The drive to Alex's apartment wasn't all that far but it made my drive to
Faith's longer. Just long enough to give me time to think.time to clear my
head and figure out what I was going to tell Faith.
I knocked on her door, hoping that she'd answer and not that sorry excuse of a husband. I got my wish when the door opened and there stood Faith, looking a hell of a lot better than I felt.
"Can we talk?" I asked, getting straight to the point.
"Sure, but maybe we should go somewhere else." she replied, causing me to be concerned for her.
"Why? Did something happened between you and Fred?"
"No, Fred's not even here. He took the kids to his parents for Christmas Eve. I was supposed to go too but I wasn't exactly in a mood for a celebration. Spending time with his family is bad enough when I don't have a hangover."
We left her apartment. I told her all about Alex coming by my place, the concoction she'd made and her three-step plan for recovering for hangover. She was semi-familiar with the plan. Turns out Kim had dropped by Faith's. They'd had a long talk about things meaning Faith knew all about what'd happened.
"I'm sorry," I replied, surprising myself as well as Faith. I'd inherited my father's inability to say those words although sometimes it was easier, depended on who I was saying them to.
"Bos, look, neither one of us was too coherent last night," she offered, giving me a way out just like she'd done so many times before.
"No Faith, it doesn't matter that we were drunk."
"Bos?"
"Alcohol is no excuse. I hate how Fred treats you when he's drunk."
"Bos?"
"I should have been in control and not treated you the way I did."
"Bosco?"
"How many times have I complained about how Fred gets drunk and then."
"BOSCO!"
"What?" I yelled back.
"Stop."
"What?"
"Stop the car."
I watched as she opened the car door, getting out. I saw her walking in my rear view mirror. It's not like we were in a bad area or that it was cold. It was snowing but it wasn't cold. You know how it seems to feel warmer when it snows. Anyway, the next thing I knew she was opening my car door.
"Get out?"
"What?" I asked, completely dumbfounded. I'd known Faith a long time and we'd been through a lot but right now, she was a complete stranger.
"Get out of the car Bosco." she repeated "Come on."
I got out of my car, following Faith as she walked. She was in some kind of a hurry but I caught up to her in no time. We crossed a street, making our way to a park. She sat down on a bench. I took a seat beside her. It was quiet for a minute or two. Eventually, Faith's voice broke the silence.
"Thank you," she said. If you think I was dumbfounded when she told me to stop the car and to get out, you can just imagine how I felt hearing her say those two words.
"What?"
"I said thank you," she repeated. I'd heard her right but why was she thanking me.
"You've lost me Faith," I said, shaking my head. "What on earth would you have to thank me for?"
"For the song you sang to me last night," she explained looking me in the eye as she continued.
"You couldn't have chosen a better song to sing."
I tried to think.remembering the song Alex had told me that I'd sung to Faith. As I sat there, the words echoed in my mind. You know how it is when someone sings something and it gets stuck in your mind? That's how it was with that song.
You never close your eyes any more When I kiss your lips And there's no tenderness like before In your fingertips You're trying hard not to show it baby But baby, baby I know it
You've lost that loving feeling Oh, that loving feeling You've lost that loving feeling Now it's gone, gone, gone Whoa-oh
Now there's no tenderness In your eyes when I reach for you And girl you're starting to criticize little things I do It makes me just feel like crying baby
"I don't understand," I said, trying to read her face. The look in her eyes was sad and I hated seeing her hurt.
"Bosco, that song.those words.. that's my life.that's me and Fred."
"Faith?" I said her name cause I didn't know what else to say at that moment. What are you supposed to say when you're sitting in a park with your best friend and she tells you that she doesn't love her husband anymore?"
"I sat there last night listening to you sing that song...hell I didn't even know you could sing.all I could see was me and Fred. We don't touch, we don't make love, we hardly even have sex.we don't talk to each other unless it involves the kids...damn Bos, he doesn't even argue with me anymore about quitting my job."
"I'm sorry Faith," I said.
"This morning when I came home.or rather I stumbled home drunk.he didn't say a word. Then this morning he got the kids up, got them ready and left a note on the counter saying they'd be spending Christmas Eve with his parents."
"I didn't realize it was so bad with you guys."
