not requested
Lance McCullers Jr. had fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a starting pitcher for Houston's beloved baseball team, the Houston Astros.
even though he was a Florida native, Lance considered Houston his home primarily due to the friendships and relationships he made throughout his young career.
Deisay was a childhood friend of Lance. they met in elementary school and continued their friendship over their course of growing up.
their friendship had been altered though. Deisay had moved early on to Houston with her mother when she was fifteen years old.
at the time, her and Lance knew they were more than friends. they were in an actual relationship.
they never asked one another if they could become a boyfriend or a girlfriend. they just knew they belonged to each other and referred themselves as a couple.
Lance struggled during his long-distance relationship with Deisay, but they tried to make it work.
"get a job, save up some money, and then take a trip to see her in Houston," Lance's dad would always tell him.
"you need to think of your future, Lance," his mom would say. "focus on baseball first, and then worry about finding her later,"
sure enough, Lance got a job and began stacking his money up to buy his plane ticket to Houston, Texas. he knew it would interfere with his tight baseball schedule, but it didn't matter to him.
"I'm not letting you go by yourself to Florida alone," Deisay's mom would always scold at her whenever she brought up the subject.
during her teen years, Deisay was already working strenuous hours and saving up just as much money to use her vacation time in Florida.
she needed to be with Lance. his letters and video-calling was never good enough for her.
"you can come with me!" Deisay would practically shout at her mother. "it isn't fair that you made me leave Lance and give up my life so I can move here,"
"when you're up and working at a real job, you can do whatever you want. until then, you follow my rules," her mother would smartly reply.
Lance and Deisay never missed a video call with each other. no matter the time, the occasion, their calls were always a priority.
they would even send photos of themselves as they grew older. high school pictures, sports pictures, or pictures in general. each of them saved the photos in a shoebox kept it in secret spaces.
and no matter how often their friends would try to hook them up with someone else, Lance and Deisay knew better to make the move.
they always thought of each other. and they thought they would know each other forever.
-
"caramel macchiato, please. with a blueberry bagel," a now twenty-four year old Lance said to a Starbucks barista.
Lance was in Houston's city district, stopping for his favorite coffee breaks before heading over to Minute Maid Park.
he was living the dream as he would call it. he was doing what he loved, what he worked hard for, and was showing it off every time he stepped onto the pitching mound.
but he was doing it alone.
he had forgotten about Deisay overtime. once he learned he was drafted out of high school and knew he would immediately be sent to the minor leagues, he didn't have time to do or remember anything.
the letters from Deisay had stopped to and fro, and he was now a Houston resident failing to remember that she was living in the same city as well.
"Deisay," a timid Lance approached a table where his former lover was sat with her own coffee and a MacBook.
Deisay looked up from her work to see the man she had completely let slip from her mind.
she had forgotten about Lance around the same time he had forgotten about her.
"Lance," she whispered, taking in his physical appearance that he grew to fit well in.
the both of them stared at each other, looking at each other the way they needed to be looked at.
the whole world around them could crumble, and they wouldn't blink.
"I never thought I'd see you again," Deisay whispered again.
Lance didn't say anything. he couldn't. he was looking at the girl he thought he would've spent his life with.
the girl he forgot to send letters to. the girl he forgot to call.
Deisay, the girl he forgot about.
"sit down," Deisay moved her computer closer to her to give Lance a place to sit and put his drink on.
when he didn't take her offer and continued to stand and stare, she sat up from her chair and took the coffee and bagel from his hands and placed it on the table.
at the same time, the both of them wrapped their arms around each other, trying to feel the spark they felt nine years ago when it was their last hug they shared.
"I can't believe you're here," Lance finally said.
"I live here. where would you want me to be?" Deisay was finally able to sit him down.
Lance shook his head. "I know that you moved here but I..." he didn't have the heart to tell her that he forgot of her entire existence.
then he remembered that he still had every picture and every letter still saved from her. he just needed to be reminded of it.
"you don't have to explain yourself," said Deisay.
