Sonnet 43

Line Five

‘I love thee to the level of everyday’s…’

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“I’m really sorry about my dad. I didn’t know he’d be home earlier than usual,” Adam profusely apologized as he set Charlotte down and moved the discarded slippers and unwashed clothes to the other side of the room, clearing up some space on the couch for me to sit. I just let my eyes wander and observed the surroundings.

The apartment was actually huge on the inside, with a receiving area and kitchen/dining room and three rooms located on the corners – two on the left and one on the right. I assume the lone room on the right belongs to Adam’s dad, since it was closed shut and from the outside, I could see a newspaper peeking out from under the door. Turning to my left, I saw Adam’s room with his name taped on the outside of the room with a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign below it.

I looked at the room beside Adam’s and was greeted with a…rather colorful sight. Charlotte’s room looked like somebody just puked rainbows on it. The door and the nearby walls were painted with crayons and were done haphazardly. Charlotte opened her room and I just chuckled at the sight of her bedroom walls being vandalized with pentel-pens and crayons and pens and some other shit.

“Wait here,” Adam quickly approached his room and opened it, revealing to me blue paint with the posters of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Miami Heat taped near the ceiling. I was about to follow him inside the room when he quickly slammed it shut. Adam’s probably getting all the costume from the room by now. In the meantime, I just sat there on the couch and waited for him.

I looked up and saw that the ceiling was decorated with small chandeliers hanging above the receiving area and the dining area. Overall, the apartment was really cozy (albeit a bit topsy turvy), but from my perspective, it’s clear that it lacked a woman’s touch.

A television set was positioned on the table in front of the couch. There was a wall with a big, square-shaped hole by the counter which served as a divider for the kitchen and the living room. The wall had small framed paintings and pictures of the family hung around the hole. There was one painting of a girl who looked like Charlotte, and a picture of Adam’s family when he was still in his pre-teenage years. In the picture, he was beside his dad while his mom was carrying a baby in her arms beside his brother. Adam looked short in the picture as compared to his brother who almost towered over all of them. They looked so happy.

Another picture caught my eye, however, because Adam’s mom wasn’t in there anymore. His dad was still smiling, although the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. He was carrying a little Charlotte while Adam and Zeke stood on either side of him. Zeke looked somber while Adam just glared at the camera.

A loud bang took me by surprise. I turned around and saw Adam watching me carefully, as if gauging my reaction.

“Uhm—”

“Let’s go?” he just smiled and walked to the door. I followed suit, although deep inside, I’ve got a hundred questions about his life, family, everything.

I want to ask him so many things after seeing a small slice of his life, but I’m scared. I don’t want him to think that I’m too nosy for my own good, and I know it’s not really my business to know everything about him because I have nothing to do with him.

Walking to the park, holding our costumes in one hand and my phone on the other, I could only hope Adam starts talking to at least lessen the awkwardness between us. He can talk about the invention of slippers for all I care, as long as he talks. I don’t want to see him like this, when he’s silent and obviously thinking about something he’s not willing to talk about.