Betty's Cardigan

I Knew You

Betty wasn't about to give up on James just yet.

It was terrible that he had ditched her at the dance. She had cried bitterly in the parking lot before Adam picked her up and drove her to his house. 

"You sure you don't wanna head home," he asked politely. His cheeks were tinged red.

"No," Betty said. The word escaped her lips before she could even think about the consequences of staying at Adam's place. 

"Okay." 

Adam was a good friend of hers. He knew about her troubles since childhood. They used to have picnics in the fields beyond his house when she wanted to stay away from her parents. 

Adam's house was huge. 

From the outside it looked like a mansion from an old black--and-white film. Some kind of ivy was crawling up the walls on both sides of the front door and the concrete pillars were glistening under the porch lights.

Once inside, Betty felt like she had been transported into an alien world with the best amenities.  The facade of the aged home melted to give way to one of the most modernized estates in the neighborhood. The walls were icy white, but the thermostat was maintaining a pleasant temperature which made her forget about her cardigan left on the backseat of James' car.

She knew her room. She had been five when she had first slept there and the familiar scent of vanilla candles calmed her down.

It was probably the smallest room in the mansion. Not that Adam hadn't offered her a bigger one, it was the only room which hadn't been remodeled to fit the standards of his rich heritage. 

There was an ancient piano resting lazily against the left wall, it's ivory keys, once white, now turned yellow. The clock directly above read quarter past ten.

"I don't think he left on purpose," Adam said as he loosened his bow-tie. 

"I know," Betty sighed. "It's just everything got piled up and I couldn't..."

"Rest now," Adam said softly as Betty lay down and covered her face with a pillow in frustration. "Think about it tomorrow." He tucked her into bed just as he did ever since her first stay. 

Betty's mother always screamed at her for staying over, but this room was the only place she felt at peace with herself.

She felt a kiss on her forehead as she drifted off to sleep.

*****

The next day, she went to James' first thing in the morning. All she wanted was to know the reason he had left her. She was ready to forgive him completely.

She knocked at his door, the green paint peeled off the wood and stuck to her sweaty knuckles.

"Let's head out," James said as he secured his vintage 'Queen' t-shirt which was hanging off his chest at an awkward angle.

"Sure," Betty said and get out of the way as James shut the door behind him.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked as he started his Chevy. 

"Just drive," she answered. He was acting normally, as if he hadn't just ditched her on one of the worst days of her life.

They drove past houses and the occasional clump of oaks. Betty was getting impatient as James didn't attempt to initiate the conversation.

"Why'd you leave me yesterday?" Betty finally spilled. She wasn't angry. She was just upset.

"You and Adam seemed happier without me, so I made myself scarce," he said as if it was a mechanized answer he had practiced over and over again.

"Adam's my best friend!" She didn't even know why she needed to defend herself.

"I love you Betty," James said, this time more sincerely. "It's difficult for me to see you two like that."

"You don't need to be jealous," she declared. 

James nodded and turned up the radio even though it was only static.

"Are we okay then?" Betty felt anxious. She had already lost too many people in her life. She couldn't lose James over something as trivial as a dance.

"Yeah," he said, but this time he smiled that sweet full smile which melted her insides. "I won't disappear again."

And just like that, everything was better. 

They pulled up near the downtown bar when James spoke again. "Wanna go in?"

"No," Betty said, her breaths getting deeper as James looked at her with the thumb of his right hand trailing his lips.

Within seconds they were kissing deeply with James leaning over to the passenger's side. His hands drifted under her sweatshirt as he started whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

A sense of permanence drifted over Betty. She felt like this could last forever.