Thank you for reading this, especially those of you who have rated or commented on my work. I read and appreciate every comment and truly value the feedback. Due to the nature of Unrequited/Requited, I've received a lot of DM's from people sharing their own experiences of unrequited love. Every message is unique and yet, the same. Every one of these messages has moved me in some way.
This story is dedicated to those who have felt the sting of love unrequited.
Epilogue
It's hard to believe it, but that day in the den was six years ago. So much has happened, and so much has changed, but still, I look back on that summer with nothing but fond memories. I still think about it often.
I remember the look on Laura Montgomery's face when she arrived at the beach house after her vacation in Europe and realised that Francesca hadn't made up a bedroom for me. Her head whipped back and forth, I could see her thinking, "There must be some mistake."
"Heavens," she said, "Francesca must have thought you were leaving today. I'm sorry West, I'll get her up here right away."
"Mom, it's fine. West and I are, uh, we're sharing a room." Said Andy.
It took her a second. A second or two, but when she realised what he meant, her face broke into a smile the likes of which I'd never seen on her before.
"Stanley," she called down the hall, "could you go down to the cellar? We're going to need bubbles with dinner."
Dinner was a pleasant, if slightly stilted affair. Joss sat there, looking at Andy and then looking at me, grinning like a Cheshire cat. We ate and drank champagne. Mrs Montgomery and Joss told us all about their trip and Mr Montgomery sat there, in a semi-inattentive state, like always.
Just before dessert, he smiled slowly and raised his glass and said, "Andy, West...I've been wondering when you two fools would figure it out."
"Dad!" Exclaimed Joss, "You, you can't say something like that
at the table!
"
"I apologise." He said evenly, "You're right. I should have waited until we were out on the porch."
Everyone laughed. Even Mrs Montgomery smiled. She smiled and she looked over at him. When she set her glass down, she left her hand on the table, near his. He didn't miss it. I saw him reach over and put his hand so close to hers, they were almost touching. It was the first time I'd ever seen such an interaction between them, but it wasn't the last. I'd always had a feeling that Mr Montgomery had crossed Mrs Montgomery in some way. I suspected he'd been unfaithful, but now I know, he didn't do that. He did something worse. He rejected her son. Mrs Montgomery is many things, but the one thing she's not, is a woman who takes kindly to someone hurting her children. That night was the first step in a long road back for them.
*
A few weeks later, Andy and I were getting ready to head into the city for the day. I had to have a medical check for my new job, and I needed to run a few errands. While I was eating breakfast, I overheard part of a conversation between Andy and his mom. Something about taking me to see two twenty-four.
"What's two twenty-four? I asked him later, on our way into the city.
He looked a little uncomfortable, "It's uh, it's a building I kind of own."
"How do you
kind of
own a building?"
"Well, my grandfather, my mom's dad, left it in a trust for me. I won't officially own it until next year when I turn twenty-five."
"Oh." I said, "Why was your mom talking about it?"
"She suggested I show it to you."
"Okay, sure, we can swing by."
We ran our errands and then we did go by. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't two twenty-four, that's for sure. From the casual way he described it, I was expecting something small, or at least, smaller.
"Bloody hell." I said, standing across the street, looking up at the expansive red brick warehouse-style building.
"Sorry about all this." He said uncomfortably.
"Why are you sorry?"
"Well, it's just kind of embarrassing, I guess."
I laughed. I'd never dreamt of owning a property like this, but one thing I couldn't imagine being about it, was embarrassed.
"West," said Andy, kicking his foot softly against the sidewalk, "one of the tenants gave their notice a few weeks ago, I, I wanted to show you this place, in case you wanted to talk about living here together."
I'd been planning on living with my aunt and uncle in Bushwick until I could save enough to rent a place. As the summer wore on, it had started to play on my mind. Even though, by my calculation, on my salary, it wouldn't take more than a few of months of heavy saving to be in a position to rent a studio, the thought of not seeing Andy every day had started to make me feel anxious and sick.
"I mean, no pressure, or anything." He added quickly.
I started to laugh, "So, you're saying you own a building, and you just randomly happen to have an apartment for us to live in? God, it must be weird to live in your world."
"It has its moments." He said, rolling his eyes at me, "What do you say? Want to be roommates again?"
"Hell, yes." I said and I kissed him long and hard, right there in the street.
*
The first month was hard. It was heaven, and it was hard. We used all our meagre savings to buy a mattress and a few essentials. Andy's mom loaned us some pots and pans, and my mom sent us the rug from my bedroom at home, as well as a large, metal trunk I'd used to store my toys in as a boy. Though we had no sofa, we put the rug in the living room and used the trunk as a coffee table. At night, we dimmed the lights and sat on the floor and ate, using the trunk as our table. By the end of that first month, we were as tapped out as two guys starting out could possibly be. We ate a lot of ramen. I remember the two of us sitting there, on the floor one night. I'd finished telling him about my day at work and he was telling me about a new painting he was starting. We were sitting close. So close, I didn't care about anything else. We had nothing. And we had everything.
"You know what I'm going to do, when I get paid?" I said.
He shook his head, even though I'd told him my plan several times.
"I'm going to take you to that little Mexican place that you love. I'm going to buy you whatever you want. I'll buy you three meals, if you want. It's going to be the best dinner of your whole life."
Did I mention we'd been eating a lot of ramen? A
lot
, a lot.
"If you take me for Mexican, you better believe, you're going to be bottoming for the next day or two." He replied.
We both laughed and slurped our ramen. He looked so beautiful then, I can still see it in my mind's eye. I couldn't take my eyes off him. I felt so incredibly content. I felt so sure that I was right where I needed to be. Our lives were just beginning. It was hard starting out, it was hard finding my feet at work and having no money or furniture, but it was also perfect. It was perfect because I was doing it with him. He felt the same. He must have.
"Hey West," he said, leaning his head back a little and looking at me, "do you think this is it? Do you think this is the best day of our lives?"
I smiled at him, and even though part of me suspected that it very well might be, I shook my head and said, "Nah."
"How do you know?"
"It can't be, 'cause tomorrow it's pay day."
*
