Big Daddy

I got up and strapped on my leg and headed to the bathroom. The smell of her perfume lingered in the hall, and I pushed the door to her room open to find that she’d cleaned up and actually made her bed for once.

I didn’t think much of it until I went to the bathroom and reached for my toothbrush. Dream’s was missing, along with her makeup bag and other toiletries. She wasn’t planning to run away, she already had.

My first instinct was to run back down the hall to her room, and I went as fast as my legs could take me. I breathed a sigh of relief as I opened the closet and found her clothes hanging there. She’d taken some of her things, but not all of them. Which meant she was most likely coming back. I slumped against the closet door and held the knob as I sank to the floor.

My phone ringing brought me to my feet, and I made my way back to my bedroom hoping it was Dream with an explanation.

“Hey, brother. How’s the after-Christmas lull treating you?” Austin was talking loudly, and I could hear more background noise than usual, which meant he was driving into work. He had an hour commute to work, and would usually call me on the way if Lola was too busy to keep him company.

“It’s all bad around here, man.” I didn’t think it could get any worse, at least it didn’t feel like it could.

“Whoa! You sound like shit. Are you coming down with something?”

“No, it’s Dream. She’s going to bail on me.” I couldn’t blame her I suppose.

“Damn. Did you two have a fight?” Every time I thought about what I’d said to her and how I’d said it, I wanted to kick myself in the teeth. I had been the kind of guy that I hated and loathed and I hadn’t stopped being pissed off at myself since.

She got her old job back and went to work even though I told her she didn’t have to while she was here. I basically accused her of saving up money to run on me. Austin let out a breath. “Jesus, Chance, she’s been through hell. What were you thinking?”

“I know. Now she’s gone to work at the diner, and I’m not sure she’s coming back. She took her makeup and a toothbrush like she’s going to be gone overnight.”

“Sounds to me like you’re in love with her.”

“I can’t even argue with you. Star asked if I did, and I couldn’t even fucking answer the kid. I tiptoed around it and finally blew it off. Now she’s gone, maybe for good and this fucking house feels empty.” I couldn’t imagine waking up every single day with her gone. The thought of it left a chewed a hole in my gut.

“You need to go after her and tell her how you feel. Tell her you want her to stay and put yourself out there. I had to fucking do it for Lola. God knows I don’t deserve her, and she can be a total pain in my ass, but I love that woman. I know I complain about the wedding and all that shit, but the truth is, I only do it because it’s all taking too long. If it were up to me, I’d have already walked her down the aisle just to make her mine.”

“That sounds pathetic man. And sadly, I know just what you fucking mean. I haven’t been this miserable since Becky, and I feel like I don’t fucking know what to do, just like when I was losing her.”

“She’s not Becky. You’re about to lose a good woman because you can’t get over how Becky treated you. You can’t keep doing that, or you’re never going to find happiness man. You’re pushing a good woman away due to lack of communication because ultimately, you’re scared to death of her hurting you.” His words sent my heart racing, and I wanted to punch something so badly because I knew every breath from him was speaking the truth.

“What am I supposed to do then?” Since he had all the fucking answers, he could throw out some suggestions.

“Well, if you’d just done something easy like forgotten her birthday, I’d say buy her some flowers and eat her pussy, but since you flipped out on her, you’re going to have to do so much better than that.” A horn honked in the background and Austin spouted a string of obscenities.

“I guess I’ll have to think on it. But first, I need to make sure she’s coming back. I guess I should go down to the diner and tell her I need to talk.”

“Now you’re talking. Women want to feel special. Do something to show her what she means to you, but you have to use the opportunity to tell her how you feel and what you want, or it’s a waste of time.”