I should have known that Suzanne will not stop at just learning my version of truth. I should have known that she has not changed that much from the Suzanne I knew all those years ago. She has always been nothing but persistent. Persistent and infinitely curious.
"I want to speak to you." Suzanne never asked for permission to speak. So I knew that whether I said yes or no would not matter – she will still speak her mind. So I said nothing and waited for her to tell me what she wanted to talk to me about.
After a few seconds that Suzanne had not spoken, I stopped what I was doing and looked at her. For the first time in the years that I have known her, she was actually waiting for my permission for her to talk to me. Strange. I would have found it funny, except the look on her face told me that whatever she was going to tell me will be something I won't like. And of all the topics in the whole world, there was only one topic Suzanne knew I would not want to talk about. So it has to be about Andy.
I silently debated with myself if I wanted to discuss Andy with Suzanne. But I knew that if I did not want to speak about him, Suzanne will still wait for the opportune time when I will listen. So I thought there was no better time to do it and I might as well listen to what Suzanne had to say.
"Okay. But let me get something to drink. By your tone, I am guessing I will not like what you are going to speak to me about." I stood up and made a production of getting a cup of coffee. But since my mother always leaves the coffee maker ready for a fresh batch of coffee, there was nothing much for me to do but turn the switch on and wait for the cup to be filled. And while the cup was being filled, there was too much time for me to wonder what Suzanne wanted to say about Andy. I hoped she was not going to ask me to tell Andy about Shereen. Because it is the one thing that she will never be able to convince me about – even if it kills our friendship.
As I sat once again, I waited for Suzanne to speak. I was determined that if she wanted to talk about Andy, then I would listen. But I would never be a willing or eager participant. So I waited.
It did not take Suzanne too much time to compose herself or get the courage to speak. But what she told me took the breath out of me. I almost spilled the coffee in my surprise.
"Andy wants to see you." And that's it. She was not going to tell me anything else – she was waiting for my answer.
"W-why? Did you tell him anything?" I knew she was not going to tell Andy about Shereen. But I still felt I had to ask.
"You know I will not tell him about Shereen. If you want him to know, you have to tell him yourself. I spoke to him yesterday. But before I could accuse him of anything, before I could tell him that I don't want to speak to the one guy who hurt my friend, he started begging me to ask you to see him. I don't know, Lori. But I think you have to see him. I cannot tell you why, but I think you have to give him a chance to explain. After speaking to him yesterday, I realized you were not the only one who got hurt. He was also hurting."
Suzanne did not speak for a long time – while I tried to think of an answer to give to her. But in the end, there was nothing to think about. If I would see Andy, there would be too many complications. And probably, there would be people who would get hurt. Because even if I see Andy, I was determined that he would never know about Shereen. And I could not look at Shereen and tell her that I saw her dad but I did not tell him about her. I know she will be hurt, devastated even. I did not want to do that to her. And of course, there was also Mildred, my long-time other friend.
"No." I looked at Suzanne and willed her to understand, without telling her my reasons. But Suzanne has been my friend for a long time. Even without me telling, she knew all the reasons I have for not seeing Andy.
"Okay. I knew you would say no. But I did not want to tell Andy until I have spoken to you." Then she hugged me to let me know she really understood.
YOU ARE READING
Borrowed Time
Short StoryA finished story in progress. Lori and Andy, the classic star-crossed college sweethearts. Their story never had closure. Fourteen years later, they meet again, not quite incidental. But theirs is a story that will not know a happy ending, nor wi...
