Paper Flower

Micah

"What the fuck, Micah!" Katherine screams in my face as we rush under the oak tree's gangling branches.

"Look, Kate, I don't know what to tell you. Her dad is my boss, and he pays for my living expenses! I don't even see her most days because she's still in high school. Why are you so jealous all of the time?" Her face bunches up and she crosses her arms in a stance that would scare children away.

"Maybe I'm so 'jealous' all of the time because we never spend time together! Even when I try and call you its always 'sorry sweetheart I'm busy with work' or 'sorry sweetheart I have to drive Layla to Cross Country practice'. She's a SENIOR! Why can't she just drive her own damn car and her own damn self away from my boyfriend!" Kate's face turns red at the last sentence.

I don't know how to respond to her. Katherine and I have been together for a mere four months, but I have been ignoring a lot of her requests to hang out because Layla's father needs my help with his new project. Also, Layla is a beautiful young woman. She has sleek, straight black hair and eyes that could turn a man to ice, but I don't look at her any other way than a friend.

"Kate, I'm sorry I've been ignoring you, but Mr. Hill needs my help with a new pigment creation. I thought taking you to the park today would be a nice time for us to spend time together and talk-"

"The park, Micah? Really?  We're both 20 and you can't afford to take me to a nice restaurant every once in a while, or to the zoo or anywhere else besides a dumb park meant for third graders at the end of your subdivision?" 

"What, do you think that I'm made of money? I help create pigments for Layla's father's paint business. I used to work for her mother, but she died in a terrorist attack almost 12 years ago. Do you even work? Can you pay your own rent? You text me every hour of every day requiring some attention and never have to do any work of your own? How do you survive? You're such a moocher, Kate!"

Kate gasps, and slaps me, knocking me to the marshy ground. "You're such an ASSHOLE!  Never talk to me again!" She takes off her coat and throws it over her head, a bright red tarp running down the street to the parking lot and to her white Chevy Malibu. As I sit in the rain, I regret the words that I said to her, but when I'm put under pressure I can't control what comes out of my mouth.  The cool water feels nice on my face for a few moments, but I know the nice khakis I wore today were ruined. 

"Really Micah, khakis to a park? You are  an idiot," I whisper to myself, shaking my shaggy blonde hair out of my face. I look around to find a better place to stay dry and see that the huge red slide near the swing set has a dry patch behind it. Standing up, I dust the wood chips off of my pants and jog over.