Repetition Compulsion

7.

Sera:

The peace and tranquility did not last for long, however, because a few seconds later, they were interrupted by the sound of Abimbola's phone ringing in the pocket of his trousers that were now on the floor. He looked up at her, and they made eye contact.

For a brief second, Sera thought he would ignore the phone call for her. But then, he disappointed her by reaching down and grabbing his phone. He took one look at the caller ID, frowned and then lifted one hand up to Sera, motioning for her to give him a minute. Then, he left the room, being sure to shut the door behind him.

Sera got up and sighed discontentedly, though she wasn't sure why she was so discontent. She thought about getting down from the top of the grand piano where she was still sitting, but she wasn't sure she could do so without breaking something either on her body or on the piano. So, finally she decided to stay there. The only thing close to her was Abimbola's dress shirt as well as a bottle of wine. So, she grabbed the dress shirt, put it on and then proceeded to gulp down a large quantity of wine.

Abimbola walked back in a couple of minutes later, with his head down and a concerning look on his face.

He walked up to her, sat on the little piano bench, and then took a swig of wine too. He did not say much, but his body language conveyed that he was upset...almost as though he had received some terrible news during his phone call.

A heavy silence filled the air. It wasn't awkward, but it was definitely heavy.

"You're beautiful, you know that?", he muttered at one point in time, but Sera wasn't sure whether or not she was meant to hear that. So, she kept her head down and minded her own business.

Silence continued to fill the air. That was until Sera reached for a random piano key and pressed it, filling the room with a random melody note for exactly 3 seconds. She continued to do this for about 30 more seconds before Abimbola held down her hand, seemingly gesturing for her to stop. His face was filled with an amusement that seemed to be mocking her piano playing skills.

"Well, you play then, since you seem to think you can do better", she giggled, punching him lightly on his shoulder.

Abimbola bit his lip. "Maybe later"

"Why not now?"

"Well, right now I was kind of hoping you would read me some of your work."

"My work?"

"Yeah...earlier on...I saw you scribbling something down in a small journal. Are you not a writer?"

"No.", Sera replied defensively. But then, the heaviness of her lie set in, and so she added in "Well, yes and no. I used to write, but not anymore. Now I just read other people's work."

"Well, can I see some of your earlier work, then?"

"I don't have it on me."

"I'm sure you've got something memorized?"

"Why are you pushing?"

"I am not pushing."

"Yes, you are. Back off and just be cool. Damn."

An awkward silence filled the air, allowing Sera to fully think about the scene that had just played out, as well as how harshly she had reacted and how awkward her reaction had made the entire atmosphere.

She thought about apologizing, but she knew an "I'm sorry" wouldn't be good enough to break through the awkwardness lingering in the air, so she cleared her throat and prepared to speak.