It was unthinkable. The receiver slipped down in my hand.
"Hello?" came my aunt's voice.
"Yea.I'm here," I stammered in reply.
My mind had gone blank. My aunt's words wiping everything away. She'd just told me that Mike, Monica's husband, was dead.
Monica and I hadn't spoken in some time. After high school our passions gave way to practicalities over the years. We'd fooled around a little while she was engaged to Mike. One of the more memorable was a blowjob in the changing room at the mall. At the time my new job had been keeping me busy and we hadn't time to see each other. We met for lunch and she told me she was engaged. It was quite a shock. The more she told me the angrier I grew. The safety of her arms, the passion of her soft kisses would all be gone. On the outside I embraced the pretense of happiness. I told her how I thought it was great until she gave me an incredulous look.
"Really?" asked Monica.
"No. I hate that you're engaged. I always wanted to have you, all to myself." I said.
The words fell out of my throat and I swallowed hard. I was able to choke out a few more.
"But if it's what you want." I said. All the warm nights we'd spent together came flooding back into my mind. They lined the edges of my vision as she talked more. She put her hand on mine and I looked at it. It brought me back to the table. The volume of her words rose in my ears at once, "I know, but you will always have a special place in my heart and be able to take my breath away. But we can't go on forever. It just can't." Monica said.
I nodded numbly. We say awkward for a few minutes.
"Hey let's finish your shopping," I said, trying to smile.
"Ok." she replied. She seemed to hope that everything would just be that.
We hit the stores for DVDs where we got told we were a cute couple. Smiling, we looked each other and laughed. The tension abated somewhat and we went on to the department store at the end of the mall.
"I want to get you some cute clothes you can find a nice girl. Ok?" Monica said playfully. Her eyes opened and she gave me a big smile. I groaned in grudging reply. "C'mon, Mr. Happy." she said.
She tugged me along to the Men's section. "This shouldn't be tough. You're cute enough." Monica said. Picking out several shirts and pants, she loaded them into my arms and pushed me towards the changing rooms. I shuffled my feel the whole way. Monica go behind me and pretended to push me like an obstinate mule.
"Ok. Try those on and come out one outfit at a time." she said.
I shuffled my way into the dressing room. I got undressed and sighed. God this is difficult. I slid on a pair of straight-cut faded blue jeans, rolled the cuffs and threw on a shirt.
"Well. Whadda ya think?" I asked in a sliding voice, my arms extended.