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Blissful LivingBy NOPYou all know it, you all love it. Two boys growing up in a different way. *DISCLAIMER* Chapter 9 Adjusting, to silence, to the chill, to the empty feeling, to no where to turn, to two coats instead of three. Adjusting to weekly phone calls instead of night long talks. Culture shock on a local basis. The reasuring stares from my friends, Darlene and Tim trying to include me. I took up running, with the school no less, just to kill the time that I have suddenly, painfully aquired. I'm not very good, needless to say, it's probably my lack of enthusiasm or purpose that has driven me to subpar preformances. "Hi." I felt my chest expand with a new, enormous breath of air at the sight of the memorized id on the call box. "Hey." "Well? How are you?" "Ummm...breathing." he sighed. "Did your credits transfer okay?" "A few did." "Can you get out early and come to school here?" "Maybe." "Are you... being treated well?" "My Aunt and Uncle give me alot of leeway, they leave me alone most of the time." "What about the kids." silence, "Robbie?" I could hear him regulating his breath, licking his lips, thinking of a responce, "Is it worse?" "I'm not dead yet." He mumbled. "How bad is it?" "Not that bad, it's just... harder when I really don't have any friends." "Have you tried?" "I've got some girls, but I think they like me." "Stepping up in the world?" "It's degrading." "What, having a flock of girls around you?" "Yeah... the looks... I feel so...watched." "Who could keep their eyes off of you." "Flattery." "Why else would I keep a photograph in my wallet?" "Really?" "No... I don't have a wallet." he laughed, "But if I did." "I have to go." "Okay. I love you." "I love you too... bye." Adjusting, to the sudden high, to smiling, to feelign guilty about smiling about hearing him, even though his words were less than encouraging. Laying in the hallway, at the foot of the telephone table, staring at the ceiling and imagining his touch. Aching, smiling no more, at the idea that months would separate the tickle of his finger tips, as they entwine themselves with mine, from my senses. The dred over taking my abilities to imagine any happiness in his Texas life. I was over joyed at the sudden ringing of the phone, hoping it would be Robbie, forgetful of some detail that he wanted me to know. But it wasn't, it was a distraction, it was my mom. "Hi... honey. Are you okay?" "Yeah, it's just been so long since you've called." "I'm sorry, did you get my emails?" "Yeah... I did." I sighed, "So...how's Europe?" "It's fantastic. How is everything over there?" "Um... rough." "Do you want to talk about it?" "It would cost too much with international charges." I sighed. "That bad?" "Yeah... when are you coming home?" "That's kind of what I was calling about. I met this man." "Jesus mom." "No... John." "And?" "I'm moving in with him." "Where?" "Italy." "Mom?" "I know, it's not something I would generally do, but what I was doing wasn't working either, aparently." "Mom.... why Italy?" "That's where he lives." Adjusting, to the unanswered call to mom, to the sudden want to be close to her, and take naps with her like I did when I was six, to fall and scrape my knee for her endearing attention, to the thought that a year in Europe is now a life time. To being abandoned by two people, separated by miles, kilometers. Darlene was sitting by me, I couldn't even think of what day it was. She laid her head on my shoulder, and wrapped her arm through mine. I laid my head back against the wall and closed my eyes. It wasn't happening, I wasn't alone, I didn't just lose my best friend. It was all a bad dream. "So... he called?" every Friday, he calls and every Friday she makes the pilgrimage to my side at the foot of the table, today must be Friday. "Not yet." I sighed, trying to relax against the wall, trying to melt into a right angle and become plaster and paint. She sighed and leaned on me even more, "I saw his mom today." "Really?" "Doing community service, in an orange jumper, cleaning off the walls by the mall." she laughed a little, causeing me to smile. "Did you pelt her with a rock?" "More of a pebble, from Rabbit's car. The supervisor looked at us really, really meanly." "Makes me happy to hear that." The phone rang and I jumped up and grabbed the reciever, "Hello?" I said eagerly. "Hi?" he asked cautiously. "I was waiting for you to call." "I couldn't tell." Humor, the first from all of his calls. "Are things better?" "Well, that's what I wanted to talk about, I met this person." Heart, pain, ouwe, groan, "Um... a person?" "Not like that, you're my number one." Jubilation, "I met a girl, who's brother drives the greyhound route between here and Denver." "And?" "I can get a reduced rate, if you can meet me in Denver for a week or so." "Really?" "Yeah." "Do you have the cash?" "I have a job." "Doing what?" "Scheduling tatoo apointments and a local parlor." "A tatoo parlor?" "Yeah, I've almost got enough for a car, then I won't have to barrow from my aunt and uncle." "That's fantastic." Darlene was sitting at my feet, looking up at me eagerly and smiling wildly, "Darlene drools