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One Word, Four Hands

 

 

 

For a single suspended moment, she is his. He’s pushed his way, not stumbled, into this parallel universe. Gone all in. Space swirls and expands, stars realign, there’s order where there was none. He breathes thin air. Maybe he doesn’t breathe at all.

 

Once was not enough. There is no enough here. He leans in again.

 

‘Jim,’ she warns.

 

His new orbit grinds to a halt. Feet back on terra firma, he’s at her mercy. The eerie blue light is just the glow of a computer screen. The Queen of Hearts, a face on a plastic-coated card.

 

‘Are you really going to marry him?’ he asks.

 

He knows, dreads, the answer already. The she that was his, for just a second, is still in his arms. But she’s a ghost now.

 

She just nods.

 

Okay,’ he says.

 

One word. Hands slip apart.  He’s gone.

 

 ******************* 

It’s like it ever was. Except for the thousand ways it’s different.

 

Even she’s changed a little, but not in the one way that matters. She’s his friend. They’ll always be friends. His sentence stands. She’s still the judge and jury, Queen of the Universe, Queen of Hearts.  Yet, sometimes even now, he thinks he sees beyond her game face. He’s learned the hard way not to second-guess her.

 

Besides, he’s not alone anymore. Or so he tells her. He tells himself. Karen requires no second-guessing. Late at night in the dark, her hands, her mouth, her willingness defy misinterpretation. But, the relief is fleeting. There are no distant constellations involved.

 

In the jaundiced fluorescent light, wearing her no-nonsense jackets, Karen’s message is clear as well. Her smile is still sweet, just for him. He tries to get lost in it. Problem is, his compass is unerring and only points in one direction.

 

 ********************** 

Ironically, the catalyst is annoyance at this new buffoon (who makes the old one seem a prince.) At all of it: fancy new titles and big-boy suits and entanglements like neckties pulled too tight. The urge to loosen the knot and undo the top button shouldn’t be so strong. But it is. 

Almost on impulse, he does the very thing he’s tried so hard. Not to do. It’s not been his greatest success.

 

‘Would you like to pull a prank on Andy?’

 

‘…yes, please,’ her voice is music.

 

They work together like they’ve never missed a beat. It’s seamless, it’s perfectly played. It’s just them.

 

Afterwards, they laugh together at the hole in the wall Andy’s, they’ve, made. For just a few minutes, everything else is incidental. Aces wild. He knows Karen is probably watching. Her antennae are keen now. She’d notice even if they weren’t standing a little too close, wearing giant sombreros. He knows he should care more.

 

Karen finds him sitting alone. He’s wondering if maybe it’s not so funny. If maybe all they’ve done is make another black hole in space. If he even has any choice but to allow himself to be sucked through it again. Defenseless.

 

‘Do you still have feelings for her?’ Karen asks, clearly anticipating what his response will be.

 

It’s his turn to simply nod. He pauses, but can find only a single word.

 

‘Yes.’ 

Because there’s only one thought in his head: of that elated moment, as she passes Andy’s cell phone to him behind his back. And for just an instant, he doesn't feel tethered to the earth.

Hands touch. He’s never really left at all.

 

 

 

 



Colette is the author of 37 other stories.
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