The tension at that moment was pretty thick. Faith was confessing things to me that I had no idea how to deal with. I hadn't dealt with my own parents splitting up and I was not equipped to deal with Faith and Fred's collapsing marriage. I've never been a big fan of winter or snow for that matter, but at that moment, my feelings about snow might have changed forever. The snow on a tree behind us must have gotten too heavy for the branch. As I sat there staring at Faith trying to think of something to say, a blob of snow deposited itself on Faith's head. It startled both of us for a second. Looking at her covered in snow and I couldn't help it, I had to laugh. It was like seeing someone slipping on ice, arms flailing and all. It's not really funny that it's happening but you cant help but laugh. Well, Faith didn't find it all that funny at first, but she had to laugh too. I was just grateful that the tension between us was broken.
"You think that's funny do you?" she said, sliding her hands across the bench, packing the snow together and tossing it at me.
I grabbed her arm, dragging her behind me. What we needed at that moment was to just forget everything that was happening in our lives and have a little fun. For the next half hour or so, we acted like a couple of kids. I pushed her on the swing for awhile, went down the slide a couple times, even impressed her with my ability to cross the monkey bars without breaking my neck. Our last attempt at the slide left something to be desired. I was all prepared to go down alone when she wrapped her arms around my waist. We slid down together, falling in a heap at the bottom. She had the advantage over me as I fell on my back. She used that advantage to cover me in snow.
We should have been cold by this time, but inside I was warmer than I remember being in a long time. Being with Faith had that impact on me. I loved watching her hair blow when she was on the swing. I loved hearing her laugh especially after everything she was going through. Hell, I wouldn't admit it but I loved everything about this woman.
I could have stopped her sooner but she seemed to enjoy burying me in snow and that was alright by me. Eventually I grabbed one arm, then the other, causing her to fall on top of me. Looking into her eyes, I saw something that I hadn't seen in a long time.a glimmer of light.
She looked in my eyes as I lost myself in hers. More than anything I wanted to feel her lips on mine.I needed to be loved by this woman.my best friend.hell, Faith is my life and I wanted to share everything I had with her. At that moment, I would have settled for a kiss. Faith had never disappointed me before and she didn't then either.
I knocked on her door, hoping that she'd answer and not that sorry excuse of a husband. I got my wish when the door opened and there stood Faith, looking a hell of a lot better than I felt.
"Can we talk?" I asked, getting straight to the point.
"Sure, but maybe we should go somewhere else." she replied, causing me to be concerned for her.
"Why? Did something happened between you and Fred?"
"No, Fred's not even here. He took the kids to his parents for Christmas Eve. I was supposed to go too but I wasn't exactly in a mood for a celebration. Spending time with his family is bad enough when I don't have a hangover."
We left her apartment. I told her all about Alex coming by my place, the concoction she'd made and her three-step plan for recovering for hangover. She was semi-familiar with the plan. Turns out Kim had dropped by Faith's. They'd had a long talk about things meaning Faith knew all about what'd happened.
"I'm sorry," I replied, surprising myself as well as Faith. I'd inherited my father's inability to say those words although sometimes it was easier, depended on who I was saying them to.
"Bos, look, neither one of us was too coherent last night," she offered, giving me a way out just like she'd done so many times before.
"No Faith, it doesn't matter that we were drunk."
"Bos?"
"Alcohol is no excuse. I hate how Fred treats you when he's drunk."
"Bos?"
"I should have been in control and not treated you the way I did."
"Bosco?"
"How many times have I complained about how Fred gets drunk and then."
"BOSCO!"
"What?" I yelled back.
"Stop."
"What?"
"Stop the car."
I watched as she opened the car door, getting out. I saw her walking in my rear view mirror. It's not like we were in a bad area or that it was cold. It was snowing but it wasn't cold. You know how it seems to feel warmer when it snows. Anyway, the next thing I knew she was opening my car door.
"Get out?"
"What?" I asked, completely dumbfounded. I'd known Faith a long time and we'd been through a lot but right now, she was a complete stranger.
"Get out of the car Bosco." she repeated "Come on."
