1 | Almost Happy ▷ Sam Wilson | ✓

4 - HAPPY ACCIDENT

"MY THREE O'CLOCK CANCELLED, SO I HAVE THE AFTERNOON FREE, YOU WANNA DO SOMETHING?"

Rhett looked up from where he was sprawled out in his desk chair, waiting for the bell to signal the end of recess for his second grade students. "I'd love to, Nicky, but I have a meeting."

The man sighed and nodded, moving to sit in the too small chair closest to him. "Fun. What's the meeting about?"

Rhett sighed, tracing the lip of his coffee mug. "Oh, who knows. Budget cuts. Interesting news. Some of them are still sure that I was sent as a spy from the government, what with basically having no record of myself until nine years ago and having taken the job of one of their favorite co-workers who's vanished without a trace."

Nicky winced at the last part, but forced himself to hide it. Rhett was almost positive that he had moved on, he didn't need the man finding out that he wasn't as okay as he should probably be.

Rhett, however, was more observant that Nicky sometimes gave him credit for. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make that joke about Terran, that wasn't fair."

Nicky swallowed, forcing himself to smile. "Don't apologize, he probably would've laughed."

Rhett gave him a smile that clearly screamed, 'I know you're upset, but I won't say anything to make it worse,' before suggesting, "Why don't you go hang out at Central Park for a bit, go under the sun. For someone who recommends it to all of his patients, you sure love to avoid it."

Nicky scoffed, standing up and walking towards him. "Don't call me out like that." He reached over and hugged him, wishing that he didn't want to hold on as much as he did; Rhett wasn't his to keep, not anymore.

Smiling, he left the classroom, nearly bumping into a small child who was trying to get to her backpack. He apologized, nearly tripping over his own feet, and the girl merely laughed, scurrying away a moment later. Unfazed, he continued to walk, figuring that once he was done seeing the rest of his patients he could just hop on a train and get off somewhere near Central Park. It would be nice to walk, clear his head.

But until then, he had work to do.

º º º

"—so, basically, I land here and she's just like 'yeah, I don't love you anymore,' which is...great. You know, you could have told me before I moved all the way out here to be with you. And so here I am, I've been living here for about a year now and I've been doing alright, I have a steady job, I've made friends...and the worst part is, I'm still great friends with her parents. We see each other every weekend at church, it's...kind of awkward."

Nicky tried not to act too shocked, but he was sure that his open mouth and wide eyes gave him away. He blinked, taking in the pause that the man in front of him had given, looking at him expectantly. The psychologist cleared his throat, shaking his head ever so slightly, shocking him back into reality.

"That...that sucks, man," Nicky sighed, running a hand through his hair, "That-that is awful."

The man—Richard, his name was—just shrugged and nodded. "It is what it is. I'm mostly over it now, but...I mean, she wanted me to move in with her, but then I had to find my own place because she just decided she didn't love me while I was on the plane."

Nicky caught a shift in his expression, ever so slightly, on the last part of his sentence. He sat up in his seat. "Do you really believe that she just decided she didn't love you during your flight here?"

There was a long pause, Richard glancing towards the ceiling and biting his lip, Nicky just watching him patiently, scribbling an abridged version of the man's unfortunate tale into his notepad while he waited. Finally, the man spoke, "I don't think so. But it's easier to think that than think she was trying to force herself to love me for longer than just two hours."