I peeked out the curtain of the nursing home for what seemed like the tenth time that day. I knew he was coming, but I didn’t know when. Jane called for me, probably for a glass of water, when something caught my eye. A bird was flying across the lot, flapping its wings to the beat of the song that was stuck in my head. More than This.
After I gave her pitcher a refill, I pulled out my cell phone and sat at the table in the break room. I scrolled through to find the text again, and read it twice. Hey, babe. I’m coming sometime today to visit.
I was still startled that he was coming to visit me. After we got separated because I needed to support myself, his career took off even more and she was with him through it all. He understood my reasoning, and that was good, but they grew close while I was gone. Something must have happened that he suddenly wanted to see me again.
She probably found someone else. I can imagine that happened. He was too in love with her for it to be real, meant to be. Either way, he was most likely single again and coming to come tell me what happened. After all, that’s what best friends do.
After what seemed like ages, my shift was over. I swiped my card and hung up my keys, leaving the other nurses to take their shifts. I was disappointed, yeah, but what was supposed to happen was random and unexpected. After all, did I really want that to happen? Was it realistic? No.
The drive back to my apartment was quiet; I didn’t want to bother with the radio. My emotions were in a state they hadn’t seen since I had to leave Niall back in London.
I got back, made a grilled cheese sandwich, and sat in the dark silence. I didn’t feel like doing anything, and I knew there was a reason I blocked these memories from my mind.
We met back when he was seventeen and really busy with his career. I guess you could call it something like “love at first sight.” I remember the other guys in his band were always picking on each other because, “aw, c’mon, even Niall can find love,” and I’d laugh like a baby while her mother was playing peek-a-boo with her.
We had a really solid relationship. We were best friends for a while, actually. It wasn’t even a relationship until we’d known each other for a year. It was a nice run, I guess. We were in a relationship for a whole of six years, but I knew it was over the second he met her. I was right, too… all too right.
He met “her” in Paris when he was 24. It’s actually been a year since. Anyway, I could tell by the look in his eyes that he’d found her. She was his “Mrs. Right.” Of course, that was when I couldn’t stand it anymore. I made the excuse that I needed to be independent, not relying on my boyfriend for everything. Do you know how hard it is, seeing the one you love, love someone else?
I came back to America, finished my last year of medical school, and now I’m a 24-year-old working in a nursing home. I thought I was over being replaced, but now that the situation was showing itself again, I knew I was definitely not over it.
And now he was coming back to visit me? Something wasn’t exactly right, there.
* * *
It was probably two in the morning when there was a knock at the door. I got up from my bed, pulled my hair back into a messy bun, and went to find out who could possibly want to see me at that time.
I opened the door to a familiar face, one I hadn’t seen in what seemed like ages. His nose and cheeks were red from the cold air outside and he was smiling, with noticeably straight teeth, and holding a single red rose. I knew what that meant, and I didn’t know how to feel about it, but like a good host, I let him in and offered him something to drink while we got comfortable.
