CHAPTER 16

ROHEED SLEPT ON the couch in Charlie’s living room. Charlie was just curled up on the floor with his head on his pillow and his Animaniacs comforter wrapped around his body. They had arrived home the night before shaken—and stirred—by the events that had taken place in the chapel. Neither of them had wanted to sleep by their lonesome. Roheed had lain on the couch and Charlie silently went to get his bed things. Neither of them had even brushed their teeth, which explained why the following morning their mouths tasted like sour boogers.

A knock on the door woke them. Charlie opened just one eye and nodded for Roheed to get the door. Roheed did, begrudgingly.

It was Florence and she was glowing. She had a backpack on, she was holding her suitcase, and she was tan in a dress and the breeze blew her hair around her face like she was lit for a conditioner commercial. Roheed was a stark contrast to her effortless beauty and positive vibes. He had his version of a five o’clock shadow—a couple of unruly chin hairs that he hadn’t weed-whacked with his electric razor yet. His dark mane was mostly sticking straight up on the side where his face was mashed against the pillow moments before. Nevertheless, Florence’s eyes lit up; she was grinning like a goon at the site of her beau.

Roheed maintained a sober, straight face. “What’s up?”

Florence was confused at Roheed’s reaction to seeing her. They had been apart for weeks, she missed him, and judging by their previous FaceTimes and texts, he missed her like heck too.

“I just flew in from Florence to see you!” Florence said.

“Alabama?” Roheed asked.

“No, Italy. Haven’t you gotten my messages? My texts? I’ve been trying to talk to you all night.”

Roheed looked down at his feet. “Scott threw my phone last night.”

Florence only felt more befuddled, “Why? Who? Also, what?”

Roheed’s face was steely, his tone even. “This long-distance relationship is not working. It hurts too much to not be with you fully. I just realized that seeing you right now.”

Florence was speechless.

Roheed continued. “You weren’t here when I needed you the most. I think it’s best we discontinue this relationship before we start to resent each other.”

A tear tracked its way down Florence’s face.

“Also, I’m assuming that you’re here to surprise me and go to Jonathan and Chris’s wedding with me, but the chapel burned down last night so that’s probably not going to happen as planned, or in the near future at all.” He began to close the door on her. “It was truly very nice to see you this one last time.” He finished closing the door and turned around.

Outside that closed door, Florence folded in half, feeling like she had been stabbed in the stomach with an ice pick ironically made out of fire.

Inside that door, Roheed turned around to face Charlie, who was on the ground looking up at Roheed with wide eyes.

“That was ice cold,” Charlie said.

Roheed shrugged and lay back down on the couch, facing away from Charlie. Charlie’s phone rang; he was glad for the distraction. His coworker Anfernee was on the other end of the line.

“Hey, Chaz,” Anfernee said.

“Hey, man.”

“Timmy called out sick, can you come in, like ASAP?”

“I was supposed to have a wedding today,” Charlie said out loud, but to himself.

A smile came into Anfernee’s voice. “I didn’t even know you were engaged! Congrats, Chaz!”

“It wasn’t my wedding,” Charlie corrected, annoyed.

“Oh, bummer. Someday, Chaz, you’ll find the right guy or girl. Anyway, can you come in?”

The light, and the hope, even the optimism that had come into Charlie’s life when he first received that invitation to the wedding those couple of days ago, died. He was empty again, and uninspired, and it felt like a hundred years since those words had flowed through his fingertips even though he had written pages and pages of prose the night before. He was headed back to his job, where he would probably rise through the ranks until the company went bankrupt, and then who knew where he would end up.

He sighed and answered Anfernee with a crestfallen, “Yeah.”