In the Pursuit of Happiness

Through the absolute darkness of the bedroom there can be seen glowing white figures: a man and his woman. The woman is curled into a ball, her nakedness half covered by a white comforter. The man is lying on his back, hands behind his head. They are participating in quiet conversation, their words evaporating into the otherwise silent night air. All is peaceful. The woman makes a motion to put her hand on the man’s chest, and then she rests her head there as well. The man does not move, save his mouth, which conquers the dialogue and intensifies in speed and volume.

In an instant, he has thrown the woman off of his chest and is kneeling on the bed, shouting:

“Fuckin’ A! What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“I’m sorry, I’m…”

He raises his hand above her head, silencing her. She wraps her self completely in the coverlet, seemingly embarrassed by her nudity, and hides her head beneath the pillow, shaking extensively.

“What the fuck do you want from me? Huh? What?” He leaps from the bed and pulls a pair of boxers, and then a pair of jeans, over his lower half. “Fuck this shit.” He leaves the room, and the woman is left on his bed, sobbing silently into the pillow.

“Come back, Ross,” she says into the darkness once he is absent. “Please come back.”

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“I love you.”

Ross’s woman looked into his dark eyes, her face alight with happiness. “I love you, too.”

“You better, or I’ll beat your sorry ass!” he said jokingly, and smiled.

She reached for his hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. “You love me too much for that.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” He smiled again, broader this time, showing his stained, gap-filled teeth. “I don’t know where I’d be without you.”

“I agree. I’d be lost.”

He took a step forward down the trail, of which was lined with rows of cherry trees, their branches in mid blossom. He pulled her along with him. “Sometimes I like to think of what it’d be like if we stayed together, you know, forever.”

“Oh, I do too!” She excitedly repressed a giggle.

“Someday I’ll save up the money to get my own house. And you can live there, too. I’ll buy my own truck. We can live on actual land, too. With five acres! Every night I’ll come home from work with a beautiful wife, just waiting there for me.”

A blossom had fallen into the woman’s hair. Ross brushed it from her before leaning down and planting a kiss upon her soft, thick lips.

“I believe that this is forever,” he said.

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The woman hurriedly throws on one of Ross’s shirts, which falls nearly to her knees, and follows him outside. He is sitting on the back porch, cigarette smoke gliding from between his thin lips.

“I’m sorry, hun,” she says, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He looks up, blowing smoke into his woman’s face. She withholds the urge to cough. She cannot stand the smell of cigarette smoke.

“It’s alright. I forgive you.” He puts out the cigarette and throws the filter into an old empty can of Folger’s coffee. “Come inside, babe, I’m needin’ some lovin’.”

He walks inside, closing the sliding glass door behind him.

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The woman sat on the edge of the riverbank, watching her old friend, John, skip stones across the water.

“Ross can’t do that as well as you can,” she said, eyeing John’s throws.

John turned around, smiling crookedly. “I could’ve guessed that. He’s useless, you know.”

She shook her head, and did not reply instantly.

John laughed. “So you agree with me?”

“No, not at all. I love him. He makes me the happiest I’ve ever been. He is a good guy, and I’m lucky to have him.” She drew into the river sand with a stick. “And I mean every word of that.”

He threw one last stone into the water and walked over to the woman. “I know that you don’t mean any of that. Well, I think you actually do. But you’re lying to yourself, you know that?” He sat down next to her.

“It is important to be honest with yourself.” She looked towards the horizon, refusing to meet John’s gaze.

“Then take your own advice. You know that Ross ain’t any good for you. He ain’t any good for anybody!”

She turned to face him, words flying from her mouth. “I want him to get a job. I don’t want to give him money any more. I don’t want him to be mad at me anymore. I don’t want to be afraid anymore.”

John reached his arm around her, pulling her close to him. “You shouldn’t ever be afraid. Leave him. You can do it. Don’t be afraid anymore.”

“I can’t leave him though. I love him. I could never do that to him.”

“Listen to me,” he grabbed her by both her shoulders, holding her in front of him. “You don’t deserve this. You shouldn’t be scared to leave someone. Don’t be afraid of what may be lost in the pursuit of happiness.”

