Hold Kelly (Revised)

The door of my apartment swung open at the worst possible moment. In walked my girlfriend on a scene from a soap opera. She paused in the threshold, to soak in myself and another woman sitting on our peaches-and-cream sofa. Her name-brand hand bag clattered to the floor of the entryway. Leah’s Barbie-doll-perfection stood shocked and furious before us. Blond hair, blue eyes, and two of the best floatation devices God saw fit to endow. She remembered her lovely mouth and began her tirade, I closed my eyes.1

“Pay your whore, Christopher! Give her the money she’s earned, damn it!”2

“Shut up. Just shut the hell up. She’s not a whore, Leah, calm down.” I got up and moved around the couch to confront her. I swear if I didn’t know any better, I’d slap her.3

“Don’t tell me to calm down! You’re cheating on me with this filthy slut!” she pointed a shaking finger at the girl on the sofa and began to gasp out sobs.4

“Leah! I’m not cheating on you!” I emphasized the words for her.5

“Oh, yeah, and I suppose there’s a good reason you brought another woman into our apartment then?” she gestured about the room.6

“Will you just listen to me for a second?”7

“Is this what happens when I leave for work Chris?” she learned a wide-eyed expression of rage.8

“Kelly is here because her boyfriend kicked her out. She doesn’t have anywhere else to go. Okay? Okay?!”9

Leah put a shaking hand over her eyes and sank onto the big squishy sofa. “Oh god,” she began fanning herself. There was an awkward silence as Kelly and I waited patiently for Leah to regain her composure before continuing. 10

“I’m so sorry, honey. It’s just that I saw you two, and I… I just jumped to conclusions.” She sniffed and wiped nonexistent tears from under her blue eyes. “I don’t know what I was thinking…” She smiled up at us warily. “Oh what a bitch you must think I am, Kelly.” She turned and extended her manicured hand in Kelly’s direction, “I’m Leah.”11

“Hi.” Kelly put forth a hesitant hand to receive Leah’s shake. 12

Kelly is not exactly beautiful, but she does have an earthy quality that draws me to her. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but its there, whatever it is. Brown wavy hair and the most gorgeous green eyes, Kelly is not too bad, but she’s sloppy compared to Leah.13

Leah stood up and put her arm around my waist possessively. “He’s great for cheering people up, aren’t you Chris?” Oh, who? Me? Bullshit. “Well, it’s nice to have met you, Kelly. I’m sorry again, I hope you’ll just forget about what I said back there.” She dropped her arm and moved into the open-air kitchen. Kelly caught my eye for a brief moment and I knew that she hadn’t forgotten, nor would she. “I just forgot to grab my lunch.” She opened the big silver refrigerator and pulled out her paper bagged lunch and shut the door with a satisfying snap. “I’ve got to get back to the office. Don’t mind me.” 14

Yeah right. How could we not? I knew she was just looking for more attention, but she wasn’t getting it from me. I motioned for Kelly to sit on the couch and I sat down next to her, a safe cushion between us. I put my elbows on my knees and Kelly stared at the floor, waiting for Leah to leave. Neither of us wanted to talk in front of her.15

“All right guys, I’m outta here.” She swooped in from behind the couch and landed a kiss on my cheek. Gee, thanks for the lipstick… Out the door and down the hall she went, leaving a cloud of overpriced perfume and the echo of her clacking heels.16

I raised my eyebrows and rolled my head over to Kelly. “I am so sorry.” She smiled weakly and nodded, clearly still somewhat upset. “Well, this couch pulls out, so you’re welcome to stay here.” When she didn’t answer I added, “If you think you can put up with Leah, of course.” That got a big watery-eyed smile and I knew that she meant ‘Yes, thank you Chris.’17

Leah is not an easy person to live with, what with her and her anal ways. Everything must be kept just so, or all hell breaks loose. I explained this to Kelly when she went to wash up in the bathroom.18

“Okay, just make sure that whatever you touch gets put back exactly as you found it. You can get a new wash cloth out of the cupboard and throw it in the laundry basket when you’re through. But just don’t… Whatever you do, don’t touch the towels under the sink. They’re folded just how Leah wants them.” 19

