Your City Gave Me Asthma

I'm Sorry Boris

 I hate London. With every bit of my soul. Greenwich, Suffolk, all of it. London is a parasite in my brain that I can't seem to get rid of. I would leave in the blink of an eye, if it wasn't for Boris.

Boris is the type of girl you would find at the library reading a book upside down laughing, as if she knows what she's reading. She's the type of girl that would order the least ordered thing on the menu and eat it even if it's complete shit. She's the girl you see on the street looking up into the sky even though it's cloudy. She's the type of girl I'm in love with.

Every inch of her existence makes me question my own. Her aura is enticing and gives me adrenaline. Being with her makes me ignore the onlookers and just be in the moment. I wouldn't leave her for the world.

I work in an accounting firm that deals with the financials for a law firm. I have my own office, which is cool. Except for my view of London. The boring buildings clash with the always boring sky, which reflects onto the boring gray river. Taking this job was the advice of my father, a boring man of little taste who loves London with all his heart. He tries to dictate my life, I try to reject him. We don't have the best relationship.

My life isn't that exciting. Except for Monday's. Monday's are 'Boris Day's'. Even though I'm running out of vacation days, I still take every Monday off to spend the day with her.

"What do you want to do today? We could go get Chinese or seafood." Boris always asks me what I want to do, even though she knows that I'm always going to say the same thing.

"You can decide. I'm just along for the ride." She smiles and dives deep into her rich brain.

"Why don't we get food at one restaurant then go to it's rivaling one and eat it there!" I laugh. Since I have no friends and my coworkers never go out, I'm free of embarrassment's reigns. Boris takes my laugh as a yes, she grabs my hand and pulls me towards who knows where.

Spending Monday after Monday in downtown London just proves my opinion over and over again. The trash on the side of the road, the dark alleyways that are filled with drug dealing teenagers, and Richmond. Richmond is still shit, even after all this time. Monday after Monday I get more comfortable with the idea of leaving. Even with considering Boris.

"You know what, I think that this place has better sushi, don't you agree? The rice at Zuma's is too dry. ROKA never fails!" She yells the last bit to the ROKA employee's. Boris has been on a mission to rate every Asian restaurant in London. So far, she's compared every restaurant to ROKA. ROKA is still winning ten restaurants later.

I've known Boris for ten years, since I was twelve. We met when she found my cat and tried to send it to the moon on my front lawn. We've been friends ever since. Well, just recently we got together. Now I can freely hold her hand walking downtown, or kiss her in front of a building. Our relationship seems to be climaxing to the point of destruction, it seems to be heading nowhere.

Over weeks and weeks of debating whether or not I should leave London I've come to a conclusion. A conclusion. I've never come to a conclusion, if I'm being completely honest. I've always just left the answer up to Boris or the universe. Boris makes all of my decisions usually. I like it that way.

"Deep talk time," Deep talk time is what Boris calls talking about the real stuff. I nod. She always goes first. "Alright. I think that my mom hates me. She's always ignoring my calls, she posts on Facebook about my brother but not me, she posts about her cat more than me! My own mother likes my cat more than me!" She keeps talking but I zone out, I know what I'm going to say.

"And don't even get me started on my dad-" I cut her off.

"Boris we need to talk," She's taken aback, but still nods, "I love you so much. With all of my heart and more. But, I hate it here. And I'm sorry, but Boris, I'm leaving. I don't believe that after all this time I'm leaving. I-I'm leaving you here, alone." Even though I'm finished, I'm not quite done. Boris does the unexpected. She gets out of her chair, stares me in the eyes, and leaves the restaurant. I'm left with my mouth open.

I don't think I want to leave you.