Short Stories To Be Told

Undying Russell Brantley

"Good morning Russell I'm glad you decided to come today. It's been a couple weeks since we last met. Any particular reason as to why that is? I thought we were making progress."

"Sorry doc I just been busy ya know", I lied. Truth is it's been exactly the opposite. I've done nothing for three weeks. Nothing. I'm positive he knew that already but he'll amuse me.

"Busy? Mmhm doing what? Are you sure it had nothing to do with Bre's death anniversary? I'm aware that three weeks ago today marked one year since her passing." Dr. Toliver is a really likable guy but sometimes he can pry and I don't like that too much.

"Passing?? We can cut the crap doc, she didn't 'pass away'... She was killed by a fucking drunk driving piece of shit guy who couldn't determine that he'd had too much to drink before getting behind the wheel of his shitty pickup truck." I didn't mean to take my frustration and anger out on him but he pushed me to it, not that I really needed much pushing these days. I was hot headed even as a child so adding tragedy on top of the shit cream sundae didn't help any.

"You're right Russell. Let's go in a different direction today. Tell me about how you met your wife? In college right?" The one thing I hate about these therapists is their obsession with repetition. I'm positive we've discussed my life inside and out at least three times.

"Sure doc we can discuss that again."

Breanne Kirksey, easily the most beautiful being I've ever laid eyes on. From her wavy brown hair to the dimples that accented her face to her hazelnut skin she was perfect in every way possible. I absolutely adored her from the first moment we met. Although her death and the day we met were almost a decade apart somehow they both feel like yesterday. The day we met was absolute magic, I remember every detail in that instant; from the partly cloudy weather to the smell of salt water in the Air. It was the first week of my sophomore year at Hampton University and I was a little pressed to finish up a summer assignment for my African American studies class. I was leaving the gym on my way to the library when an angelic voice called out to me. Behind me stood five feet, six inches of brown beauty in an official HU hoodie and sweatpants... clearly a freshman.

"What's up? Are you trying to get somewhere?" I asked her. It was just my luck that she was trying to find the library. "I'm on my way there now actually. It's not too far from here." We walked silently for the next two blocks before reaching the building. The Harvey Library had the usual smell of papers and breakfast food.

"Before you go, can you point me in the direction of the science stuff?" I did as she asked and then she disappeared behind a shelf of textbooks.

It wasn't too long before we'd run into each other again, except this time it would be a little more literal. There was a cool smoothie shop on campus near my political science lecture and I'd normally stop there for a strawberry banana or island breeze smoothie. I had just paid for my smoothie and was heading out the door when a body came flying from around the corner. My future wife knocked my drink all over my shirt. It was white of course. "I'm so sorry!" she pleaded. "Let me buy you another smoothie please, it's the least I can do." Initially I was a little upset but I couldn't stay that way too long after she flashed those godly dimples.

"It's all cool, I hated this shirt anyway," I lied. I had actually just bought the shirt a week prior to ruining it. "Rain check on the smoothie though I gotta get to class." The truth. It would be another 5 hours worth of crammed classes before I'd get another chance at any remnants of nutrition.

"Okay well don't wait too long to redeem your free smoothie coupon. I'm Breanne by the way," she glanced down at the name written on the mostly empty cup in my hand, "Again I'm sorry Russ about the shirt and drink but have a great class. I have a feeling I'll be running into you again... hopefully not literally." She smiled and we went our separate ways. Now with hindsight I can say that was one of the greatest days of my life. It would actually be a couple of weeks before I'd see Bre again. It was just a brief encounter but maybe our most important one. I reminded her of my free smoothie coupon and we exchanged numbers. From that day on we'd text one another, they started off as simple greetings and me giving her directions places and then we moved on to more personal topics like; our families and childhood stuff. October 31st, Halloween, that was the day we went on our first date. Neither one of us were really into the whole Halloween themed parties and since both of our dorm mates had plans we decided to do something together. We did what every college student has done on several occasions, we went to the only restaurant open at 11:30 pm. Waffle House wasn't too far from campus and since I knew the way I drove us both. We sat down in a little booth in the far corner of the restaurant. The details of that night are permanently branded into the back of my mind. She wore a black Led Zeppelin shirt, sweat pants and black Air Maxs. Her hair was in a messy bun and she smelled flowery and sweet. I myself also wore sweats and probably a nerdy comic book hero t-shirt. She ordered a chocolate chip waffle with two eggs scrambled with cheese while I had the "All Star Breakfast''. We sat in Waffle House until around 1:30 the next morning just talking and getting to know one another better. We just clicked. After that day we spent as much time together as we possibly could. We'd go to the beach during the weekends and study together despite our differences in classes. Bre was a biology major and I majored in political science. I admired her choice to become a pediatrician and her overall love for kids. Spending the remainder of my college years with her by my side made even the most stressful moments worthwhile. I felt we were invincible together.