Water Cleanse

Valentine's had been excruciatingly painful. The little black book had been hidden carefully in an interior jacket pocket. Scottie had no clue that Anna would try it on, checking the fitting for a gold and black leather letterman's jacket she wanted to purchase for him. The book only held two numbers--hers, and a woman unknown to Anna, named Christine. Scottie's heart was broken. He thought Annie had understood that jacket was an old favorite, and that he himself never wore it. In fact, he hadn't worn it in months. Somehow he had ended up at this pier.

The walk was long and hauntingly quiet. The waves of the Pacific Ocean crashed along the darkened sands. The foamy recess seemed to be beckoning in a way. Scottie continued along the dimly lit path. He wanted to toss the little notebook--the evil tool that had ruined his life and caused him to lose the love of his life. He could have lied to Annie. He could have told her it was a cousin, an old co-worker, or even a member from his graduating class. He began to walk more feverishly towards the pier's end.

The wretched book did not even belong to him. It was his father's. U.S. Navy-issued, it bore the anchor insignia upon its thin vinyl cover. He had torn out the pages containing the phone numbers of people his father had known after claiming the little book at his father's service. The decision was out of respect for their privacy, he reasoned to himself. He felt some sort of cleansing, as well, after carrying out the act. The only two numbers found inside the book now were those of his fiance, Annie, and another girl he also dated, just before he proposed. It had been over a year since he had spoken to Christine! It all seemed so unfair.

Scottie had broken into a jog now. He wanted to toss the little notebook so far and deep into the ocean, as if by doing so he could erase its entire existence, and his current fate along with it. The mist had become heavy. The waves were silent now. The pier had stretched so far out that Scottie had reached eerily calm waters. He, however, was anything but calm. He sped into a run, causing the shifting of the pages of the little book as they fluttered in Scottie's hand. As Scottie reached the end of the pathway, his feet slid along the wet wooden planks of the pier floor. In a furious motion, he flung the little notebook high and out into the dark moonlit water. He watched it freefall, and, as it did, he saw some piece of paper fall from within the book pages and race it towards the sea surface.

Scottie had no idea, but Annie had placed a check inside the little black book. It was for his first year at law school. He had been accepted at the start of the year, but they didn't have money for him to attend when his promotion fell through. Annie had sold her grandmother's precious diamond necklace to give Scottie the money. When she asked him about the phone number, she had expected him to say that it was a family member. The small notebook appeared ancient to her. She assumed it was his fathers. She wanted to be sure that no one was left uninvited to their long-anticipated ceremony. When she walked out of his life forever, she knew he would keep the check, and finally have a chance to go to law school--his lifelong dream. She loved him still, but she could no longer be with him. She wanted him to be happy, and she knew he was not happiest with her. Why else would he cheat on her?

Scottie and Christine had been high school sweethearts. He loved her still, but it had not been the same in since they were kids. They kept in touch around holidays and birthdays, but he did it more as an obligatory friend than as an ex-boyfriend. Christine had been heartbroken when Scottie dumped her for Annie. She wasn't even as pretty as Christine, and far from being as popular. On the night of their breakup, enraged, she swore that he would severely regret dating the two of them at the exact same time. Somewhere, Christine was laughing.