Deisay too, forgot about the man she loved so much when she was a teenager. she didn't realize that his letters stopped coming, nor did she think about him.
she went and opened a shelter for lost animals after she graduated from college.
she was doing everything on her own, but felt as if a piece of her life was missing.
she couldn't think of what it was, until she heard Lance say her name.
"how have you been? what have you been up to after all these years?" Lance was finally able to speak.
"I'm doing good. I have my own organization now so I'm pretty busy,"
"what kind of organization?"
"for sheltered animals. cats and dogs mostly," Deisay answered. "you love dogs, remember?"
Lance grinned a bit. "still do. I'm happy for you. you're doing a good thing,"
Deisay awkwardly looked a way for a bit, taking shy sips of her coffee while thinking of something to say.
"so...you did it, huh?" she said. "you're a professional now,"
Lance sipped his own coffee and nodded. "how do you know,"
"you're Lance McCullers Jr. number forty-three on the Astros. a starting pitcher. I know who you are now," Deisay felt somewhat offended.
"you know who I am now, but you also knew who I was," Lance felt a small amount of anger surface across his body.
"I know you forgot that I lived here, but I do know this city. your face is all over the posters around here. I knew you'd be the man you always knew you could be,"
each of them took another sip of their coffee, both of them feeling a small tension and mad about the situation as a whole.
after a while, Lance asked Deisay why they decided to end things without ever really ending them.
"it just happened, Lance," she said. "you were still living in Florida, focusing on making it to the big leagues. I was here, working and going to school. after a while, it was easier to just let go,"
Lance frowned. "you forgot about me,"
Deisay narrowed her eyes. "you forgot about me, too,"
"if you knew I was here, why did you never come look for me?" he asked. "how can you say it was easy to just let go?"
"like I said. we were both doing different things. but it wasn't my job to go and find you," she said. "we stopped talking to each other five years ago. we forgot about each other. why did I have to look for you?"
Lance shuddered at her words. "I just thought that maybe things could've been better," he said. "do you still love me?"
"I haven't thought about it in a long time, Lance. if I had to think about it, I'd say yes,"
"but you knew I was living here for a while and never wanted to try and find me," Lance leaned himself closer into her. "I understand that we were just kids and were both busy but you still could've found a way to reach out to me,"
Deisay groaned. "Lance, just forget about it. you're wasting your time talking about it,"
"you can't act like we weren't fifteen year old teenagers who weren't madly in love and forced to separate,"
"who are you trying to convince, Lance?" she sighed. "we don't speak for five years and then you wanna come talk to me and stir up my shit because you suddenly remember everything,"
Deisay stood up abruptly and closed her computer, sliding it in her purse and grabbing her coffee.
"you thought that things could've been better huh, Lance?" she asked. "well nothing is at all better. nothing ever gets better,"
for the second time, Lance watched Deisay walk away from him angered. but this time, it was because of him.
he jumped up from his chair and chased her out of the coffee shop, knowing he couldn't let her get away from him again.
"hold on, Deisay," he ran in front of her. "I'm not gonna let you leave like this again. not without telling you how I always felt about you,"
"Lance, if you loved me like you said you did, why did you never come here to visit me? why didn't you remember me at least a little when you moved here?"
"I don't know why," he said. "I just don't know how I forgot about you,"
Lance pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, the same way he had the last time he saw her in Florida.
"if I had to think of it, I'd say that I always loved you, Deisay,"
"it'll hurt too much to not hear you say that anymore," Deisay murmured.
"because, we're letting this go," Lance said.
Deisay nodded. "it's gonna hurt to finally let go. but sometimes it hurts more to hold on,"
"could we still be friends, at least?"
"you were a part of every moment I enjoyed," was all she said.
the both of them took another look at each other, wishing to go back in time and fix everything that could make this moment before them mean something.
they both wanted to say more about the situation but they knew no matter what was said, things would never go back to how they were.
they knew that all good things had to come to an end. and this was their ending.