So what? (2)

Her demise changed everything. I hardly remember much about her but I know that since her passing on, sadness dawned on us.


In 1987, the old man re-married. I thought my life was lonely, until the new wife checked in. Then I realized the true meaning of loneliness, the pain of being a step child. The torture was unbearable, but through it all, I survived.
Now living in my best friend’s boyfriend’s house? Sleeping on the couch? This felt like the climax. Julliet tried fixing me with dates, hook-ups but none seemed to work. My mind was too occupied in books and in my sorrows to even enjoy male company. I considered myself dormant in love life.
Though a cheerful, light-hearted extrovert whose emotions you could read as clearly on his face as if written in capital letters, Romeo had another side of him that remained mysterious. There were certain rules in his house that just had to be followed. For example, never to polish his shoes, never to go into his room, never to read ANY of his note books even if found lying anywhere in the house. I understood that his privacy was prime thus lived by these rules.

Until one day, in Juliet’s absence, He proposed that we go out for a drink. He was feeling down and just wanted to be out for a while. I also being in a similar mood agreed. We informed his girl who was ok with the plan even in her absence. One bottle led to another as we exchanged conversation. It was different this time as we simply shared deeply about life. I told him more about myself as he did the same. This made us friends. Good friends.

One outing led to another and another until it almost became a drinking spree. We got even closer to a point of dancing together. It was to fast music first, then to ragamuffin, then to slow music. Going out without Julliet became more fun as plenty of laughter filled the air. Smiles here and there, a beautiful feeling of joy warmed our hearts. Until one day, in a slow dance, he placed his lips on mine. For a split second I felt like I had been swept off my feet. The music sounded like twinkle-bells from heaven. Everything changed. Only for a split second and I quickly withdrew. I thought of my dear friend Julz. I thought of all she had done for me. Guilt struck me like lightening. I slowly walked back to our table and continued to sip on my drink quietly. We quickly cleared the round and went home. None of us utters a word. We remained silent all the way. This marked the beginning of my misery.

Days went by. We never mentioned a thing to Julz. But the tension only increased. We talked less Romeo and I. With worries that I might lose shelter yet again, I tried reconciling myself with family. It wasn’t fruitful. The couple on the other hand was constantly at loggerheads. Their fights got more physical than verbal. Sometimes it was so bad that she would miss coming over for two or three weekends. I tried talking to him about it but his reasons left me speechless. He said that he no longer loved her. That it was simply over.

I wondered how I would go on living in his house when he wasn’t in good terms with his girlfriend, my best friend. I was in a fix. My greatest fear was to have to start looking for shelter again. Julz kept asking me why I still lived there yet they were not in good terms. The girl constantly pestered me when we met up in school. She would constantly remind me that it was because of her I had a place to rest my head. I felt like she did it to push me to talk to Romeo. I did it but with very little or no luck. Her bad attitude towards me began getting to me.
One weekend, Romeo came home with serious liquor. I made dinner, we ate then began drinking. He began by really complementing my cooking. He told me how it was so much better than Julz. Then he told me that he liked the way I took care of things in the house. Then how beautiful I was and within no time, he admitted that he had fallen in love with me. Now with the alcohol speaking on my behalf, I responded by letting him know that I felt the same way about him. Of course one thing led to another and before we knew it, we were birth naked in bed.



(To be continued………..)