A Promise - Part 2

Alice grabbed her phone from between her lap, and after a few seconds, she shoved it at him.

"Just friends, uh, just friends, this doesn't look like just friends to me."

Marlon took the phone and looked at it. On the screen was a photo of him and Stacy eating at McDonald's. He was laughing.

"How did you get this?" Marlon asked.

"That's all you can say," Alice asked, still angry, "aren't you going to deny it again?"

She snatched the phone out of his hand, "I knew something was going on between the two of you. A boy and a girl cannot be just friends."

Marlon sighed heavily and threw his hands into the air, and allowed them to drop on his thighs.

"I don't know what else to say to you. Stacy and I are just friends."

"Wait, what happened with the word best? So now it's just friends?" Alice said.

She punched him on the arm, and his anger rose.

"Stop hitting me," he exclaimed and reached out to grab her hand.

She pulled away from him and her back slammed into the door.

"Don't touch me!"

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, struggling to control his anger.

"I promised myself that this was not going to happen to me again," Alice said, shaking her head.

Marlon waited for her to continue.

"How can you do this to me?" she asked.

"I don't know how to get through to you. I am not cheating on you with Stacy," Marlon said, leaning back into the door and passing his hand across his forehead.

"Then prove it," she said.

"How?" he asked.

"End your friendship with her."

"What?" Marlon asked.

"Stop being her friend, and then I'll believe you."

Marlon's mouth fell open, but no words came out. He closed it. He opened it again, but still, nothing came out.

"What's the matter, Marlon? Cat got your tongue?" she asked.

"She's my best friend. I can't just stop having her in my life," Marlon was finally able to say.

Astonishment continued to cover his face.

"You have me now. I should be your best friend. Can't you see that?" she pleaded as her voice broke.

Marlon stared at her.

"Do you love me?" Alice asked.

"You know that I do. Why are you making this so difficult?"

"Me? I'm not the one making it difficult. You're the one making this complicated."

"Me?" Marlon asked, still astonished.

"She's the problem, not me. We never argue about anything but her. Don't you see that?"

Marlon exhaled slowly and quietly and after a few seconds of silence between them, he said,

"Okay, okay."

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'll tell Stacy we need to take a break from our friendship."

"A break?" Alice asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yes, a break, and that's all I can do for now," Marlon exclaimed.

"And how long is this break going to be?" she asked.

"I don't know, maybe a month," he replied.

"No," Alice said, "it has to be longer. Is that all our relationship is worth?"

"Then what do you suggest," he asked.

"Three months is more than reasonable."

Marlon stared at her, then slowly nodded.

Alice took a deep breath and slowly moved from the door, and sat facing the front. They sat in silence, looking through the window shield.

Marlon's eyes slowly became heavy, and sleep was the only thing he wanted to do. His eyes were slowly closing when he felt Alice rubbing his arm. He turned his head to look at her.

"Do you want us to go into the back?"

"I'm tired," he said, "maybe I should go home."

Alice pushed out her lower lips.

"But we just got here."

"I know, but I didn't realize I was so tired."

Alice reached out and took his hand and lifted it to her lips and kissed it a few times. Then letting go of it she drew closer to him and cupped his face in her hands.

"I love you, Marlon," she said, "do you still love me?"

"Of course I do," Marlon said, "but..."

"No buts," she said, touching his lips with her thumb, "say that you love me."

"I love you," Marlon replied.

"Ler's go into the back," Alice whispered, and shortly afterwards, they were kissing passionately in the back seat.

Alice wanted them to get together on Saturday, but Marlon explained that he couldn't because he was helping his Mom with the chores and grocery shopping. So, he suggested Sunday, but she could not because her parents needed to talk with her.

"I think they're going to divorce," she said.

"I'm sorry," Marlon said.

"Yeah, well..."

Later that day, Stacy texted, asking if Alice had agreed to the double date, and he responded with, "I'll fill you in on Monday."

