The Woman in the Windowsill
Six

~~~

I wake up, once again. I look over to my alarm clock. It reads 1pm. I slept all afternoon. I turn to look at Camila’s side of the bed. I’m greeted by an angry Sam. He stares me down with his green cat eyes. “You’re getting the dry food”, I tell him.

On my way out of the room I hear the noise of unpacking. It’s David. He doesn’t have much stuff, but it’s enough to constrict the apartment a bit. He looks up when he notices me standing in the doorway. “Morning”.

“Morning”, I reply. Sam has taken to doing figure eights under my legs.

“I hope my stuff doesn’t bother you much man”, David says.

“Not at all.” I look around. The place is clean, well at least clean to David’s standards. And beyond clean to my standards. “You cleaned up?”

“Might as well”, David says. “I can be a pretty gross guy, but you’re on another level Brett”. We chuckle.

“You don’t have to do this”, I tell him. “But I really appreciate it. I think you’re right David. I need help.”

“I know I don’t have to pal. I want to. I want to be here. Joe does too, but he’s newly engaged and all. We’ll get you through this. I’m about to make waffles, want some?”

“Sure”, I smile.

I get the coffee going while David gets cooking. While he’s cooking we chat about football and the things he’s found while cleaning. For the most part I tell him I don’t want to know about any of the grime he’s found. He tells me he did his best to clean the apartment, but recommends a deep cleaning. I tell him it’s a go, it probably is necessary. We also touch on the subject of going sober together for a little while. I tell him it’s a wonderful idea, and it’s necessary too.

“One last thing”, he tells me as he slides a plate of waffles my way across the counter. I cut off a piece and take a bite.

“What’s that?”

“I know I’m going to hit a nerve here, promise not to blow your gasket?”

“Speak your mind David.”

“The pictures”. He points at the the pictures adorned throughout my apartment. The photos of Camila and I planted on the walls and laid out across shelves.

I put down another piece of the waffle. “You’re right. I know you are. It’s just hard”.

“I know it is. But we can’t have you coming into the apartment and all you think about is her. That’s what we need to get you to stop thinking about altogether.”

“So… I should just throw em out?”

“Brett. I’m not saying to forget about her altogether. I’m just saying we need to take them down, for now. Not throw them away. Maybe just put them in storage for a while. Maybe let her parents hold onto them.”

I think for a minute. “I’m not looking forward to seeing Rafe”.

“Need me to go with you?”, he offers.

“No, it’s not necessary. Claire still cares about me to an extent. I haven’t talked to them since the funeral though. How do you think they’ll feel about me delivering a bunch of pictures of their daughter to them. They’ll think I don’t care.”

“They should understand. They have each other. You don’t have anyone.”

I nod, he’s right. I’ll just tell Rafe and Claire I need them to hold onto the pictures for a while, until I clear my head a bit.

David is still looking at me. I gesture for him to speak his mind. “So that brings me to something else”.

“What’s that?”

“You need someone in your life, man”

“I’m not gay David, sorry”

“Fuck you. I’m serious. The way you swerved that fox at O’Malley’s yesterday? Either you really are gay, or you’re really messed up.”

“Listen David, I’d love to move on and all, I really would. Do you think I like moping around like this? But some bar rat isn’t what I’m after.”.

“I know. That’s where I messed up. What would you say about going on a date with Jessica?”

“Wait, your cousin Jessica? The cousin you almost beat the shit out of Joe for looking at her a second too long, Jessica?”

“Yeah, that Jessica.”

“This some kind of joke?”, I inquire.

“Look man, she’s never really found a guy she can stick with. They’re all scumbags. All of ’em. I know you aren’t. Nothing’s for sure, but I know you two were always into each other in high school. You two could work out together.”

“That was a decade ago”.

“Well you might be a bit soft now Brett, but she looks damn near the same. She’d be great. She’s gorgeous, sweet, and needs a guy. That’s you. Not some bar rat. My own flesh and blood man.”

I think for a second. “Sure”, I say. It’s a good place to start. “Sure”, I say again. “She was a great girl from what I remember. Respectable, nice. I’d love to get dinner with her or something sometime.”

“One thing though”, David adds.

“What’s that?”

“You break her heart, I break your neck. I love you man but I won’t hesitate, you know that.”

I smile. “Noted”.

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