“Wow, sounds like he was mad.”
“He was,” Kelly said, sipping her drink. “He hasn’t called me all week.”
“How often does he normally call you?” Chad asked.
Kelly blushed. “Well, normally he doesn’t call me during the week.” Seeing Chad’s knowing look, she added, “He works a lot. But I thought he’d call to talk about it.”
“Fine. So why don’t you call him?”
They were sitting in the college cafeteria, Chad chomping on a burger and Kelly eating a salad. They had the table to themselves, their books taking up all available space not already inhabited by their meals. That was how they liked it; otherwise people they hardly know would join them and it got noisy and impersonal.
They had lunch this way as often as their schedules allowed. They were in different programs, pursuing vastly different careers, so they never had class together. Chad was in Science and wanted to get involved with stem cell research. Kelly was studying music, particularly guitar and vocals, and dreamed of winning Grammies and recording platinum selling albums. They spent their time together catching up on everything they miss when they’re apart. They had fallen out of touch with many of their friends, and were determined not to let that happen with each other.
“He doesn’t like it when I call him. I always manage to call when he’s in the middle of something.” She smiled. “Besides, I don’t want to be the clingy girlfriend who’s always bugging him. I want to give him some space.”
Chad did not return her smile. “If you gave him any more space, you’d be on different planets.”
“You’re exaggerating again.”
“I am not. He’s an ass.”
Kelly blinked. “That was blunt.”
“I don’t care. It’s the truth.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Yes it is and it’s time you realized that.”
“I can’t believe you’d think that about him.”
“I can’t believe you put up with him.”
“Why not? He’s really good to me.”
“Really? When was the last time he took you out somewhere? How often does he buy you dinner?”
When Kelly could not come up with an immediate answer, Chad shook his head. Kelly immediately came to Dean’s defence. “He doesn’t make much money. After rent and groceries and bills, he usually doesn’t have anything left to do stuff like that. And he’d never dream of making me pay for everything.” She smiled.
“He seemed to have plenty of cash to throw around that time he got drunk with his buddies and forgot about the picnic you had planned.”
“That was one incident. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Like hell it wasn’t! You were really excited for that picnic. You came to my door in tears when he didn’t show up.”
“I was being overdramatic. Really, it was nothing. He apologized later. He’s really a good guy.”
Chad raised an eyebrow. “You remember when you first introduced him to me?” When Kelly turned red, he decided to continue. “He kinda grunted at me then ignored me for the rest of the day. Remember that?”
“Yes, I remember! You won’t let me forget. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe he was a little concerned that my best friend’s a guy? He probably thinks you hit on me when he’s not around.”
“If I was your boyfriend, I wouldn’t be jealous if your best friend was a dude.”
“That’s because you are my best friend.”
“That’s besides the point. I think you deserve better than him.”
“Thanks, Chad.” Kelly forced a smile. “Can we change the subject?”
Chad pushed his thick-rimmed glasses up his freckled nose. “Almost. I’m not done yet. So, he got that upset over you saying you didn’t want to fail school?”
Kelly sighed. “Yes. I really hit a sore spot.”
“He flunked out? I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah. He doesn’t like to talk about it. I think he really regrets it.”
Chad tried to wipe some ketchup off his face but ended up smearing it all over his chin. Not noticing this, he said, “So why’d he fail? You told me he was a whiz.”
She sighed again, then grabbed a handful of napkins and moved to wipe his chin for him. She hesitated and instead handed him the napkins and pointing out the mess. “He’s really smart. He was in Engineering and doing really well at first. He just got caught up with the wrong crowd. Partied too much, slept through his classes, didn’t study at all. Finally his grades got so low, the university told him not to bother coming back the next year.”
“He told you that?”
“No, I have a class with his cousin. She told me. Can we please change the subject now?”
“Fine. I just think you deserve better.”
“Thanks Chad. I’ll take that into consideration.”
Just then, a woman from one of Kelly’s music classes sat down at their table. She had bleached hair, painted lips, and wore fake nails, eyelashes, and green contact lenses. She was the kind of person who changed her best friends almost as much as she changed her shoes. Her name was Sandra Lowe and she had irritated Kelly since the first time they had met. Sandra was unfortunately oblivious to this. She pushed Chad’s stack of books out of the way so she could put her elbows on the table. Chad’s drink nearly spilled. Before he could object, she turned her back to him and faced Kelly.
