kitty said. 

Rachel was silent for a few seconds and then looked directly at Kitty. 

“So Kyle sent you here?” Rachel suddenly asked, surprising Kitty. 

Kitty soon realized that the time to deny everything had passed and sighed deeply. “Yes, he was the one who asked me to talk to you… but I’m not lying. Pretending to be angry with him was just my way of getting over him. Please don’t hate me for it, or him.”, Kitty said softly 

Rachel looked at Kitty another few seconds, thinking, trying to figure the whole situation out. “Kitty, I’m sorry. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me, or him… but I hate you more than you can possibly imagine….. Please get out.”, Rachel said softly, her voice sharpening at the end of the sentence.. 

“I’m sorry too Rachel. I’ll let you calm down for a few days. Then we’ll talk.”, Kitty said, reacting to Rachel's words as if everything was completely normal, as if she knew that Rachel didn’t mean what she just said. Rachel didn’t respond and Kitty made her way out the apartment and closed the door firmly behind her. Rachel closed her eyes and let out a sign of relief. 

“Good morning sweetheart”, Finn said softly as Rachel woke up; her face resting on his chest. Rachel had awoken from a most wonderful dream but lying in Finn's arms was even better than the dream she had. 

She looked up at his face and smiled. “Mornin honey”, she said softly. It was that smile that he longed to see every since he woke up almost half an hour earlier. He didn’t want to disturb this moment though and just laid back and watched her sleep. 

Rachel was nothing short of amazing. They were married for six months now and every day he spent with her, he still felt like it was the first day he met her. So desperately in love. Finn thought of how they met three years ago. She worked in Lima as a waitress at Breadsticks. The food there wasn’t really that good, in fact some of it tasted downright atrocious. But when he sat down and Rachel came to his table to get his order, he fell instantly in love with her. 

He was extremely grateful that his best friend Marley was with him at the time because as hard as he tried, no words could come over his lips. He remembered Marley's laugh when Rachel left to get their order, calling him a love-sick puppy and making fun of him. He didn’t care though. All he could think about was that beautiful girl in that silly uniform which, if possible, made her look even sexier than she already was.

He came by regularly after that. Some days, he was lucky and Rachel would come to take his order. When she smiled at him, his whole day was perfect. Some days, he was less fortunate and someone else took his order. When that happened, he was in a bad mood the entire day. He didn’t get the nerve to actually talk to her until almost two months later. He rehearsed it over and over to himself in front of the mirror. He would ask just her out. If she said yes, then he’d consider jumping on the table and singing a song, if she turned him down… well, he’d just have to keep having breakfast there until he died.

On one day, he had finally gotten the courage to ask her out, and he was beginning to get tired of saying it in front of the mirror. He sat down at his regular table and almost literally prayed that it would be Rachel who would come to get his order. When a blonde girl, who he would later learn was Quinn, came to his table he considered beating her with her notepad for a second and then saw Rachel coming from out back in her regular clothes. “Damn, it was her day off”, he thought. He looked at her talking to one of the cooks, oblivious to Quinn who stood at his table. “Oh my god!”, Quinn said out loud to him. “You got it almost as bad as she”, she whispered in his ear. “For heaven’s sake, would you just ask her out? She’s driving me nuts talking about you”, Quinn had added. He remembered that he almost fell off his chair when he heard that. She actually liked him too? 

After that, things started to get better and better. He got the courage to ask her out and they went out on a long row of dates before going steady. Two and a half years later, they would get married. And now, six months after they got married, he still felt like that boy who came to Breadsticks and saw Rachel for the first time. He was in heaven, he was sure of it. 

Finn opened his eyes to find himself asleep in his own bed. The alarm clock said it was 3:45 and it was dark outside. He instantly realized that it was all just a dream. He wasn’t in heaven anymore. He was alone. Finn tried desperately to get back to sleep, yearning to feel again and crying softly as he drifted away.