Under Suspicion

At the Bridge

“At the Bridge”

Pete allowed his fingers to intertwine with hers as they navigated the busy sidewalk.  Pedestrians crowded the way as they skirted patrons of nearby eateries sitting at outdoor tables.

“Good thing we were able to catch the early movie,” Lauren said, pausing as a group of giggling teen girls rushed past.  “I think later showings would probably have sold out.”

“Yeah, I forgot how crowded this place can be.”  The area was a mixed-use community made up of restaurants, stores, cafes, and other retail shops, many with apartments above.  Across from the movie theatre was a picturesque mini-park, complete with wooden benches, a small gazebo, and a pond.

“Pete, let me ask you something.”

They’d strolled across the street onto one of the paved paths that wound its way toward the pond.

“Sure,” he replied, giving her hand a light squeeze.  “Answers are free.”

He’d said it lightly, but she didn’t smile, and her slight pause gave him a hint as to what kind of question she wanted to ask.

He sighed.

They’d stopped at a little wooden footbridge spanning one narrow end of the pond.  Pete leaned an elbow on the railing and looked at Lauren, waiting for her question.

“Where do you think we’re headed, you and I?”

He resisted the instinctive urge to be literal and say, “To the parking lot.”  He would also have gladly paid her a hundred bucks to take back the question and ask something else—anything else—instead.

“Can I ask what brought this question up?”

Lauren didn’t look at him, her dark brown hair falling like a curtain around her face as she looked down at her hands on the railing.  “I’m just curious.  I enjoy being with you—I think you know that—and yet I feel as if there’s something missing in our relationship.”

“Oh?  I think our relationship is pretty complete.  And I think you know I enjoy being with you, too.”

“Yes, I do know that,” she replied, looking up at him now.

“Then why do we have to be going anywhere?  Why can’t we just enjoy where we are?”

“That’s not an answer,” Lauren said.  “Although on the other hand, I guess maybe it is.”

Pete picked up her hand in his.  “What’s this about, Lauren?  I thought we were having a good time.”

She looked away.  “I’ll skip the obvious comment that I don’t really want to just be ‘a good time.’”

Pete opened his mouth to respond, but she continued.  “Pete, I’ve been invited to attend a get-together in Phoenix.  My parents and other family and friends will be there.  If I asked, would you go with me?”

He hesitated.  “I—I don’t know.  I’d have to—”

“Check your schedule at work?” she asked sharply.

“Among other things,” Pete replied, his voice turning steely.  “Why don’t you just come right out and say whatever’s on your mind, without hiding behind hypothetical invitations.  And why is this conversation happening now, I’d like to know?”

Lauren looked at him and then glanced across the pond as her attention was caught by a young woman turning a cartwheel for the amusement of her friends.  “I like you, Pete.  A lot.  You’re one of the more fun and interesting guys I’ve dated in... I don’t know how long.  Usually I get bored after a while, and lose interest in the guy I’m dating, but that hasn’t happened with you.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?  But your reactions and answers to my questions....  I can read you, Pete.  Usually I am you.  The one who’s trying to keep the other person at arm’s length.”

He reached for her, his hands on her waist.  “Does it feel like I’m keeping you at arm’s length?”

She stepped back.  “You know what I mean; don’t try to joke your way out of it.  Having a relationship and going out is fine, but at some point a relationship has to do something. It either changes or it dies.”

“What kind of change do you want, exactly?  A declaration of undying love?  Exchanging keys?  A marriage proposal?  How easy have those been for you in your relationships?”  Pete looked down and took a breath to calm himself, then looked at her again.  “And you still haven’t told me what brought all this up at this particular time.  Maybe a surprise visit from an old friend—the doctor?”

Lauren looked at him, a tell-tale flush in her cheeks, and then looked away.

“Come on, Lauren, talk to me.  You don’t want me to play games with you, so at least have the courtesy to not play games with me.  What the hell is going on, and what does Doctor Feelgood have to do with it?”

She ignored the jab.  “Okay, yes, seeing Kel the other day did have something to do with this.  He and I talked last night—it wasn’t a date or anything, just old friends catching up—”

“That’s fine,” Pete cut in.  “You don’t have to explain yourself to me.  What you do with your time is your business.”

Lauren looked at him.  “And that’s the problem, isn’t it—what I do on my time.  In other words, when we’re not together, you’re not concerned with what I do, are you?”

A rare flash of anger appeared in Pete’s eyes.  “That’s not fair.  Stop putting words in my mouth!  Now, if you want to have this conversation, we’ll have it, but the least you can do is explain how your doctor friend fits into it.  We can get to the rest of it later.”

“Well, if you must know, Kel called me at the hospital yesterday and asked me to dinner.  My schedule didn’t allow that, but I said I’d meet him for coffee later.  So that’s what I did, and we ended up talking all evening.”

“And?”

Lauren laughed shortly.  “I tell you I spent all evening talking with another guy and all you can say is ‘and’?”

“What do you want me to say?  That I’m jealous?  That I want to punch his lights out?”

“That would be nice.”

He shook his head.  “You said you used to ‘be me.’  What would you say if the guy you were dating was trying to make you jealous?”

“I’m not trying to make you jealous.”

“Maybe not, but you wish I was.  Don’t you?  Even though you wouldn’t like it if someone did that to you, that’s what you want.  And you’re still not telling me the gist of your conversation with your friend Kel.”

Lauren looked back at the crowd on the other side of the small park.  “We talked about what we’ve each been up to over the years, how our careers are going, and our lives.  We’ve both had a number of relationships that never really led to anything... up ’til now, at least.  And he told me his parents are having a fortieth anniversary party in Phoenix.  My family is going to be there, and Kel said he wants me to be there, too.”

“So why ask me?  To show me off to your parents?  To supposedly make us closer?  To make Kel jealous?  Or some combination of the above?”

Still gazing across the way, she shook her head but said nothing.

“Lauren, what exactly do you want?”

He saw her blink rapidly a few times, but then she turned toward him.  “Right now, I want to go home.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

                                                                     To be continued.....