The woman tried to slip her shoulders from underneath John’s grasp. “I love him! Don’t you understand?”

John shook her shoulders, shaking her entire body in the process. “Don’t you understand that he’s a piece of shit?”

And, with that, the woman wrenched herself from his grasp and walked away, leaving him alone on the beach.

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Ross lays next to his woman, breathing deeply, naked again. He refuses to look at her.

“I’m sorry,” the woman says, stroking his chest. “Would you like to try it again?” She sits herself atop of him before being pushed back against the bed.

“Shut up,” he says. “Get away from me, you whore.”

She feels the tears form within her eyes again. “Please don’t, I didn’t do anything wrong…”

He sits up, his wildly angry face barely visible through the darkness. “Like hell you didn’t! If you weren’t so fuckin’ ugly I wouldn’t go fuckin’ limp.” He leans back and brings the blanket over his lower half, leaving his woman completely uncovered and vulnerable.

They are silent for a moment, until the woman begins to shiver.

“Would you quit making that noise? I’m trying to sleep.”

She attempts to cease her incessant shivering. “I’m sorry, hun. I’m just cold.”

“Well quit your bitchin’.”

“Yes, hun.”

And then he sits up again. “Just shut the fuck up! I don’t fuckin’ need you here, you dumb cunt! Tryin’ to fuckin’ take everythin’ away from me! Every bit o’ fuckin’ honor.”

“I’m sorry…”

He brings his pillow over her face, smothering her beneath it. The soft cotton silences her screams, and the night is again silent.

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“Please, I just need this. Just this once. Please.” Ross reached towards the countertop, attempting to grasp his woman’s wallet.

“I can’t afford to keep giving you money like this. I don’t make that much.” The woman pulled the little wallet away, holding it against her chest.

Ross threw his hands up in the air. “I fuckin’ need this! I give you everything you want! You get a free dub a week from me.”

She shrugged. “I don’t ask you for anything.”

“I spent thirteen fucking dollars on your pregnancy test! You owe me that thirteen!”

“But… I need money for groceries…”

He grabbed her shoulder, squeezing it tightly in his strong hand. “It’s only fifty. You make that in only five hours.”

The woman pulled two twenties and a ten out of her wallet. “I’m sorry about the pregnancy test.”

He quickly took the money from her hand and stowed it in the pocket of his jeans. “Just remember to take your damned pills next time, you dumb bitch. I don’t want a kid runnin’ around.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and smacked her butt before stepping out of the house and making his way down the street.

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The woman finds some strength left within her, even though she is hardly capable of breathing through the pillow. She brings a knee up, thrusting it in between Ross’s legs. He screams and falls back against the bed, clutching himself, giving his woman enough time to throw some clothes on and run out of the room. She runs all the way outside and down the street, pulling her hair into a bun as she goes.

“Get the fuck back here!”

She turns around to see Ross, standing in the middle of the street in a pair of boxers. She does not respond to his request; she merely wipes away a tear that has formed upon her face.

He does not take a step forward, but his expression is pained. “Please, Baby? I love you. Please come back here. I know you love me. You know I don’t mean it. I can’t help it. It’s just cause I love you. And I don’t wanna lose you.”

The woman shakes her head, still unable to speak. She takes another step backwards. The pavement is cold on her bare feet. It is slightly after dawn, and it is bright enough for any person to see the spectacle, were they to be awake.

“Get the fuck back here!” Ross’s temper begins to slip. “What the fuck is wrong with you? I give you everything I can and this is what you give me back? You give me nothing! Nothing! What the fuck is wrong with you, you mother fuckin’ bitch?” Even in the dim light, it is possible to see the tears rolling down his face.

The woman turns round as she does not want to look upon his face any more. She cannot bear to see her love in tears.

“Bitch! You better be afraid, cause there ain’t nowhere for you to go!”

After another step, the woman does turn around. “My name is Katrine. And I am not afraid any more.”

And then she simply walks away to live the rest of her life in happiness.