On Saturday, when his Mom returned to the kitchen after changing out of the clothes she wore to the supermarket, Marlon was already packing away the groceries they had just brought home.

"Are you okay, son?" she asked, picking up the orange net with the oranges in them.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, putting the large, plastic, see-through jug of milk into the fridge.

"If something were wrong, you would tell me, right?" She asked, cutting open the net of oranges.

"Nothing's wrong, Mom," he replied, offering her a smile as he closed the cream-painted fridge door.

She was quiet for a few seconds as she took oranges out of the bag and placed them into the empty stainless steel sink before saying, "What about bringing Alice over next Saturday?"

Taken aback by her words. he almost dropped the five tins of milk he was carrying to an overhead cream-painted, wooden cupboard. "Oh, yeah, sure! I'll ask her."

"How about Stacy? How is she? She hasn't been by lately."

"She's good," he replied, nodding, as he stored the cans of milk.

"What about her boyfriend, Terry, right? Are they still together?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied, closing the cupboard door.

The home phone rang.

"That would be your grandmother," his Mom said, looking in the direction of the phone.

"I'll finish up here," Marlon quickly said. "Say hi to Granma for me too."

His Mom surveyed the groceries that were waiting to be stored.

"I can call her back when we are finished," she said.

"It's okay Mom, I can handle it," he said.

"I know you can, what you can't handle is the conversation we were having," she said, smiling at him.

"Busted," he whispered, taking out the large box of cornflakes from the black and red reusable bag.

She laughs, and the phone rings again.

"Okay, okay," she said, still laughing, "I'll go talk with Grandma."

She left the kitchen and Marlon continued with the groceries.

On Monday, at lunchtime in the cafeteria, Marlon told Stacy that they needed a break from each other to give his relationship with Alice a chance because she was extremely jealous of their friendship.

"Oh! I see," Stacy said.

Marlon waited for her to continue but when she didn't he said, "It will only be for three months. Our friendship can survive that, and besides, Alice will realize quickly realize there is no reason for her to be jealous, and that will be the end of it."

"And what if that's not the end of it? What if she is still jealous at the end of that time?" Stacy asked.

Marlon thought about this same question for the entire weekend, and still, he had no answer."

He looked miserable when he said, "I don't know."

Stacy's eyes were suddenly filled with tears, but she quickly turned away from him and tried to blink them away.

"Alice is not good for you, Marlon," she said, turning back to him, "if she is forcing you to give up your friends, she is not good for you."

"Just give me three months, please," he pleaded as he struggled to keep his tears from entering his eyes.

Stacy cleared her throat.

"But what if I decide that I don't want to be your friend after three months?" she asked.

"Then you have the right to do that," he said, shaking his head, "but please don't do it. I just need some time to make my relationship with Alice work. I'm in love with her. I've never felt this way about anyone before."

Stacy studied his face as it changed from miserable to an expression that she could not read. Then she slowly nodded

"Okay," Marlon said, slowly and quietly letting out his held breath.

They gazed at each other for a few seconds.

"I'm going to go and join the girls at their table over there," Stacy said, indicating a table with a nod of her head.

"Can't we finish our lunch together?" Marlon asked.

"We could," Stacy said, "but I'm going to leave though."

She picked up her food and left the table.

"Stacy," Marlon called, his voice a little louder than the voices in the cafeteria.

"Yeah?" she asked, stopping and turning to look at him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Yeah, me too," Stacy said before she continued walking.

On Monday night, while in bed, he phoned Alice to ask her about her family meeting.

"They're going to get a divorce."

"Sorry," Marlon said.

"You don't need to be; it's not your fault, it's theirs. They don't love each other anymore. How can you not love someone anymore? They probably never loved each other in the first place."

Marlon was about to say sorry, again, but bit down on his lower lip instead. She talked for a few more minutes before he asked,

"I guess that since your dad will be leaving, you will be staying here with your Mom?"

