SugarCOAT

133. Candy-Coated 🪻

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the front door open. I stood up from the sofa.

A.B. carried several bags in both his hands before resting them on the kitchen counter. Then, he walked over to me and kissed my cheek. "Did I wake you up?"

"I couldn't sleep," I admitted.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Are you okay? You look... flustered."

I arched my brow.

"You still look beautiful," he stated. "Have you ate?"

I quietly answered, "No."

A.B. went to the kitchen and opened the cooler before returning to me. "Eat this sandwich and drink some water. I'm gonna put everything away."

I took the food and watched him put everything away. Minutes later, he went to the bathroom, carrying more things to put away. 

That letter continued to occupy my mind. This is not how I want things to start.

A.B. came out the bathroom. 

Our eyes met.

"What's wrong?" He walked over to me.

Let's just put it out there. "You didn't tell me everything, J.C."

"What do you--" A.B. paused when he realized what I called him.  Seconds later, he asked, "Did you read that letter?"

I nodded my head. "You told me the relationship lasted for two years, but that letter sounded like it was longer than that."

A.B. rubbed my shoulder. "I'll tell you everything if you eat."

I silently agreed and took a seat on the sofa. I unwrapped my sandwich, said a short prayer, and took a bite.

A.B. sat adjacent to me in the loveseat, facing the sliding glass patio door with a view of the beach. "We met in college. I met my ex first. I met my business partner second. My ex and I were just friends at the time, but I knew she liked me more than that. Years later when I decided to get serious about my faith, she seemed to be the only one who tried to understand even though she wasn't much of a believer. One day, she asked if she could go to church with me and it became our thing. A few months later, I asked her out. We became official after that. The first few months were great, but then she wanted to do more. I don't know why I was surprised, but at the time I couldn't understand why she would want me to do things that I no longer wanted to do; especially, because of my love for God."

Lightbulb! "Oh!" I exclaimed.

A.B. nodded his head. "I did a lot of things before I got saved, but I didn't want to live that way anymore. After a year, she became tolerant and just accepted the way I did things. I didn't think much of it, but that's when I should have. I believe that's when my ex and my business partner started seeing each other."

I asked, "Were you gonna marry her?"

A.B. replied, "To please her, I would have, but the relationship was superficial. We just weren't compatible."

After a few seconds of silence, I said, "I am red, you are blue, and the sand is yellow... How often did y'all come here?"

"You're not eating," he reminded me.

I took another bite of the sandwich.

"When our relationship started, I was in deep. We should've went out on a few more dates. Maybe by third date, we would've realized we were better as friends. Anyway, I wrote her a poem called Primary Colors. In it I described our relationship and the feelings I had for her. When the issues surfaced, I told her I would take her to the beach house, because it was going to bring us closer together. I brought her here one time." A.B. held up his pointer finger. "One time... Her words and actions were like she'd been here before. All the signs were there..."