hello." I nudged her with my foot. "Is she there?" "Nightly." "Shut up. Now?" "Yeah." "Well, can I talk to her?" "But I want to talk to you." "Yeah, talk... sure." More humor. "Fine." I handed the phone to Darlene. "Robbie!" She squealed, "I know." She kicked my leg harshly. I sat next to her and tried to listen in. "He's been horrible." I glared at her, "Yeah... not yet." She laughed a little, "So how's school going?" She listened, her smile dropping, "Oh... I see. Well...have they figured out-....damn homophobes.... I hope things shape up. Bye." she handed me the phone, "He has to go." "Hi." "I miss you so much, just no more sulking, okay?" "I haven't been sulking." I glared at Darlene. "Hide it better, I'll see you latter, love you." "I love you too." I replaced the phone back onto the hook and sat back down next to Darlene. She was smiling, content wih hearing his voice. "I haven't been sulking." I pouted. "Have too, slinking around, moping more like, he asked if you'd been crying." "And you said?" "No." She wrapped her arm around mine, "I haven't seen you." "He might be able to get to Denver for cheep." "That's fantastic, could you meet him there?" "Maybe." I sighed, "Are you hungry?" "A little." She stood up and offered her hand to me, "Sandwich?" "Just what I was thinking." I smiled and stood up. "Hey sport." my dad greeted, from behind his magazine. "Hi." I smiled. "So how's he doing?" he asked, looking up, "Oh, hi Darlene." she waved from the fridge where seh was gathering ingredients. "Okay. He might be able to make it out to Denver for cheep, maybe I could meet him?" I aked, pulling the bread form the bag. "Maybe." He smiled, "I saw your mother on caller id, how is she?" "She's moving to Italy." I mumbled. His shoulders drooped and he folded the paper up. "All by her self?" he licked his lips nervously. "No..." I layered the meat on Darlen's bread. "Oh." "Where do you want to go?" I asked, watching him fill out his math homework. "What do you mean?" "If you could go anywhere, where would you go?" "Like vacation?" "Like anything?" I smiled. "Hmmmm....downtown hotel with you naked under the sheets." "We'll come back to that," I smiled, "Anywhere in the world, just to see the sights, not stay in a room all night." "Italy." He smiled, shook his head a little and returned to his math. "Why?" "There's no where more historical in Europe than Italy, and it's not really safe to travel anywhere else." He looked at me, "Maybe I'll live there some day." "That sounds really nice." "Yeah, good climate." "So....about that hotel thing." "I was joking." "Oh I know......but which hotel?" I watched him blush a little. "Ahh....the one on the corner with the gothic facade." "Good choice." I smiled and raised my eyebrows in aproval, reluctantly allowing him to concentrate on his schoolwork instead of me. I was sitting on the couch, watching a movie, trying to keep busy with something that required thought. I couldn't tell the the plot now, but then it actually was a distraction. It was my habit, come home do homework, sit around online, watch tv. That was my day after the tortures of high school. Without Robbie there, the rest of us took the brunt of the names, the practical jokes, the punches. On this particular night I was sulking, not about Robbie, but about the split in my lip and the bruise on my right cheek. Back in the day I would have tried to hide from my dad, but back in the day I didn't fight back and I didn't get suspended for breaking someone's nose. I was just trying to prepare myself for when dad came home, found me, found the pink slip, found the swelling, lectured about my bringing this treatment my way because I choose to wear what I do, and to dabble in eyeliner. Although I hadn't been much in the way of looking nice lately.
He came through the door, jogging past me. Stopped jogged back, looked sideways at me, and licked his lips, "Put some ice on that." "Already did, for twenty minutes." I tried to enunciate clearly. "Kids at school?" I nodded, handing him the note closing my eyes and and looking down at the floor. I couldn't look at his face, I didn't want to see the disapointment. "You broke his nose?" He asked, I nodded, "How'd you manage that?" He was laughing, laughing at me. I shrugged, "You eat yet?" He asked. "You're not mad?" "Did you hit him first?" "No." "Then no." "But the suspention?" "We'll take a trip or something, get your mind off of everything." He sat next to me, looking at me with concern, "A guy pushed you around a little, split your lip, you snapped and broke his nose. Now you have to live with the repercussions, and put up with either more or less at school." "He didn't split my lip, his friends did." I looked at the ground, "He's a body hitter." My dad sighed, his shoulders slumped, "Lets see where he got you." He requested, swiveling to look more at me. "Probably not bruised yet." I defended myself, incase nothing was showing. Several reddish purple splotches stamped my lower torso next to other less fresh bruises. "You'll feel it in the morning." My dad shook his head, "I'll fix you some dinner." A week full of surprizes. |
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