Six Ways to One Day

Chapter 24

"Listen, ladies. I am going to head out." You announce to your best friends.

Judy says, "What's the hurry? You guys can stay as long as you'd like. I've got nothing else going on all weekend."

You reply, "I promised Tae that I'd make myself available to talk. He said he'll be over at my place at 1:00 today. I still have to get groceries if I want to eat next week. I also have some things that I want to get done at home before he gets there."

Skylar remarks, "Okay, but you owe us a play by play of the conversation with Tae, when you two are done talking."

Lillian adds, "Yes, please. I'm kind of rooting for him."

At Lillian's comment, you see Judy, Amanda, and Skylar all nodding their heads. You say, "Is this how it's going to be from now on? You guys are my friends. Mine! Not his."

Amanda replies, "Yes, and that's exactly why we are saying what we are saying. Stop being so goddamn stubborn and listen to us for a change."

You take in an exaggerated gasp at Amanda's comment and say, "I'm the least stubborn one, out of the five of us."

Judy adds, "Sure, and the most delusional as well."

You turn to Skylar and ask, "Skylar, let me ask you something. Does Ted's dick tend to hang to the left or to the right?"

Judy's eyes grow perfectly round at your mention of her brother's penis, and she immediately covers her ears and shrieks. Skylar laughs aloud and says, "You better stop, or you're going to get me in trouble!" She then turns to Judy and says, "I had nothing to do with this. It was all her," and points an accusing finger at your direction.

Judy says, "You're going to pay for that."

Still laughing, you say, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll stop. Please, don't hurt me."

Lillian says, "We'll expect a full report on our desks by Sunday night."'

"Yea, yea.... Alright, now come give me a hug."

Your girls embrace you in warm hugs and tell you encouraging things about the impending talk between you and Tae. Promising them that you'll reach out to them as soon as humanly possible after "the talk," you say farewell and take your leave.

Getting groceries takes about an hour. By the time you're done putting everything away, the clock on the wall in your living room reads 11:20 AM. You usually spend your Saturdays doing household chores, such as laundry and cleaning. But because you've been distracted in the recent past, you have disregarded your duties. Not wanting to neglect your chores any longer, you decide to spend the next hour crossing some of those activities off your to-do list.

By 12:30 PM, you had done a load of laundry, cleaned your kitchen and your first-floor bathroom, and had vacuumed most of the rooms downstairs. Finding yourself quite sweaty from all the housework, you decide to jump in the shower and get cleaned up before Tae arrives. You promise yourself that you're going to finish cleaning and mopping the first floor and then work on cleaning your upstairs rooms after your talk with Tae is done.

Doing all those physical chores that come with cleaning one's home has worked off some of your nervous energy and you feel much more settled. As you go through your shower routine, you think about where and how the conversation with Tae will go. First, you imagine that he'll try and make a case for the two of you getting back together. You ask yourself, "Is that something I want to do? Am I really being stubborn and obstinate at this point? Do I want to try this with him again? I've said some hurtful things to him. Is getting together with him again even a possibility after everything that was said and done?"