| Conversations The water kettle began to whistle, and he grumbled as he made his way towards the kitchen. He hastily poured the water into the small cup of instant soup as the doorbell rang. The kettle slipped and boiling water poured onto his finger, causing him to cuss loudly as she set down his dinner and headed for the door. He was shocked to see Sam, holding a suitcase. “I need to stay with you for a few days.” “Nice, Sam. No ‘Hello, Josh. Lovely to see you.’” He grinned at his friend, who didn’t return the gesture. “I wouldn’t say that. Can I?” “Yeah.” He shrugged and moved aside, letting Sam set down his things. “Did you eat dinner yet?” “No. I don’t want anything.” “Good. I’m on my last cup of Ramen noodles.” He began to head back towards the kitchen when he realized his stupidity. “Hey, Sam? Why are you here?” His friend gave no response, and he tried again. “Is your house being fumigated or something?” “She kicked me out.” It took a moment for the words to register in his brain. “She? You have a girlfriend, Sam? I didn’t know this.” “No one knew. We thought it best not to tell anyone.” “Not even me? Sam, I’m your best friend. I’ve told you everything. I even told you about my crush on Donna.” “Like I said, we didn’t tell anyone.” Sam looked him in the eye. “Especially you. You would have let it slip in front of her father.” “Her father....who........Mallory?” Sam gave a small nod. “You’re dating Mallory?” “I’m living with Mallory. She kicked me out. The picture.” “You didn’t tell her.” “No, I did. She knew we were going out to lunch. I promised her everything would be fine. And it wasn’t. She gave me back her ring. I mean, it.....I....I need her, Josh. How could I have thought things would be fine? How could I screw this up?” “You should know better than to ask me.” Sam gave a smile for the first time, then slumped back on the couch. “Yeah.” “Mal just has a temper. She’ll settle down, you’ll call, you’ll talk, the picture will blow over and everything will be fine.” “Yeah. Thanks.” “No problem.” He headed back towards the kitchen, trying to comprehend all the information that had just been thrown at him. He’d get all the details later, when Sam was up to it. He picked up the Styrofoam container of soup and balked at its coldness. “Hey. I’m gonna order a pizza. Will you eat some?” “I guess.” “Everything will be fine, Sam.” “It’ll have to be. I don’t have a choice.” He sighed at the response, then made his way towards the phone. Two Days Later “Mallory O’Brien.” “Mal. You answered the phone.” “Yeah.” She sighed. She was still angry, but she couldn’t ignore him any longer. “Did you get my messages?” She gave a quick laugh. “Yeah. All fifty of them. You’re awful persistent, Skipper.” “So do you agree?” “I don’t want to do this over the phone. I want to meet with you face to face.” She didn’t want to give in yet. As soon as she heard the first message she was tempted to run back into his arms, but reason kept her rational. “Sure. I have this thing tonight over at the Newseum, but after that I’m free. I can come over right after.” “What time?” “Depends. It’ll be on CNN, so if you watch, expect me half an hour after it’s over.” “Ok. Listen, Sam. You know that I’m still angry. I just want to see you before I make up my mind about anything. I need to know....” She didn’t know what she needed to know. She just knew that she needed him. “Know what? You know that I love you and will do anything for you, Mal.” “But you didn’t. You saw her anyways, and you broke the promise....” The anger shone through despite her attempts to keep it back. “Not now. Later. Face to face.” . She gave a loud sigh. “Later.” “I can’t wait to see you.” “Sam, please.” She couldn’t fall for him just yet. Just a few hours, she told herself. “I miss you.” “I know. I’ll see you tonight. Goodbye.” She ended the conversation abruptly, then stared at her phone for the next five minutes, debating on whether or not she should call him. She told herself it was smarter to wait until she saw him again to decide, although her mind was made up. She told herself making him squirm would only help in the future. If only she had known what the future would hold. |