The Road Less Taken
Episode 2: So close to an epiphany
"Yes, I know..." Courtney rubs her head. It is 7:15 AM, and already she is beeing hassled by calls from her office. "Yes...the Biederman case...no, no, that's not good..."
Alejandro sighs while watching this scene. Everyday, Courtney would get a call from the office while they were together. Alejandro ate his toast in silence, watching Courtney pace back and forth.
"Right now? But..." Courtney grits her teeth, her fist tightening. "But I'm with...I'm...fine...I'm on my way..."
Courtney slowly closes her cellphone. She grabs her coat. "Alejandro? I'm sorry...the office..."
"It's fine. Have a good day." Alejandro waves her goodbye. As soon as she's gone, he sighs. "Every fucking day..."
Courtney hurries to her car. It is snowing once more. She opens her car and sits down on the driver's seat. She stares at the ignition. She takes out her keys. She starts the car, turns the radio up as loud as she can and screams her lungs out. "GOD DAMN IT!"
Alejandro sighs, digs into his pockets, then takes out his phone. He glances at Heather's number. He stares at her number a while. "You're the one who understands me, Heather..."
It is now 8:19 AM, and Heather is eating her breakfast. She sighs, butterflies in her stomach as she thinks about yesterday's kiss...
The time is 9:11 AM, and Justin is now waking up. He yawns, he stretches and then gets up. He rubs his eyes as he makes his way towards the shower. He takes off his clothing and steps into the shower.
"Courtney..." Justin sighs to himself. "I keep trying to tell myself you're right. I told myself that all night long. I even started believing it after a while."
Justin turns the shower on. "Plenty of fish in the sea... But are they like you?"
"Who is like you, Courtney? Who has your smile? Who has your laugh?" Justin's tears fall down his face alongside the warm water. "Who else makes a guy feel like he can take on the world? Who else can make me feel like I'm actually worth something? Who else in the world can make me smile like you did...?"
Justin closed his eyes, thinking about that fateful day...
"Justin..." Courtney sighs. "I think...it's not working out for me..."
"But..." Justin's jaw drops.
"Look...I just...I've been struggling with my own feelings for a while.." Courtney rubs her eyes. Tears are forming in them. "I...I only see you as a friend these days..."
"I know it's been three years..." Justin turns off the shower. "But it still feels like only yesterday, you and I were together..."
"You were the most important person in my life, Courtney. When you said what you said, I was devastated." Justin finishes brushing his teeth. "I never stopped loving you..."
"But you're right...You're happy now." Justin puts his clothes on. "You don't need me in your life anymore...I'm sorry to have to admit that to myself. But, you are happy now. I am happy for you, Courtney. I hate that I'm not the one making you happy, but what matters to me most is you..."
Justin steps outside, the cold winter air blowing on his face. "I will move on...It will be hard...But I don't have much choice..."
Meanwhile...
"I know what I'm doing is wrong..." Heather sighs. She has taken the day off today, in hopes of clearing her mind. "I know I've messed up before..."
"He's married. I have no right to him, no right to anything with him save for a friendship." Heather is cleaning her dishes. "I know that I should not call him. I know he's at work. I know that, as soon as he gets off from work, he will go back to his wife."
"I know that what I want is a bad thing. I know I'm just being stupid. Meeting up for coffee...what a joke. He'll cancel in two hours, just you watch." Heather dries her hands using a towel. "What a funny joke...What the hell makes me think that he'll call me at all? What the hell makes me think that he wants to meet up with me? And even if he did, he'd most likely just want to complain about his home life some more."
"So..." Heather bites her lip as she stares at Alejandro's phone number. "Why am I so nervous about this? Why do I want him to call me, if I know it won't be right if he did?"
The phoen rings. Heather gasps, it's him. She hesitates for a while, but she takes the call. "Hello?"
"Heather?" Alejandro's voice sounds somewhat relieved. "Hey...look, about our, uh...meeting..."
Heather gulps. Here it comes. "Yeah?"
Alejandro hesitates a bit. "We still on?"
She should tell him no! She should tell him to never call her again! She should tell him to get bent! She should tell him she has too much self respect to even consider meeting with someone she loves yet knows she can't have! She should tell him she doesn't date married men!
But she doesn't.
"Sure, Alejandro." Heather breathes in deep. "Five, right?"
"Yeah...see you then..." Alejandro hangs up the phone.
"What...am I doing?" Heather starts breathing heavily. "This...I..."
"I like Alejandro. I like him a lot. I can't get him off my mind..." Heather sits down on her couch. "Is this ok? Is this ok for me to do?"
"Alejandro...why the hell did I kiss him for?" Heather stares at her phone. "I need to...should I cancel?"
Heather gets up from her couch. It is now 3 PM.
"I think...so long as I don't kiss him again...I won't be doing anything wrong..." Heather nervously starts applying her lipstick. "I'm not doing anything bad here...we're both adults, we know what we're doing...I like him, maybe he likes me...his wife doesn't pay attention to him anymore...maybe he'll leave her..."
Heather looks at herself in the mirror. She starts breathing heavily again. She closes her eyes. The phone rings.
"Hello?"
"Hey...Heather?" Justin's voice sounds nervous. "Hey...I uh...I was thinking, maybe...you'd like to..."
"Hey, Justin? Could I call you later?" Heather sighs. "I'm afraid now isn't a good time..."
"Oh...that's ok. Sorry." Justin hangs up the phone.
Justin sighs. "I should have known...There's no way I'll ever find a girl like Courtney ever again...plenty of fish in the sea, but none like her..."