I felt ridiculous giving her the orders that Leah usually gave me. I could tell by the worried look on Kelly’s face that she was overwhelmed by the perfectly sterile little bathroom and its mountain of rules. 20

“You know what?” I paused in the doorway and turned around to face her standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, not touching anything. “Don’t worry about it, do whatever you need to do, and I’ll just fix it before Leah gets home. She should be back around five.” 21

Kelly smiled thankfully and opened the cupboard. “Okay.”22

I left her to the bathroom and walked back out into the living room where my computer awaited my return. I tapped the mouse and the screensaver maze of pipes fizzled away to reveal a list of all of my past jobs, training and schooling, et cetera, et cetera. I’ve been looking for a job for about a week now and I’ve got nothing. I hate being unemployed, not to mention the nagging I get from Leah. I scrolled down to the bottom of the page and blinked at it, this is so pointless.23

“Chris?” I heard Kelly calling my name from the bathroom and I yelled back, “Yeah?” There was no answer so I got up reluctantly and walked back to the bathroom where Kelly’s head was peeking out of the door.24

“Is it okay if I take a shower?” She scrunched up her lips and her eyebrows lifted in question. I took a moment to consider her.25

“Uh, sure, go ahead.” I’ll just have to re-organize the shower when you’re done. “There’re some travel shampoo and soap things you can use in the silver basket. Have fun.” She grinned out at me and popped back inside, closing the door. Have fun?26

I questioned myself all down the hallway and back to the living room. Have fun? I was just being sarcastic, as always, but how does one have fun in the shower? That’s exactly it. Was my subconscious trying to tell me something about Kelly? Or am I just a dirty boy? Subconscious.27

Back at my computer, I entered the list of e-mail addresses for all of the fine and dandy places I was applying to. Why do I even bother? It's not like I'm some great asset to the workforce. I’m not particularly good at anything, but I can get around that. It just so happens that I’m quite skilled at manipulating unsuspecting co-workers into doing my job. It comes in very handy. Yeah, yeah, I’m an ass, but it’s not like it hurts anybody.28

The printer hummed as it spat out some copies of my résumé. Isn’t technology wonderful? I can’t wait until there are robots scooting around and doing everything for us. 29

It’s all going to go to hell, though, including my damned printer. I smashed it good and hard as it choked on a sheet of paper. “Freaking piece of shit!” I tugged at the paper to get it out but it ripped too short and I couldn’t reach it anymore. “Dammit.” I opened the top and pried out the remains of the paper. “I hate you.” I closed it and punched the ‘continue printing’ button.30

It printed and I smiled at the paper, “There we go.”31

I heard the shower squeak off and the sliding glass door open. Nice.32

It was a good hour and a half before Kelly emerged from the bathroom. I watched some TV and attempted to do one of Leah’s crossword puzzles. Oh yeah, good times. 33

I’m not very good at waiting or doing things by myself, so I try to avoid it whenever possible. But what was I supposed to do? Go sit on the toilet lid and talk to Kelly while she was in the shower? Right. That’s probably the last thing she needs right now. What Kelly needs is some time to unwind and work things out for her next phase of life, so I call it. After her boyfriend’s punk move, I don’t know what can be done. I can’t stand cheating, or unfaithfulness. Joe’s a good friend, but a shitty boyfriend.34

“Hey Chri-is?” Again, my name rang out in a singsong voice from the depths of the bathroom. I sighed and threw the crossword book onto the glass coffee table. I wasn’t going to finish it anyway. 35

As soon as I rounded the corner into the hallway I stopped in mid-step. There was Kelly, standing in the middle of the hallway, in a cream-colored bath towel and Leah’s pink fuzzy slippers. Ouch.36

“Uh… Yeah?” Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Damn. Kelly is hot.37

“Do you think I could maybe borrow some clothes? The ones I was wearing are dirty and I left all my stuff at Joe’s.” Her dark hair was still dripping wet in a pile of curls on the top of her head. What the hell was she doing in there for an hour and a half?38