I got out of my car, following Faith as she walked. She was in some kind of a hurry but I caught up to her in no time. We crossed a street, making our way to a park. She sat down on a bench. I took a seat beside her. It was quiet for a minute or two. Eventually, Faith's voice broke the silence.
"Thank you," she said. If you think I was dumbfounded when she told me to stop the car and to get out, you can just imagine how I felt hearing her say those two words.
"What?"
"I said thank you," she repeated. I'd heard her right but why was she thanking me.
"You've lost me Faith," I said, shaking my head. "What on earth would you have to thank me for?"
"For the song you sang to me last night," she explained looking me in the eye as she continued.
"You couldn't have chosen a better song to sing."
I tried to think.remembering the song Alex had told me that I'd sung to Faith. As I sat there, the words echoed in my mind. You know how it is when someone sings something and it gets stuck in your mind? That's how it was with that song.
You never close your eyes any more When I kiss your lips And there's no tenderness like before In your fingertips You're trying hard not to show it baby But baby, baby I know it
You've lost that loving feeling Oh, that loving feeling You've lost that loving feeling Now it's gone, gone, gone Whoa-oh
Now there's no tenderness In your eyes when I reach for you And girl you're starting to criticize little things I do It makes me just feel like crying baby
"I don't understand," I said, trying to read her face. The look in her eyes was sad and I hated seeing her hurt.
"Bosco, that song.those words.. that's my life.that's me and Fred."
"Faith?" I said her name cause I didn't know what else to say at that moment. What are you supposed to say when you're sitting in a park with your best friend and she tells you that she doesn't love her husband anymore?"
"I sat there last night listening to you sing that song...hell I didn't even know you could sing.all I could see was me and Fred. We don't touch, we don't make love, we hardly even have sex.we don't talk to each other unless it involves the kids...damn Bos, he doesn't even argue with me anymore about quitting my job."
"I'm sorry Faith," I said.
"This morning when I came home.or rather I stumbled home drunk.he didn't say a word. Then this morning he got the kids up, got them ready and left a note on the counter saying they'd be spending Christmas Eve with his parents."
"I didn't realize it was so bad with you guys."
The tension at that moment was pretty thick. Faith was confessing things to me that I had no idea how to deal with. I hadn't dealt with my own parents splitting up and I was not equipped to deal with Faith and Fred's collapsing marriage. I've never been a big fan of winter or snow for that matter, but at that moment, my feelings about snow might have changed forever. The snow on a tree behind us must have gotten too heavy for the branch. As I sat there staring at Faith trying to think of something to say, a blob of snow deposited itself on Faith's head. It startled both of us for a second. Looking at her covered in snow and I couldn't help it, I had to laugh. It was like seeing someone slipping on ice, arms flailing and all. It's not really funny that it's happening but you cant help but laugh. Well, Faith didn't find it all that funny at first, but she had to laugh too. I was just grateful that the tension between us was broken.
"You think that's funny do you?" she said, sliding her hands across the bench, packing the snow together and tossing it at me.
I grabbed her arm, dragging her behind me. What we needed at that moment was to just forget everything that was happening in our lives and have a little fun. For the next half hour or so, we acted like a couple of kids. I pushed her on the swing for awhile, went down the slide a couple times, even impressed her with my ability to cross the monkey bars without breaking my neck. Our last attempt at the slide left something to be desired. I was all prepared to go down alone when she wrapped her arms around my waist. We slid down together, falling in a heap at the bottom. She had the advantage over me as I fell on my back. She used that advantage to cover me in snow.
We should have been cold by this time, but inside I was warmer than I remember being in a long time. Being with Faith had that impact on me. I loved watching her hair blow when she was on the swing. I loved hearing her laugh especially after everything she was going through. Hell, I wouldn't admit it but I loved everything about this woman.
I could have stopped her sooner but she seemed to enjoy burying me in snow and that was alright by me. Eventually I grabbed one arm, then the other, causing her to fall on top of me. Looking into her eyes, I saw something that I hadn't seen in a long time.a glimmer of light.
She looked in my eyes as I lost myself in hers. More than anything I wanted to feel her lips on mine.I needed to be loved by this woman.my best friend.hell, Faith is my life and I wanted to share everything I had with her. At that moment, I would have settled for a kiss. Faith had never disappointed me before and she didn't then either.