Three knocks on the cabin door. Sam hesitated to open it. Then again, if someone wanted to hurt him, that person probably wouldn't knock... So, he decided to unlock it, but with caution. As he peaked through the gap in the door, he saw his friend Carl standing in front of him.
"I heard about you and Josephine," he said.
"Are you here to hit me?" Sam asked, wary.
"Why on earth would you think that?"
"Well, someone broke my ribs last week, Josephine slapped me a couple of times and hit Sarah's car... I'm starting to think a hi can't come without a punch these days."
"I'm not going to hit you, Sam. Can I come in?"
"Sure."
They both grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat in front of each other on the narrow blue sofas.
"So, you're not mad at me?" Sam checked.
"Of course I am, you broke my sister's heart! That's why I'm here... I want to know what's gotten into you! I also heard about Sarah. I see you got there before me... You couldn't let me have her, could you!"
"Who says she would have had you, anyway? And wait a minute, are you upset because I hurt your sister or because I'm seeing Sarah?"
Carl took a gulp of his fresh beer, repeatedly tapping the table with his right foot.
"I'm very sorry I hurt Jo. I miss our complicity," Sam told him. "But I have to be honest with myself... I would have traded anything to be with Sarah."
"Who is this girl? Do you really know her or is she just some chick you want to have sex with?"
"Why does everyone think that?" he wailed. "She means much more to me than anyone will ever know!"
It was Sam's turn to take a swig of beer, utterly sick of people's judgments.
"Who's everyone?" asked Carl.
"Josephine, you and..."
"And who?"
Sam hesitated for a second, then spoke.
"Her brother."
"What's her brother go to do with all of this?"
"He's the reason I left this town in the first place, thirteen years ago."
"I thought you wanted to travel?"
"Yes, I did. But I wanted to tell Sarah I would come back. I never got round to it, because of Mark. I'm lucky Sarah remembered me after all these years!"
"You do realise what you have given up for her, don't you? You have given up a woman who was going to marry you and have children with you, a family who had welcomed you into their home, the plan to grow old with someone your age... All that for a girl you haven't seen in years, who might leave you when you get your first grey hairs, and who will want children when you're over fifty years old! Not to mention her brother. Was he the one who broke your ribs?"
Sam nodded.
"Boy, he sounds like a nasty piece of work! He must really hate you to do such a thing! This smells of failure already! What the hell are you doing? She's fucking up your life!"
"Nonsense! You don't have the slightest idea who she is."
"I know one thing: young girls like to be desired. You're an easy target. Once she's had you, she'll leave you to rot all alone on your little boat!"
Sam squeezed his fist tightly to contain himself.
"You'd better get out of here before I start doing the punching," he warned.
Carl got up and took his beer with him.
"Don't say I didn't warn you. In a month's time, you will be crawling back to Josephine, begging her to take you back! Unless Sarah's brother kills you first!"
He slammed the cabin door behind him.
Sam switched the sidelight on and grabbed his mobile that was lying on the fridge. He looked at the only photo he had of Sarah, the one where she was laughing at Saint John's stream with a couple of blades of grass in her hands. Sam never doubted her. And he still didn't after Carl's assumptions. He wanted to see her again.
Tired of people outside the relationship affecting what was happening on the inside, Sam decided to take fate into his own hands. It's now or never!
18:41
To Sarah:
I would like to take you out Saturday night. Are you free?
Sarah, who was cooking a meal at the time, smiled, blushed, and answered his message instantly.
18:42
To Sam:
Yes, I'd love that!
18:44
To Sarah:
Great, I'll pick you up at 19:00.
In a matter of seconds, Sarah was dancing around the kitchen, paying terrible attention to her cooking. She burnt the potatoes in the oven and the chicken had become dry and chewy. She ended up eating pot noodles instead. She didn't care. Nothing could upset her that night. Nothing at all.
END OF PART THREE.
YOU ARE READING
A SMILE IN A WHISTLE
RomansaSarah was seven years old when she met Sam. He was twenty. He taught her how to grass whistle. They found friendship where they least expected it. Now she is twenty-five. He is thirty-eight. They meet again. Their long-lost friendship turns into lov...