“Hi, Kell,” she said, dragging both words out. “How’s it goin’?”
Kelly fought back a cringe at the sound of Sandra’s obscenely cheerful voice. “I’m good, Sandra. How about you?”
“I’m just great. Say, you doin’ anything tonight? We should hang out!”
“Sorry, I already have plans.”
“Ooh, are they with that guy I saw leaving your place last night? I had some friends over last night and we were wondering who he was.” Sandra lived across the street from Kelly, frequently throwing loud parties that ran very late.
Kelly beamed. “That’s my boyfriend, Dean.”
Sandra beamed back. “No way! You got any pictures on you? We couldn’t see him that well in the dark.”
“Sure.” Kelly, an avid photographer, dug into her book bag for her digital camera. She never left home without it. She turned it on and flipped through scores of photos of plant life, scenery, and bugs until she found the one she wanted. She handed the camera to Sandra.
The photo showed the two of them sitting on the faded couch in Kelly’s apartment. Kelly was grinning broadly and holding the camera out at arm’s length. Dean, slightly camera shy and not exactly a willing participant in the picture, was solemn.
“He is so good-looking!” Sandra gushed. “Where’d you find him?”
“Thanks! We both worked at Home Depot. I was a cashier, and he works in the warehouse. He’s still there.” Kelly was more than willing to set her dislike of Sandra aside in exchange for some positive feedback on Dean.
“Boy, I will have to start shopping there. Well, if you’re busy tonight, we’ll just have to hang out some other time. See ya later!” Sandra didn’t wait for Kelly to return the farewell; she just got up and left, off to find someone else to entertain her for the evening.
Chad pushed his books back to their original spot. “You seem to attract the weirdest people.”
“You better not be getting started on Dean again.”
“I wasn’t.” One glace at him told Kelly that he was lying. “I was just making a statement.”
“Well that statement includes you just as much as it does Dean or Sandra.”
“Probably more. You’ve known me longer.”
Kelly laughed. “That’s true. Some days I don’t know what keeps you here.”
“What can I say? I’m a sucker for a nice smile.”
Kelly blushed. “Thanks Chad. I’m sorry about getting annoyed with you. I know you’re just looking out for me.”
“I am. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Thanks. I’ll talk to Dean tonight.”
“Good idea. I’m sure he’ll come around.”
“He will.” Kelly gathered her books and threw out the garbage from her lunch. “I have to get to class. You still up for movies tonight?”
Chad smiled. “Always am. Anything in mind?”
Kelly hoisted her book bag on her shoulder. “I’m thinking action. I’m in the mood for car chases and explosions.”
“That sounds like an excellent idea. I’ll raid my movie stash and see what I can come up with.”
“Great. I’ll see you tonight.” Kelly turned to leave, then turned back. “Oh, and thanks for buying me lunch.”
“Anytime.”
***
Kelly sat on the end of her bed, staring at the phone, trying to figure out what to say. The more she thought about it, the less certain she was about whether she should even call him, let alone what words to use. Finally, she decided to just jump in and get it over with. She dialled Dean’s number.
The phone rang several times before he answered. “Hello.” He said harshly, like he had been doing something important and the call had disrupted it.
Kelly hesitated, instantly regretting her decision to call. Dean had to repeat his greeting before she found her voice. “Hey, baby. It’s me.”
“Oh.” Dean’s voice softened a little. “What do you want?”
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You were really upset the other night.”
“Oh, that. Yeah, I forgot about that,” he said. “S’no big deal.”
“It’s not? Well, that’s good,” she said hesitantly. “I just wish you had called me to tell me that. I thought you were still mad.”
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Look, I’m kinda busy right now. I’ll be in that part of town Friday to see a friend. When I’m done there I’ll stop by.”
“Alright. I’ll see you then.”
“Bye.”
Kelly hung up and tossed her phone on the bed. She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them as she tried to tell herself that the woman’s voice she heard in the background at the end of the conversation was just the television, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t convince herself that it was an actress on TV who was calling her boyfriend’s name.
