Delicate
Leah thought. Her eyes turned to the street, standing in front of the window, in a hot early of August. Her body covered by an old shirt. Her bed taken. Another body, so different from hers: big, chubby, white. In a prone position, her face was turned to the opposite wall of her bedroom. Red hair and freckles. The opposite of the reverse.
He used to tell jokes. She used not to have any sense of humor. He was the very definition of superlative, and she was so thrifty. He used to speak with everyone and to keep every sentence. She used to swallow the words and to close her ears. He used to smile very much. She used to be very serious. One day, at the end of the business hours, he said "good night" to her, as usual. She murmured "thanks", as always. She heard the door opening, closing and opening, again. Right after, there he was, standing in front of her counter. He leaned his elbow and said: "Do you have teeth?" She smiled. Innapropriate question that he has asked with the most serious expression that she has ever seen on him. He smiled in return. "Yeah, you do have".
Thereafter, the "good mornings" began to be accompanied by "how are you?", followed by small smiles from her, and big ones from him. Then, it was added stops on the reception counter, to arrange the briefcase or to make some notes about something, with comments about the time, the traffic, the motion of people in the building. Right after, quick chitchats after lunch hour became regular. He used to offer the ice cream he was eating, he used to play about how boring should be working as a receptionist, and he used to go up in a hurry to his floor, because he was late after being leaned on the counter, telling funny stories about his accountant job.
The chitchats became long conversations. The chunk of ice crem shifted into a full ice cream and her favorite flavour. The smiles became laughs. And "Mr. Elliot" was turned into "you", then "Timothy", and finally"Tim".
On the company's Christmas Party, Leah forgot about the agony she felt during the whole day due to the fact she had to return home in the following week, entertained by jokes and nonsense talks. She forgot to say "no" when he offered a ride after an exceptional long night of work. She forgot to refuse when he invited her to visit the place he used to buy the ice cream at lunch time. She forgot to take her hands off of his. She forgot to refuse his attempt to kiss her.
When Leah forgot, she remembered. She remembered to try to be nice with others. She remembered not to judge people's feelings. She remembered to pray for her father. She remembered to count to ten. She remembered that the world owes her nothing. She remembered to call to her mother at least once a week. She remembered to give a good morning and a good night kiss. She remembered about the freckles on his face. She remembered how to feel lighter.
In front of the window, Leah thought: "Dammit, it happened again". It would hurt. But will end in a different way.