Sunday 15 April 2007

In the restaurant

When he called her and said he had something important to talk about, she was relieved and told him that she also liked to have a word with him. They hadn’t seen each other in a week, not after their quarrel.

They met in a restaurant. He was sitting by the table when she entered the dimly lit room. He had already ordered white wine for them. She would have preferred red wine, but didn’t say anything when she seated herself beside him.

-You look beautiful.

She didn’t smile, just nodded slightly her head. She was nervous and her hand trembled a little as she lifted the glass on her lips.

They ordered some appetizers, although she would have wanted to start with the main course. She wasn’t hungry, in fact she felt a little bit nauseated and she began thinking it would’ve been wiser to deal with the matter on the phone.
But she couldn’t leave him like that. She had once loved him and she owed him an explanation face to face. He was too kind of a person to be treated cruelly.

He ate with good appetite and didn’t seem to notice her idle fork which made round circles in the shrimp salad. The waiter poured some more wine in his glass and left with the plates. She caught his eyes and saw that he smiled.

-You’re not hungry? he asked in a gentle voice. – I thought I couldn’t eat, but I was wrong. It’s funny, I’m not at all nervous.

She couldn’t speak. She hadn’t thought this would be easy, but she hadn’t foreseen this would be this difficult. She knew the man would be hurt and she really didn’t want to hurt him at all. She just didn’t love him anymore.

-I love you. Will you marry me?

She drank some wine and she realised she couldn’t get through with the situation. The man looked at her, keenly and waiting. Silent moments passed and the expression on the man’s face became fraught. She tried to speak, to say no, but no sound escaped her lips. She had to close her eyes, because she couldn’t stand the anxious eyes of the man.

When she finally opened her eyes and saw the gaze of the man, she knew she couldn’t hurt him any more. She had hurt him enough.

The waiter brought the main course. He was too happy to eat and she had lost the rest of her nonexistent appetite. They finished the wine and then they left the restaurant.



*****

HPY gave me a sentence to end a story with: and then they left the restaurant. This is the story that came out.


6 comments:

hpy said...

And then they lived happily ever after?

It's a good story, it tells us about how we destroy our lives by being too considerate about other people. We should be a little bit selfish sometimes.

Is that absurd? (I haven't forgotten your word, but it's not coming out yet.)

SusuPetal said...

Maybe they lived happily enough and that was satisfying?
Or not.

To please oneself is not always the same as to please someone else.
You have to make a choice and live with it.

Maybe it's abusrd. Anyway, it's life.

david santos said...

Thanks for you work, is very good, have a good week.

SusuPetal said...

Thanks, David, a nice week for you, too.

Anonymous said...

Hmm, on niin monia syitä mennä naimisiin.... Mikähän voisi olla oikea...?

SusuPetal said...

Celia, kerro, kun keksit:))