'That's a given," she replied, "why would you even ask me that?"

Then, even before he could reply, she asked,

"Do you want me to leave, is that it, Marlon? Do you want to break up with me? Is that what you're driving at Marlon?"

"I'm not driving at anything. Why does everything have to be a quarrel with you?" he asked, frustration mounting in his voice.

Alice took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Marlon said nothing.

"Do you forgive me?" she asked.

Marlon remained silent.

"Marlon?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm here," he said.

"Did you hear me?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure," he replied.

They were silent for a few seconds before Alice asked.

"Were you able to talk with what's her name?"

"Her name is Stacy, and yes, I've talked with her, and she agreed to us taking a break from each other."

"She did?" Stacy asked, surprised.

"Yes, she did. So now that she's out of my life, we should not be having any quarrels, right?" Marlon said.

"No," Alice quietly said, "and with everything that's going on with my family, this week will be a busy one for me."

"Okay," Marlon said, "I'll see you on Friday, then?"

"Yeah," Alice said, "and we'll text and call each other as usual."

"Yeah, of course."

"Wait, I think my Mom is calling me," Alice said, "I have to go and see what she wants before she starts screaming and the neighbours come banging on the door."

"Really," Marlon asked, "does she scream when you don't answer her?"

"Sometimes she does more than that, but I have to go now. I love you."

"I love you too," Marlon replied.

"Bye," Alice said.

"Bye," Marlon said.

Marlon lay on his bed for a long time thinking about Alice, and a strong desire to always protect and make her happy overwhelmed him, and as he drifted off to sleep, he promised himself that he would always be there for her.

The following day, armed with his new conviction of always being there for Alice, Marlon was sure that this conviction would be more than enough for him to bear losing Stacy's friendship for the next three months. However, for the next few days, he could not shake off the sadness that clings to him like a wet diving suit.

On Tuesday, some of his other friends realize that something was wrong between him and Stacy. So, they asked him about it, and he told them that they were taking a short break from each other. However, by Christmas time, everything will be alright. They asked him for more details, but that was all he would say.

On Stacy's part, Marlon noticed that she did not go out of her way to avoid him, but she kept away from him; and in the classes they shared, she'd moved away from sitting next to him. At times, he wanted to call out to her, and tell her that he was really sorry and that he wanted them to continue with their friendship, but the thought of losing Alice kept him from calling out.

So, the week dragged on, and by the time Thursday arrived, he did not feel like getting out of bed.

"Are you ill or coming down with something?" his mother asked as he sat to eat his breakfast.

It was her day off from the retail store she worked at and as usual, she had gotten up to prepare and eat breakfast with him.

"Maybe coming down with something," he mumbled.

She instantly reached out and placed her hand, palm down, on his forehead, then under his neck, palm up.

"At least you don't have a fever," she said.

"Do you have a headache?" she asked.

"Just on and off, but nothing right now," he replied.

"Do you want to stay home today?" she asked.

Marlon was tempted to say yes, and the words were on the tip of his tongue when he remembered his band class was having a guest speaker that day.

He groaned.

"No," he said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," he replied, trying to sound happy.

His mother stared at him with the look she'd been giving him lately and he quickly looked down at his breakfast, and said,

"Humm, this smells good."

On Friday, it was as if a light was turned on in him because he woke up extremely happy. He was looking forward to spending time with Alice. So, after band practice, he anxiously waited until Stacy left the building before trailing behind her. He didn't want Alice to think that they were still talking to each other.

Alice was waiting for him in the car and when he sat next to her in the front seat, he was whistling.

"Is that guy her brother?" Alice asked.

"Who, what, where, how?" he asked, looking up from attending to his seat belt and smiling.

Alice was pointing somewhere, so his eyes followed her finger and they landed on Stacy and Terry, who were bracing against his black and white jeep and talking with two other band members.