“Uh… Well, I think you could borrow some of Leah’s clothes?” Why do we even wear clothes anyway? We don’t need clothes. We could just wear towels and fluffy slippers all the time. Yeah.39

I had to walk past her to get to our bedroom and I thought for an instant that she wasn’t going to move out of my way. Then she stepped aside and followed after me. I opened the painted white door and stepped onto the thick beige carpet. Our room is tastefully decorated with floral prints and furnished with a polished wooden bedroom set. I don’t like the ‘neutral’ colors of the room, but it’s clean and neat and has a king sized bed right smack dab in the middle. The good outweighs the bad.40

I walked over to the sliding mirror closet and opened the left side. Leah’s clothes hung in an annoyingly organized fashion by color. I stood aside and motioned for Kelly to pick something. She stepped forward and put a finger to her lips thoughtfully. Any girl would pee their pants at the prospect of traversing Leah’s closet, but Kelly merely frowned at it.41

She snatched a small black skirt and held it up to herself. Glancing at me, I shrugged, and she put it back. She moved down the row and the blacks went to purple and then to blue. She pulled out a pair of jeans that probably had never been worn and draped them over her arm. On to the green, the yellow, and the orange, and then the red, wait, no, back to the orange. She plucked out a tank top with some gold glittery stuff on it and stepped back.42

“These’ll be great, I’ll try not to get them dirty.” She stood for a moment in that magnificent towel, not quite looking at anything, and then started out. She smiled and turned around, just catching my raised eyebrows.43

“Okay then.” I closed the closet and followed her out of the room, flicking off the light switch before shutting the door behind me. Kelly was back in the bathroom and I was on my way back to the living room. Joyous. So much for company.44

As I walked through the hall, past the bathroom, the door was open just enough to see inside. I slowed my pace for just a moment but it was long enough to catch the towel on the floor. Oh. Kelly has calligraphy tattoos down her back.45

I kept walking, feeling slightly guilty, and sat back down on the couch. It was just after two. Lunch time! I got back up and moved to the kitchen. I opened the fridge and dug around for a bit. Nothing but leftover veggie casserole and some stuff to make sandwiches. Sandwiches it is.46

“Hey Kelly?” I yelled over my shoulder. “I’m making lunch. Do you want ham or turkey on your sandwich?” I waited with the little zip lock bags balanced on my palm and the mustard and mayonnaise between the fingers of my other hand.47

“Turkey. Please?”48

I set everything down on the highly polished wooden counter top and went to the bread box. Wouldn’t you know it? No Wonder bread. I pulled out the bag labeled Nature’s Own Health Nut bread that Leah buys and tossed it on the table. Sick. 49

By the time I’d finished the sandwiches, Kelly came out of the bathroom. She headed for the kitchen, still wrapping a hair tie around her dark curly mass. As she came closer and sat at one of the stools behind the breakfast nook, I realized something of vital importance-- no bra. Damn.50

She propped her elbow on the counter and her chin in her palm, watching me clean up. I pushed the paper plate with her sandwich in front of her. “Here you are.” I turned back to put the stuff back in the fridge. 51

“Thanks.” She picked it up with both hands and took a bite. 52

I came back and stood opposite her and took a bite of my own sandwich, containing almost anything a sandwich could. Sandwiches are fun. Fun to eat. The cool thing about sandwiches is that you can’t talk while you’re eating them. If I were to open my mouth to do anything other than take a bite right now, I can’t foresee any good coming of it.53

After lunch, Kelly and I just hung out and watched Court TV. We talked a little about how she is better off without him and all of the necessary bashing of her ex. It’s not that I don’t like Joe; I just found it easier to go with the flow than argue his good points at the time. Kelly was more than willing to fill me in on every possible thing that Joe did wrong, I didn’t have the heart to tell her otherwise.54

“… not to mention his ego-tripped out superiority complex. He thinks he is the greatest thing to set foot on the planet. And I mean, so he’s hot. Big deal? Right?” Kelly rambled on about how built Joe is and I sort of spaced out. 55

