I
II
III
"Can I have a mocha with marshmallows?"
"Certainly. Would that be all?"
After she nodded, Chloe turned her attention back to Yvonne. "Hope
you didn't wait long."
"I'm used to waiting for you anyway!" Yvonne retorted,
sarcastically.
Idle chatter followed, and Chloe was glad that she could relax with
her best friend, and her favourite drink. Although Tim was
lingering in her mind, she realised that she still had good friends
that made her happy. She knew she shouldn't let her vexed and
pathetic moods ruin what she had left.
Yvonne's voice broke her train of thought: "Anyway, Chlo, I asked
you out today for a reason." She sounded serious, quite a different
tone from moments before. "I need to tell you something. Tim and I
have been together for a year. Our anniversary is next week."
Chloe choked. "What?!"
"I'm sorry, we should have told you, but he said no. He still says
no, and doesn't know I'm telling you now." Yvonne kept a very
straight face.
Chloe was shattered. Her heart sank, and she felt herself go numb.
She felt as though her chest was being sucked into her stomach, and
that her stomach was churning, and the retching feeling was almost
suffocating.
"Why didn't he tell me?" Chloe fought to keep her voice stable, but
the single teardrop told no lies about how she really felt.
"He says because he knows that you would be upset. I say because he
still loves you." This time, Yvonne's voice quivered. And then she
too, broke down. "I love him too, Chloe. Sh[/i]it, we're in a mess
this time!"
Chloe reached her hand out and cupped Yvonne's. "No, we're not in a
mess. He's your boyfriend. And that's the way it will stay. Don't
worry about me, I'm fine! Don't let my return change anything,
including our friendship, ok?" She was surprised at her
strength.
"You don't understand, Chlo, he doesn't love me. He loves you. He
always has! I knew this and still fell for him." She paused to take
a deep breath. "I hope you can make him happy again. I certainly
don't seem to be able to."
Chloe didn't understand. It was so unlike Yvonne to be like this.
So debilitated, so withdrawn. She remembered when they were ten,
Yvonne would fight with the boys in school when they pulled her
hair; at fifteen when she said "She's gone to a better place, I'm
happy for her" when her mum passed on; at twenty when she broke up
with her first boyfriend because "Women are so empowered these
days, why should we give in to men?" Now, at twenty-six, it seems
the astute Yvonne is diminished.
"Yvie, what makes you think I can make him happy?"
"If you can make him sad, you can make him happy. Don't you see?
Only the people closest to your heart can ever hurt you. He let you
in, that is why you managed to do the damage. Just don't screw him
up again, huh?" Yvonne's tone was slightly more composed this time,
even indignant, yet resolute.
Chloe didn't know if Yvonne was doing this because of their
timeless friendship, or because her logic told her that there was
no point in fighting anymore. 'She's right though', Chloe thought
to herself. Tim did love her, and only her, which made her feel
even greater remorse. How pathetically stupid she was, to have had
thrown away the only thing that ever made her truly happy. She
chastised herself, and abandoned herself in doleful sobs.
