The Strange Man

Crazy or Not?

Charlie entered Paddy's with a giant smile and an awkward little dance. "Hi, guys!", he said excitedly.
"Where have you been, Charlie?! There's a problem with one of the toilets and the number of rats has probably multiplied by now!", Dennis yelled. "He was with that Dalla broad," Frank answered. "They were banging." The gang looked at Charlie with shock and confusion. "Huh?", they all said in unison. "No," Charlie said with a face that showed how ridiculous he thought Frank's comment was. "We watched some movies, then Frank came in and made the situation weird and uncomfortable, then we fell asleep on her couch. Nothing happened," he explained.
"That's what they all say," Dee commented in a weird voice. Dennis rolled his eyes and said, "Dee, stop it with the voices, and, Frank stop being like that." He slammed his hands on the bar. "And can we please get that loon out of our lives?! You heard Frank yesterday! She was in the looney bin!" Everyone except Charlie mumbled in agreement. "I don't wanna get murdered during the night or something," Frank said. "Dennis is right; we shouldn't risk our lives like this," Mac added. Charlie got upset. "No! She's an amazing woman! You guys just don't want me to be happy!" Dennis shook his head and walked over to Charlie, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We're just thinking about the safety of the group, bud," he explained. Charlie shoved Dennis's hand off of his shoulder and glared at the man before storming out.
"He's just grumpy because I ate all of the cat food," Frank said. "Ew," Dee commented. "Yeah," Mac agreed, "you guys should stop eating that stuff." Frank looked at Mac and responded, "At least I like women." Mac's eyes widened. "I'm not gay! Why do you guys think I'm gay?!", he said loudly.
Back at Dahlia's apartment, Dahlia was sitting on her laptop attempting to generate business for her business. Suddenly, there was an aggressive knock at her door. She looked through the peephole and found Charlie standing there. He was out of breath and distraught. Dahlia opened the door and let him in. "What's wrong?", she asked. "I ran here," Charlie explained. Dahlia was confused. She asked, "Why?", then added, "Wait, you ran all the way from Paddy's to here? You could've called a cab or something. It would've been much easier." Her comment made Charlie stop and think for a second before responding. "Yeah," he said, "you're... you're right. I shouldn't have run..." He stood there in thought for a second before Dahlia interrupted. "Charlie," she said with worry and confusion in her voice. "What's happening?" He looked her dead in the eyes and sternly said, "Are you a loon?"
Dahlia's eyes widened. "What?!" Charlie tried to catch his breath before responding. "Frank said that he found out that you were in the looney bin and that you're crazy and the gang believes him," he explained swiftly. "Is it true?"
Dahlia plopped down on the couch and covered her face. She was embarrassed and sad about what he had said. Before speaking, she wiped her face and leaned back. "Yeah," she responded, "it's... it's true."
Charlie was shocked. He stood, silently staring at her for a moment before sitting next to her. "So... are you gonna kill me?", he said sadly and worriedly; his eyes were that of a lost puppy. Dahlia laughed lightly and shook her head. He was so innocent. "No," she said, sniffling a bit, but trying not to cry. "It was years ago and I never tried to hurt anyone," she explained. "I was just in a really bad place." Her voice was soft and sad. She looked at the floor shamefully; she thought that her past was behind her, especially since she had left Ohio, but she had to face it again.
They sat silently on the couch for a couple minutes before Charlie broke the silence. "I'm sorry," he said sadly and quietly, "I really didn't know." He tried to look into her eyes. "I know," Dahlia responded, "I didn't want anyone to know. I'm not proud of my past and I didn't want you to view me differently because of it." She wiped the tears that had begun to flow.
Charlie didn't know what to say. He wasn't used to dealing with such serious situations, but he liked Dahlia and he knew that he had to do something. Instead of saying something to the weeping girl, he just put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. He was surprised when, instead of pulling away, she hugged his torso tightly and put her head on his chest.
They sat there for awhile before falling asleep to the soothing presence of each other. It was a moment of pure bliss. Neither of them wanted to let go.