I remembered a party where Joe and I broke the door wall at his parents’ house. We were just messing around, a little drunk and a little high on… something, and wrestling in the living room to entertain these girls, Kelly among them. I remember he stood on the back of the sofa and jumped at me. I kind of caught him, but we fell backwards through the sliding doors. It was hilarious. Until we had to explain what happened to his parents the next day. We were picking glass out of our hands for weeks. I still have the scars on my back and my arm.56

“… and do you know? He tells me that I need help! Can you believe that?” Kelly paused and looked at me with her hands still poised with the energy of speech, expectant.57

“Crazy. I don’t know, maybe it’s for the best.” I hoped this was the right answer. 58

She dropped her arms into her lap. “Oh Chris, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in the middle. I know you and Joe are friends too.” She moved closer to me and put her hand on mine in my lap and held it lightly. “Thanks for listening, for being here. There’s no one else that I can think to go to, Chris. I really trust you and I know you understand.” She smiled at me with a hint of tears in her deep green eyes.59

I was actually pretty shocked at this outpouring of emotions and thanks, and I was at a loss as to what to say to her. My mind went back to her hand in my lap, I squeezed it gently, “No problem.”60

The show came back on and Kelly moved back over and began to watch it, her eyes glued to the screen and leaned forward with a little too much enthusiasm. The awkwardness was evident between us.61

I forced my eyes back to the television set after a few moments of staring at her. I crossed my arms over my chest and unfocused my vision. I’ve known Kelly for years now, mutual friends and all. Why didn’t I see her like this back then before I met Leah? Am I that effing stupid? I am. 62

It’s over between Leah and me; we’ve lost what we used to have. Our living together killed the love we had, it just wasn’t meant to be.63

Kelly, on the other hand, would be different. We have so much in common, and it’s okay that we talk and that she doesn’t pretend to be someone she’s not around me. I have a good knack for outing posers; artificiality isn’t something I generally approve of. With Leah I sort of let that slip a bit; she is so set in her ways that they define her. I’m not really sure if that counts, but it’s hard to find the person in her sometimes. 64

In the outside world, the show ended and Kelly reached for the remote on the table in front of us. She hit the power button and the screen clicked off and its light fizzled away. 65

“So.” Kelly sat sideways and looked at me, her hair was drying and it was starting to fall out of the hair tie into her face. “What d’you wanna do now?” 66

“I dunno.” I smiled at her and uncrossed my arms. “What d’you wanna do?” There I went, playing along. Oh man, I hope Leah doesn’t decide to come home early today.67

“I think you know, Chris.” She moved closer to me and spoke in that voice that all women have that means only one thing. 68

I raised my eyebrows at her. “I do?” She moved even closer and put her face next to mine so that her breath was on my neck.69

She whispered in my ear so softly that I could only just hear what she was saying. “We were always meant to have this. What we thought we would find I with Joe and you with Leah, but we were wrong. And we can fix it now, Chris.” 70

Her hand found its way to the spot between the side of my face and my neck. She pulled herself forward onto me and I found myself helping her to do so. Her head moved around so we were face to face and we looked at each other for a moment, and we both understood that this was the next phase. We kissed.71

I cannot think of any other kiss that was as perfect or as passionate as the one Kelly and I had on that over-stuffed sofa. All I could think about was Kelly, and that we were together and are going to be together. If there was ever a clearer moment in my mind, I cannot say. 72

There were her lips and mine, and our holding hands, and there was us. 73

We looked at each other and I wrapped my arms around her. She melted into me and her body felt so soft and so warm in my arms. I could feel her heartbeat against my chest and the rise and fall of her breathing. I ran my fingers through her cold hair and she smoothed the shirt over my upper arm. To hold Kelly was the most beautiful feeling in the world. We stayed like this, hugging each other for a good while. It was okay. Everything was okay. 74

“We’re going to be okay.” I breathed so quietly I wasn’t sure if Kelly heard me. Then I felt her arms get tighter and I knew that she agreed.75