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“WHAT!” A huge smile busted from my face. “Willie! That’s amazing!” Willie looked relieved. His hands were shaking.
“Congratulations, man!” I messed up his hair, “Look at you! So nervous to tell me. How will you be when you ask Eve?” Willie’s face turned pale. His mouth sat open, and it made me spit food out with laughter.
“It’s not too soon, right?” He asked, worried. I made sure to take a long sip of my soda, building the tension as he did with me. He sweated.
“Not at all.” I said, taking another bite. “Dude, you guys are meant to be. I know this because when I see you two, it reminds me of…” I stopped. I wanted to say Julia and me, but it hurt. She was so far away, and I was here, thinking about her day after day. I rested my hand on his shoulder, and spoke softly, “You guys… you’re fucking amazing, and your love is amazing. Come here!” I brought Willie in for a hug. I squeezed him tight.
“You don’t know how bad I needed to hear that.” Willie shot up from his seat. Winston came back into the room and sniffed the air. “I gotta go. I gotta go!”
“Where?” I shouted. “The game! Duke is killing it!” I looked at the screen, they were down by nine now. “Well… they were.”
Willie put his coat on. “I’m getting a ring. Right fucking now!”
Willie almost skipped to the door. I had never seen this from him, and I would never forget it. “Wai…” I held my hand out to stop him.
“You’re the best, Nathan!” He slammed the door, and then there was silence. Winston came back, and we stared at each other.
“Hungry?” I asked as I unfolded Willie’s burger. Winston perked up on the couch. I turned the volume back up, filling the room with noise once again. The ram mascot was on TV, doing back flips, reminding me of the toy I destroyed.
Winston’s face was covered in ketchup when we heard a knock at the door. “We already ate your food!” I shouted, then looked at Winston. “Do you want to get that for me?” He stared at me with clueless eyes. “Fine.” I muted the TV and got up to answer the door.
Willie was so forgetful; it was a surprise he could even remember how to use a fire extinguisher. I started speaking as I turned the knob, “Sorry buddy, the dog….” I stopped. For a moment, I forgot to breathe, lost in a surreal dream. I thought I died.
“Jules?” Her name fell out of my mouth. She stood before me, her body wrapped in a large fur coat, her brown hair capped with a ribbed white beanie. Her lips were bright red, her cheeks rosier than ever. I literally stood frozen in her sight. I fucking loved her.
“Can I come in?” She asked quietly, looking behind me, where Winston jumped for kisses.
“Absolutely, please.” I moved aside as she stepped in. I couldn’t believe it. I expected to see my body on the couch, as if I were a ghost living some dream. But no. She walked in, removing her coat and hat. I didn’t know how many times I envisioned her coming back, the things I would say. Yet, here I was, lost in her beauty, absent of words. We sat on the couch together, sharing an eternity of silence.
“I-I..” We both opened our mouths, speaking in unison. We smiled. It was a weird deja vu, as if I manifested this with my endless wishes. She was here. Actually here.
“So…” I began, but Julia quickly blurted out.
“I’m moving back,” she spoke so fast yet quietly, it was hard to believe she said what I thought she said.
“But what about all you worked for? I mean, I don’t understand?” She deserved it all, and I would live a million lonely lives so long as she was happy. My face felt warm in her presence.
“I had it,” she smiled, “my dreams were there, literally in my hand. But, something new happened too, something I learned.”
“What was that?” I asked, my heart raced at the anticipation.
“There are two truths to my story. First, I never knew what a real dream was, till I found what I was missing. It’s not about a city or a job, those were placeholders for something else, someone else. I know, deep down inside, even if I had those things, I would still be lost, still be miserable. There is no dream, if the dream doesn’t have you.” Julia fidgeted, her knee bobbed up and down as she bit down on the front of her lip.
I tilted her chin up, as I had before, my pounding heart spinning in my chest.
I stared into her green eyes, listening to her every word, hanging on her lips for salvation. I needed to know.
“And your second truth?”
She looked up, her eyes glistening with a glow.
“My second truth…” she paused, almost admitting in a whisper, “I love you. I really, really love you. And I’m sorry I wasn’t strong enough to say it before. Back when I felt it because I’ve felt it for so long.”
I never knew how good it could feel. Thinking of a moment that may never be, but one you’d hope to come true. To hear her words, to feel her skin, pierced the shattered mess that was my life. “Jules,” I spoke softly, “ I could never give you what you had before, but if you let me, I will love you for the rest of my life.”
She reached for my face, “I don’t want what I had. I want what we can be. What we can be together.” She held out her palm, “Can you see our future?” She smiled, as we both laughed, tears rolling down our cheeks.
I ran my finger along her palm but curled her hand into a fist, cupping it in mine. “I don’t need to read your palm to see the future. I saw it the moment I met you. Our love will last forever.” I brushed my thumb under her chin, gently pulling her in for a kiss.
