Sometimes One Simply Knows . . .

            To Hold On Or Let Go

At times, without even realizing it, a person’s words and demeanor may reveal more than he or she might want. In the scenario I wrote below, a watcher simply knows . . .

            Paula slipped by the woman who gushed with her knowledge. It made Paula uncomfortable and in her heart she knew the woman, aptly named Candy, was sweet on someone.

            “Oh, I heard that story,” Candy had revealed to a small group at the cocktail party just moments before. “Poor Brad was lost in the wilderness for days. Fortunately he has a good head on his shoulders, not to mention a strong body. It’s amazing he made his way out alive.”

Candy continued with enough specifics to write a short story.

            “His adventure has been the talk around the office, for sure,” Paula’s husband, Joe, said politely, throwing a quick glance at his wife.

            “Joe gets it too,” Paula thought sadly. “Poor Lily. Brad’s screwing around on her again.”

            Paula had heard gossip of Brad’s tendency to have his way with whomever he chose even though he had a wife and daughter at home. Candy clearly was his latest prize. The way Candy prattled on about Brad, reciting every detail of his amazing venture, had been a give-away.

            “She knows too much,” Paula told Joe later when they were home. “Every intimate detail. She was puffed up with it. And did you see her face beaming? That’s a woman in love, or lust at least. Poor Lily.”

            “You’re right,” Joe agreed. “Candy was pretty transparent, wasn’t she?”

            “She was. It’s sad. Poor Lily,” she said again. “I wonder what will happen, Joe?

            “I don’t know. They’ll work it out.”

            “Or not,” Paula mused. “Lily’s such a sweetie. She doesn’t deserve this.”

            “They’ll work it out,” Joe said again, not believing for a second that anything would work out, as he had phrased it, in Lily’s favor. He knew Brad too well.

            “We’ll see, I guess,” Paula replied with resolute sadness. “I just hope Lily isn’t completely blindsided and knows when it’s time to let the bastard go.”

            “Time. Looks as though that may be all she has left,” Joe whispered. “Time.”

He took Paula’s hand in his and held on tight, content in knowing that neither of them had any desire to let go. Not this time.