Page 74 of The River in Spring
“Shit. No. I’m not in the mood for a party.”
“Well, you lucked out. They’re going to spend the weekend in Memphis. I guess that was where they spent their wedding night. I just thought you might want to call them before they take off.”
“Thanks,” I say, pouring a cup of coffee. “Want one?”
“No. I have to go. But I hope you’re going to give the whole Dove thing another look. I think you’re fucking up the best thing that ever happened to you. Fornothing.”
“My life is not nothing.”
“It will be if you let her go. Take it from me.”
Three hours and a million reflections later, I’m trying to put on the best face I can.
“Happy anniversary, you two lovebirds.”
Thank God for FaceTime. The parental units are not the most tech savvy duo.
“Darling, thank you for remembering.”
“Why are you looking like that? Are you sick?” My father always gets to the point.
“No. Just a headache. So you’re going to recreate your wedding night I hear.”
They chuckle with the thought.
“Well, there may be a small change here and there. Nothing your mother will notice. I’m still the virile Frenchman I was then.”
But their laughter tells a slightly different story. She touches his cheek, looks into his eyes and smiles.
“Gaston, you have only improved with the years.”
He chooses to believe the lie and offers a little kiss.
“So what’s happening in your life? How’s Dove?” he asks, pretending innocence.
I call bullshit. I am sure Aargon has told the interested parties about my…stupidity. I’m only using his word.
“I know you know,” I say, cutting to the chase.
Their expressions change. Both begin talking over the other.
“What are you thinking?”
“Call her and say you made a mistake!”
“Stop.”
It is as if I muted the screen. They quiet and wait for me to explain myself.
“I had to cut it off now. If I had waited it would have ruined the best time of her life.”
“Darling, don’t you know you’re the best time of her life?”
The very thought that could be true, makes a compelling argument.
“That’s what love is, son.”
My mother adds another thought. “Think about what you are doing, Nobel. You’re bringing logic and reasoning to the fight, and they are seriously outmatched by your heart.”
