SCOUT
I was done.
He had filled me up with such hope, such desire, such… longing, that I couldn’t keep spending tons of time with him and then nothing, only to do it again and again.
“Give me a date,” I snapped when he called next.
“What?”
“Give me a date when this is all over, or I’m walking away right now.”
“Scout, you know I can’t—”
“No, Desi, I can’t. I can’t keep falling in love with you over and over again. I want to be with you permanently. It’s nothing or forever.”
“Forever, of course.” He sighed. “You want a date? Fine. Your birthday. October 22nd. I’ll be there, on time, and we’ll start our lives together, for real this time.”
“No more excuses. I don’t care if we’re homeless. I just want you.”
“Fine,” he said curtly. “October 22nd.”
My demand must have caused him to forget why he called because he hung up. I wasn’t upset at his reaction. I’d expected it. With that in mind, I made plans with Luis to move out.
“Consider my last day October 31st, just to be safe.” I handed him a fat check, finishing up my half of the rent.
“How did you get this much money?”
“Desi and I split his earnings this summer.”
“What did you say he does again?”
“Debt collector.” I shrugged and stood up from the couch. “Now, you need to go start making flyers and putting the space in the paper, and I need to go pack.”
I still had five weeks and nothing to do but pack, so I took my time, cleaning everything extra for Luis and his next roommate. I scrubbed the floors and carpets. I bought paint and, with a heavy heart, layered white all over my drawings. I washed windows, raked leaves, and did everything I could to keep myself busy and my mind off Desi.
He called every night before work, but he was still angry at my ultimatum. Our conversations were usually clipped and short. He would ask about my day. I’d ask about his, and then we’d hang up. But then one day, he surprised me by seeming… happy.
We were only a week away from our birthdays, and the ticking clock had been making him more and more agitated. Now, he was almost the same Desi I’d fallen for in the beginning, almost a full year ago.
“Hey, you! I have a surprise.”
“You do?”
“I do. Do you have plans for your birthday?”
Was he going to cancel? “Don’t tell me—”
“I want to take you out. We’ll move you out the day after my birthday, okay?” he rushed. “Do you want to get tattoos?”
“Really? I mean, I’ve always talked about it, but—”
“Let’s do it. This artist is coming in from Germany who agreed to do us both.” His excitement was contagious.
“Sure, I guess!”
“Awesome. Okay, come up with something and I’ll pick you up in the morning on the 22nd, okay?”
Finally, it was happening. Desi and I would be together forever. “Okay,” I whispered.
