Remembering Us

"To Assume Is To..."

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

I glance at the dark Rolex on my right wrist; she's thirty minutes late.

'If she's even coming' my conscious snips.

She's coming. Even if it's to tell me she doesn't care, she's decent enough to tell me to my face.

It's June, the peony and rose bushes are in full bloom making this part of the park perfect for confessing your love for someone a second time.

I have no idea what came over me last night as I basically threw up all my feelings onto four thin sheets of white notebook paper.

The words I scribbled down flash through my mind and I groan. She's gonna read a few lines and already think I'm a fucking pansy.

The tie I'm wear suddenly feels as if it's tightening around my neck so I rip it off, unbuttoning the top few buttons of the the dress shirt.

I also can't say what came over me when I saw that scraggily kitten sitting alone in the tiny cage.

Fish food for Melanie. That was all I was there for. Then, walking past the adoption section, my green eyes met the matching ones of the stinking cat. It cocked its head to the side and I had the sudden image of it curled in the hearth of the stone fireplace in my penthouse. There was more to it, but it's an image I refuse to consider until I see her.

Oh, fuck. I stand from darkly stained bench. What if she isn't even home? That poor kitten. No. I sit back down. Isaiah said she was, Meghan is with her.

She suddenly appears, walking just a few feet from me. As always, she's beautiful. She really loves those knee length sundresses that always make her look dainty and feminine. The white one she's wearing now reminds me of the first time I saw her, all rational thought left me, just like know as I see her allowing some boy to lean down an kiss her.

It's short and innocent but, my god, it sends me crashing back to earth.
***

To assume is to make an ass out of you and me.
Amelia always begs to hear my side of that day and then tells me that. It was something her father ingrained into her mind. I think it's one of the biggest reasons we never fight, she's always ready to listen. She says if that day isn't a good example of where assuming things leads to, then Isaiah and Meghan should be.

Now I always try to find all the facts before making decision, but when it comes to a girl tugging on the heartstrings of my son, she will not be in the receiving end of my sympathy.

My said son is currently pacing my office at a dizzying rate. "You're gonna wear out the carpet in that one spot." I mutter, glancing from him to the file currently sitting at my desk.

I told him what was in it before setting it down for him to look through when he was ready; he's not.

"No," He shakes his head, continuing to pace. "What you're saying isn't possible." He slams his fist onto the desk. "It's not."

After Amelia pulled Audrey away, I didn't see her again until late that night when she came to bed well past midnight.

I guess I should be thankful for Meghan texting me to let me know my wife was safe.

Without saying anything, she had crawled into the bed, my bare back not bothering her as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

She must feel me tense and realize I'm still awake because she starts speaking. "To assume it to make an ass out of you and me."