"Is the guy in the black jeans and blue top her brother?" Alice asked.

"Oh, no," Marlon replied, "that's Terry, her boyfriend."

"Her boyfriend?" Alice exclaimed, jerking backwards as though she was slapped.

"Yep," he said, "and I'm ready to go when you are."

"She moves very fast, doesn't she? She probably had him on the back burner," Alice said, still looking at them.

"What do you mean?" Marlon asked.

"On Monday you told her you're no longer friends, and today Friday, she has a boyfriend. Connect the dots, Marlon," she said, rolling her eyes.

"There're no dots to connect, Alice. Terry and Stacy have been dating since last year."

Alice's mouth fell open.

"Really," she asked, after recovering, "how come you didn't tell me this before?"

"I haven't?" Marlon asked, "I'm sure I have."

"Well, I'm sure you didn't," Alice said, turning on the car's engine, "knowing that would have made things a lot easier."

Marlon was about to ask, what do you mean, but instead, he bit down on his lower lip and kept quiet.

They drove out of the school's parking lot with Alice muttering, "so much easier."

They made their way to the playpark's parking lot, talking, but not much about anything in particular. When they arrived, immediately after turning off the car's engine, Alice said, "I'll be leaving to go and live with my Dad when school closes."

"What?" Marlon asked, taken aback.

"Sic," Alice said, laughing, "You should see your face."

She laughs long and loud.

"I'll only be visiting my Dad during the Christmas season, but I'll be coming back."

"That wasn't funny," Marlon said, and he too began to laugh.

As they sat there laughing, a grey van pulled up about three spaces away from them and Marlon could see that a woman was in the driver's seat. The window was partly winded down.

Suddenly, her head slammed twice into the window.

Marlon's laughter caught in his throat and he looked over at Alice before turning and unlocking the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Did you see what just happened there?"

"Don't get involved, she most likely deserves it," Alice said, grabbing hold of his arm.

"And I guess I deserve it every time you slapped me too?" Marlon said.

"Well, yeah," Alice said, "you were driving me crazy with jealousy."

Marlon glared at her, then turned to unlock the door. He did and stepped out of the car.

Marlon walked to the front of the van and stood there with his arms folded. Tears were rolling down the woman's cheeks and she was rubbing the side of her head. She was startled when she saw him.

Marlon's eyes moved from the woman and settled on the man sitting in the passenger seat. The man was also startled when he saw him.

Marlon made the shape of a gun with his fingers. He fired it and mouthed the word bang.

"Mind your own business, kid," the man yelled.

"Start the engine," he then commanded the woman.

The woman started the engine.

Marlon moved his right hand to his back.

"Hurry up," the man commanded again, "get me out of here. He has a gun."

Marlon kept his hand there as the woman slowly reversed the car and drove out of the parking lot, and disappeared from his sight. He then returned to Alice's car.

"You might think you just helped her, but you didn't. Actually, you've just made it worst for her," Alice said when he sat down.

"I'm ready to go home," he said, not looking at her.

"But...," she began.

"Now, please," he quietly interrupted her.

"No," she said, snatching his backpack from between his legs.

Marlon looked at her.

"Stop acting like a child," she said.

"No, you stop acting like a child," Marlon replied.

Her hand flew up, about to strike him but he caught it in mid-air.

He held it there.

"You and I are not going to work out, Alice," he said, quietly, "I will always be here for you if you need me, but this relationship is over. We are over."

She struggled to free her hand from his.

"You don't get to tell me when we are over. I tell you when we're over, and we are not over. We'll never be over, Marlon."

Marlon let go of her hand and left the car without his backpack.

As he was walking out of the parking lot, Alice drove the car and tossed his backpack through the window. He jumped out of the way and it landed on the concrete with a thump.

"We'll talk tonight," she yelled, "after you've calmed down."

She then speeds away.

I don't like who I am becoming, he thought, I need to talk with Stacy.

The End