Five of Cups

Back In School—DAY

I am having the worst day ever. I have been told to go to the campus bursar to figure it out. The guy I am in to see is dozing in a back room in some Bermuda shorts and really doesn’t want to help me. But reluctantly he gets up and goes to a computer in the lobby. He finds a problem with my direct deposit account. Someone has been playing with my student information file. I need to hike across campus to that office and straighten things out there first. I groan and head off.

My car is in the shop and I have a long walk there and back.

When I get back again, I find I don’t have a classroom assignment either so I roam the halls of the science building looking at the postings on each door for my course number. When I find it, I find the only place to be alone is against the wall in the front. I slump at the tiny desk. Soon the brunette behind me is grinning and waving at me.

It is Andrea.

She apologizes for old times and explains that she is on medication now and much better. She is embarrassed of the crazy things she used to say and do.

“Like didn’t I once insist we were going to get married?” she asks.

“Once?” I grimace, “All the time is more like it.”

She doesn’t remember. She doesn’t’ seem to want to remember our relationship at all. I explain

“We had a very nice thing going when Spike wasn’t bothering us.”

“Oh, yeah? I wonder what happened to him.”

I debate on telling her that the last I heard of him he was accused of raping a girl in the school bathroom.

After class, I spot Andrea standing outside of the building as well. I decide to get the awkwardness over early since we will be spending a lot of time at close quarters this semester in class. This time, she tries to ignore me as I catch her eye and try to start a conversation. I soon give up.

“Fine! Why do I bother? It’s not like you are anything other than my first love!”

I sit down on the edge of the sidewalk with a huff, head in hands. Light a smoke. She cannot ignore me anymore; she grabs me by the head and kisses me, saying. “I’m sorry. Sorry. Sorry. I loved you so much. I don’t know what happened to us.” We walk arm and arm over to the park, wondering how to begin again. She is exciting they are going to show a film on a screen in the park.

“They did it last semester,” she says “And I watched it alone. Without you, wishing we could have seen it together. But you know. Spike.”

“There no one stopping us this time."