Ron stayed late at Monique's. They watched a movie, a Cary Grant one that she adored. She took every opportunity possible to force Ron to watch one of the classics. She would never understand how his taste could not envelope the classics. Not that she didn't enjoy a good blow-em-up flick as well. Fun times, those Saturdays of being together with nothing but junk good and every crazy action movie they could think of.
It was fun, this movie watching. They ventured out for some Beuno Nacho, and soon she had him completely enthralled in The Grass is Greener, followed by Gone with the Wind. It was wonderfully normal.
Scarlett O'Hara was whining about something for the umpteenth time when Monique commented "I feel so lazy."
"I know," replied Ron. "This is how I normally feel. It's a great feeling."
"But I'm ignoring school and don't think I don't know about the mounds of work you have to do. We should grab Kim and do something."
"Nah, I'm thinking she is spending some time with her family today."
"Of course." Monique hated the way she felt about that. She wanted girl time, suddenly. She wanted to take Kim to the mall. There were so many wonderful clothes out there. Could there be nothing shallower than taking Kim shopping? And yet shopping was such a necessity of life and who knew that better than Kim? "Am I being weird about this, Ron?"
"Weird about what?"
Oh, but he could be such a guy! But even then she could see the tell-tale twitch of his eye. "Ron, let's all just admit this is weird and wonderful and great but still weird."
He hesitated a moment. She knew him well enough to tell what he was thinking. Kim. Not that she could blame him. She could understand that perfectly. And that was just the thing she wanted to talk to him about. The great elephant in the room. And now she was going to turn into the stereotypical girl who was going to demand out of her guy some heart-to-heart and soul-to-soul interaction about something that would half-kill him to discuss. "Okay, I admit it, Monique. This is all very weird. I'll open up to you. This is bizarre. I'm not sure how comfortable am I with the situation."
Monique smiled. He said it so frankly; no sarcasm, just pure Ron let-me-this-in-the-most-basic-way-possible-because-it's-all-I-know-how-to-do. At least it was honest. What else could she get out of him? But the smile hurt even as she did it. Indeed, what else could she get out of him? "Am I being jealous?"
His face paled. "Why would you be jealous?" Pause. "Are you jealous?"
"I don't know." She of course had been ready for that question. She had no prepared answer, but she still had been ready for the question. "Should I be jealous? And that's not to accuse you of anything."
"Maybe we should return to the movie."
"Please. You should have known that me making you watch a classic chick flick would have brought out the worst in me. We're talking."
He smiled warmly and kissed her. "You're evil."
She kissed back. "I know. Get used to it."
"Okay, I'll go along. Talking. Again, are you jealous?"
"Again, I don't know. Jealousy is a strong and strange emotion, and I am a female of many strong and strange emotions. It's nearly impossible to get a straight answer from me about my feelings, I'm sorry to say. So do you think I'm being jealous?"
"Monique, as odd as this is, I don't think I'm in the position to worry if I'm making you mad. Unless I am, I mean. I'm just…" He sighed and shook his head. "We kissed. Me and Kim."
Her heart skipped a beat. A very unpleasant jump over a rather necessary beat. But she wasn't surprised. "Oh. When?"
"Before I came over. And the other day. But she kissed me."
"First?" She wasn't angry. That was the strange thing. She went over and over herself and yet she couldn't feel angry or even sad.
"Yeah. First. I'm so sorry."
"I… I guess I kind of expected you to. It's fitting, I think. Like a movie." It was. It was a perfect scenario, Ron and Kim kissing. And she just wanted to die.
"I guess that's why you asked me if you were being jealous. And there you go, something to be jealous about. But I love you."
"I love you, too."
"I shouldn't have kissed her."
"What would you have done instead?"
"Monique, I didn't sleep with her!"
She sat back from Ron, tears stinging her eyes. Why wasn't she mad? Why couldn't she at least be mad at him? The tears weren't even sad tears! She didn't know what they were.
"Monique." He squeezed her hand, the hand with her gorgeous engagement ring. She loved that ring so much. "Monique, listen to me. We kissed, and then I came right back here. Right back to you. I love you and I'm going to marry you."
"I know." She pulled her hand away and stood up. "I think you should go."
"But…"
"We're not married yet. I can kick you out of here anytime I want."
"Monique."
"Please go."
He left.
She cried.
He didn't leave. Of course he was not going to leave! This was his fiancée's place and he had every right to be here. She was his fiancée! The thought of throwing rocks at her window, always childish and sweet, crossed his mind, but when Monique was in one of her moods…
She had started it, he told himself as he stomped around the lawn. All that talk of… talking and feelings and jealousy. She was jealous. And he didn't blame her. He was the cad walking around behind her back making out with old girlfriends. He was the scum of the earth and he deserved to be kicked out. Hell, he should probably leave. That would be the right thing to do.
But Monique was his fiancée. He had never loved anyone like he loved her. He remembered the night he had first realized that. A date. A museum. Monique loved museums, go figure. And this one wasn't even being robbed. They had started making fun of some Pollock exhibit that was on loan. After the museum, they had run to the store and bought a bunch of markets and some poster board and cheap craft paint and… well, had made a huge mess that would make any decent art major faint.
And, well, he knew.
He kicked a lump of grass he couldn't even see in the darkness. Why did Kim have to not be dead?
