An Unfinished Painting

25- Please come back

  I did not think I would have the guts to do it, yet here I am, standing in front of May's family town house. I quietly knocked on the door, hoping that no one would answer. I looked down at the ground waiting for a moment, the door finally opened. I saw white shoes then I looked up to see May standing in front of me, holding the door open.

"Augie, what are you doing here?" May was wearing a pink skirt with a white corset top, her hair was in a braid.

I took off my sunglasses and embarrassingly proclaimed, "I am here to take you back." We awkwardly stared at each other until May bursted out laughing. "Why are you laughing?"

"Who- who says that?" May kept laughing, "That's the first thing you say to me- oh my gosh" May smiled then hugged me, "You haven't changed a bit."

I stepped back and asked, "Can we take a walk?" May shut the door behind her, "Let's walk over to the park." I was referring to Central Park, which was only a block away from her house. "Listen May, I'm sorry about what I said to you that night."

We walked under the bright green trees, "It's a sunny day." May said as she looked up at the sky, "I thought you hated the sun."

We started walking over to the main lake in Central Park, May followed along side me as we walked through the path. "May." I wanted to say it but I could not. I fell silent, the feeling of not being able to speak soon took over me, like it always does.

"I saw your interview." May giggled, "You're pretty famous now, I mean not like you weren't to begin with, but even celebrities and a whole bunch of articles have started talking about you." This was not what I came here to talk about, why was I listening to May talk to me about my novel.

We walked in silence for a bit, then I noticed the bench on my right. I walked over to it, it was the same bench I stood in front of when May approached me on Christmas all those years back. I only knew because on the side, I could see my name that I had engraved into the corner of the bench all those years back.

"What you looking at?" May walked up to me then looked down towards the bench where I was looking, "No way, did you do that?"

I looked over the lake, the ducks were swimming along by. I grabbed May's hand as I stared at the duck in the lake. "This was the spot. I was standing right here when you came up to me, you were only six years old" I smiled, "I thought you were a weird kid and the only reason I followed you back home was because I was worried you would walk up to another stranger and something would happen to you." I looked up at May who was staring right at me.

"Well I'm glad you decided to come home with me that day."

"May." I sat down on the bench, "I'm not good at these kinds of things." May sat down next to me, "My whole life I constantly ran away from my feelings. I'm sorry for making you feel like I was using you." I looked over at May, "I tried to call and text you, but you never answered, why?"

"You will never see me the same way I see you. Augie, you are my number one. I would do anything for you and I think that's what scares me the most. That night, when you told me I would never be your top priority, I realized I was doing the same thing you were doing when it came to Daisy. You became my world from the moment I met you. But it will never be the same for you. I didn't answer your calls or texts because I knew if you told me to come back, I would. And if I did, nothing would ever change."

The green leaves from the tree above are keeping me cool from the hot summer sun.

"I never liked the color of the sky on a clear day, because that is when the sun shines the brightest. Why did I never realize that? I have always loved the night sky, when the moon appears. It was the dark blue sky that I loved, I would always look up to see the stars shining above me and what phase the moon would be in." I said while staring straight in front of me, though I was not looking at specifically anything. I looked over at May, her dark blue eyes were staring right at me, "I don't expect you to come live with me again or even date me, and I don't expect you to forgive me. But I love you so much May and I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."