Unhappily Married ✓

24. Upbeat

"Before you marry a person, you should first make them use a computer with slow internet to see who they really are."-Will Ferrell

"Any progress yet?" Tammy asks.

I shift in my chair to look at her. "No, I haven't written anything except for the title."

This article is driving me crazy, to be honest. I thought I'd write it somehow, but I was terribly wrong. For the past one-hour or so, I've been staring blankly at the screen, hoping for something to click, but nothing has worked out yet.

I don't want to tell David that I can't write this article because he has shown trust in me and I don't want to dash his hopes. Yes, I am experienced, but I can't decide how to put my experience into words. I don't want to end up writing a load of nonsense because some people do expect better from me.

"Just tell him you can't write it," Tammy says, shrugging.

"No," I sigh, "I can't do this to him, okay."

"What will you do then?"

"I don't know yet, but I'll definitely find a way to deal with this situation."

She nods quickly.

"Oh, by the way, I'm going to Burger King for dinner. Wanna come along?" she asks, smiling at me.

I scratch the nape of my neck. "Uh, I'm sorry, Tam, I can't join you. I'm going out with Todd."

She raises her eyebrows at me. "With Todd?"

I smile, "Yeah, somehow he managed to get tickets for the NBA finals."

A grin spreads across her lips. "That's great!"

"I know."

"And you're not taking me with you."

I tilt my head to a side as I give her a small smile. "Sorry. Next time, Brian, you and I, we'll all go together. Promise."

"That'd be awesome, Stella."

I turn my head and focus my attention back on the bright screen.

I have absolutely no inspiration right now and it's really annoying me.

"I guess it would take a miracle to make me write this article." I groan. 

Tammy chuckles, "Just write down some random shit and get it edited before submitting it to David."

I frown. "I don't write random shit."

"Don't stress out, Stella. David won't put you in prison if you fail to write this article."

I take a deep breath. "You're right; I need to calm down."

She gives me a toothy smile. 

"I'm always right."

*****

After searching for like ten minutes, I finally find a place to park my car.

"We're here," I say.

Todd looks up from his lap and unfastens his seatbelt as soon as he can. I do the same and we both get out of the car at the same time.

Todd still panics a little while I drive, but it's good to see that he's slowly getting over his deep-seated fear. He just needs some more time and I'm sure he'll succeed in his efforts.

He wears his Brooklyn Nets cap and gives me a small smile. "How do I look?"

"Cute."