The One Where The Lines Get Kinda Blurry

The One Where The Lines Get Re-Drawn

David lifted his head and winced at the pain, shielding his eyes from the early morning sunlight that was streaming through the open blinds. He stared around the room, his eyes glazed and still half asleep..... why was he in his lounge, on his sofa and not in his bed? He looked down at the mass of empty bottles on the floor and quickly realised why he felt so awful. What the hell was he thinking? He never drank to excess like that. He sat up slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements for fear his head might actually explode. A flashing light on his answering machine caught his eye and he stood, walked gingerly across the room and hit play.

"Open the door, I'll be outside waiting when you sober up."

He made his way to the front of the house and opened up. She was sat in the car outside waiting, just as she said she would be.

"You look how I feel..." she said as she exited her vehicle and made her way up the short path, "... like crap."

He stood aside to let her past and closed the door behind them, following her into the lounge where she was already collecting up bottles from the floor.

"Coffee?" he asked, "I'm not sure I can do this without caffeine."

"Do what exactly?"

"I don't know, deal with whatever it is that we need to deal with. Break up..... make up....... I have no idea. I just know my head hurts........ and my heart hurts."

"Here, let me" Jen said, stepping into the kitchen and soon pouring two steaming mugs of dark brown liquid. She handed one to him, their hands touching briefly.

"How long have you been out there?" he asked as they made their way out into the cool morning air of the back porch, sitting themselves down on a swing seat which looked out over the yard towards the hills behind, one of their favourite sunset watching spots.

"Most of the night. I couldn't sleep and you weren't answering your phone so I just came over and waited."

They sat in silence for a few moments, sipping their steaming coffee and trying to find the right words to fix this.

Jen spoke first, "Do you remember what you said in the message last night?"

David turned to face her, noticing her red rimmed eyes that seemed sunken in their sockets, "I think I remember pretty much how it went yeah.... Look I don't want to give you up. I don't want to hurt you, or upset you or mess this up any more than it already is. But I can't and won't stand in your way of having a normal relationship either. I couldn't do that to you."

"And do I get a say in this? Or have you made up your mind already that because I went on one date, a date I didn't ask for, that I would just forget all about you and that'd be it? I'd walk away from you just like that and forget everything we ever talked and dreamed about? Because if that's what you really think of me then I may as well just go now."

"No of course I don't think that. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you angry or upset. I just don't want to be responsible for you wasting precious time waiting for something that may never happen."

"Never happen? Why will it never happen? Surely, we get to decide that, no one else. Ok so right now it's a little difficult and a little less than perfect, and sure I would love to be going out on dates with you and telling everyone that we are together. It's frustrating and irritating and yes, it's hard, but I'm not about to give up on you, to give up on us, just because at this moment in time it's less than ideal. What I want with you is a long-term future, not some five-minute fling. I want that dream house with all the antiques, I want a daughter called Lola, I want to wake up in your arms every day in LA or New York, or Chicago or wherever else we might end up..... and I am happy to wait until the time is right for that to happen.