Avoidence

-"Days passed and nothing happened," he said while looking out through the window. The rain had trailed away along with the weekend and left him with some memories he didn't intend to forget.

-"Few words were barely exchanged. Sometimes a simple 'hello' or 'goodbye' seem to feel like a fucking effort." He continued after realizing nothing more interesting was happening outside.

It had been sometime after our last night out drinking. He had disappear for longer that I had actually thought. It certainly didn't feel that long to me, maybe because, even thought I don't really like to admit it, I didn't really miss him, that or I just simply thought he'd eventually come back

-"The awkwardness set it that night I guess, when we were both outside in the car just talking, not even smoking anymore." He told me It was her second time quitting and It was his first just barely having started smoking for the first time. I couldn't really still believe he was sitting there in front of me with with a cigarette in his hand. Never in my 25+ years of knowing had I seen him even interested in it.

His ashtray was full, which told me he had been there at least a couple of hours before he finally called me to tell me where he was so I could join him.

-"There was this strange silence in that car, it wouldn't have made much difference if church bells had been ringing, either way, that silence was a foreboding that something that barely even started was going to end."

-"Did you tell her what you did?" I asked really just being attentive and polite. I already knew the answer but it was the only thing I should ask to keep the conversation going and that was what he wanted, he needed to say with his own words what everybody else around already knew from all the gossip. Or at least what they thought they knew.

"I told her things would change, trying to finally sound convinced of something, you know? And I really am. It's just that maybe I took too long to actually make the words come out. I just have no idea."

He took a hit out of his newly lit cigarette and blew the smoke into the air. The amount of smoke coming from his mouth reminded me of his father and how strange it was that he blew so much more smoke than anybody else. I guess he's more like his father than we know. This scene was becoming a bit too distracting due to me not being able to be something other than surprised that he had taken up this habit.

-"She just said 'OK' and stared at the brick wall of her apartment building as if counting the bricks or looking for cracks. She felt distant since when I called her that morning."

This was becoming more of a monologue, more like a confessional me being the priest and him being on his knees telling me all this. He told that since then the few words they've spoken to each other have been superficial at best. He talked about how every time they'd' see each other he'd catch a glint of a smile that she'd try to hide from everyone else, trying to keep everything a secret as if that made it all more interesting and exciting, and he said it did. Everyone did try to keep these kinds of things to themselves, specially if it involved other people in the same group.

"Here, see this? It's a moon." he told me she was saying to him, "And if you hold it like this it'll tell you where it goes." "It was as if she transformed and became someone else. I don't blame her after all that happened. She's avoided me ever since."

-"The drunken nights were some of my most entertaining moments I've had." He said, making that familiar grin and taking a sip from his coffee. another habit he'd recently started. Apparently this new town he and I had shared with before he disappeared had become their playground. At least for a few days.

We continued talking over lunch but things got fuzzy after that. I could tell he wanted to keep talking about but felt as if he'd said enough for one day. I knew he was scared as hell of what had happened these last couple of days and that he'd try anything to make everything alright again. Neither him nor I knew what would come after all of this, the uncertainty bothered him terribly and it was making him feel his age

It's incredible how much you can age in two nights.