L Words- the rest of the story

The L Words

“Shut your damn mouth.” She thrust her hands palms toward him for emphasis. Tim’s mouth was stuck in limbo. The words he was going to say were in the process of being abandoned but the words replacing them had not yet been formed. This produced an idiotic look on Tim’s face somewhat like one of total surprise. Dumbfounded. To say the least, he had not expected her to say what she had just said.
“Just keep quiet.” she commanded, putting one finger to his lips. She watched his face, looking for signs of acceptance. He sighed and looked away.
“It’s just that . . .I “ He stopped short as she put up her hands again.
“No. Tim, you promised. WE promised,” She looked him in the eye. “Remember - our pact: No L words. Not now, not ever.” He flinched as she said the last few words. The pact, that damn pact. If only he had not made that promise. But that was the only way she would agree to go out with him. He remembers that moment as if it was happening right in front of him.
* * * * *
She was beautiful but not too beautiful, I mean, there was no one thing dazzling about her and yet there she was talking to him, holding his hand, gazing into his eyes. She had approached him and asked him to sit with her at a table far from the bar.
‘Might as well,’ he thought, ‘I know I don’t have anything else going.’ It all felt so surreal to him. He was not the type of guy who went to bars and he was not the type of guy who went out looking to pick up women. He had been walking home when he heard his favorite song coming from this bar. He felt it was a sign or an omen of good things to come. So he sat down at the bar and ordered a drink, a Long Island ice tea - something big so he could take his time and something strong enough to wipe away his pain, at least for that night. He never finished it.
“Hi there,” she had come up behind him and tapped him on his shoulder. “I was wondering if you would like to sit with me. I have a table over there.” She pointed. The bartender gave her an orangish red drink. Her eyes, they seemed sad yet they seemed happy too. A mystery. He was a sucker for mysteries especially if they involved women. A no brainer. He nodded yes and she grabbed his hand and led the way. She was a very forward woman. This she proved when they sat down.
“Look I can tell you are wounded. I know the look well. I am too.” She locked on to him with her eyes. “Lets spare ourselves the heartache of rehashing went wrong. Lets talk about us and what we can do together.”
He had not been expecting her to be strong but he liked strong women. That was his problem - sooner or later they grew tired with his lack of strength. At least, that is what they said. Well, at least that is what Cathy, his latest ex had said. “You are so whimpy. Take a stand for once in your life. Live your life. Don’t let it live you.” “I’ll think about that.” was his answer, which in hindsight might not have been the right thing to say. She walked out screaming under her breath. That was yesterday. Today it had sunk in on him that she was gone. He had been thinking about her when he got off the bus, which is why he did not notice that he had gotten off at the wrong stop. A quick look around to set his bearings, told him he was only a block or two from his regular stop. He would walk the rest of the way home. It was a nice pleasant evening, in the high sixties tempwise and there were no clouds in sight. And then there was that song.
“I am ready for anything,” the strong woman said, “long term, short term, even something just for tonight. What about you ?” Her eyes grabbed his attention and held it. There was something special about her, something magical. He had forgotten about Cathy. He had forgotten about his heartbreak at losing her. All he could think of was this strange mystery woman.
“Um,” he said, “this is awkward, um, could you tell me your name ?”
“Marla,” she said. “and yours?”
“Tim,” he replied, “Tim Weeks. I’m a . . .” She put her hand up and stopped him.
“Names are all we need to know right now. Lets just leave it at that. I am currently known as Marla Starsinger but that will change after I sign the divorce papers. Don’t worry, its not being contested and there are no children involved. There was another woman and he is living with her right now. I even like her too. So everyone is happy.”
“Hey, I thought you said we weren’t going to talk about our past.”
“Oh did I, hmm.” she laughed, “well okay no more of that - I just didn’t want you to worry.”
“Aren’t you worried about me ?” he asked. “ Don’t you want to know what my story is ?”
“No.” she laughed again, took a sip of her drink, looked at him, and laughed even louder. “Don’t look so wounded. I am a woman. I trust my intuition. I know you are what I want and what I need in a man.” She giggled and took a quick sip. “At least for tonight.”
He wondered about that last remark. Did she mean he would be a one night stand ? He had never been a one night stand before, expect for a couple of terrible first dates but they did not end in sex or begin with sex or even get anywhere near sex.
“I hate to say this,” he said as he looked in her eyes, “but I’m not that type of guy.” He watched her reaction.
“Oh really,” she said mockingly, “we’ll just see about that.” She stood up and took a large gulp of her drink, nearly draining it. She grabbed Tim by his tie. “Let’s go big boy.” Surprisingly, Tim did not resist. She was a strong woman.
She lead him like that for blocks, past various onlookers who either commented on this ridiculous sight or pretended not to notice. She never once veered from her goal which it turns out was her apartment. When she got to her door, she let go of his tie and turned around to face him. He was half a foot taller than her even with heels so she stood on a step higher than him and looked him in the face, nose to nose and said:
“This is where our journey ends, big boy, ” she paused to watch his face, “unless of course you promise me something.” Tim was a more than a bit confused and when he was confused, he usually did nothing. He never acted rashly, that is, without considering consequences. He was a patient person content to let the world present what it will before choosing his actions.
“What ?” he asked. There was a brief pause so he added more words. “What do you want me to promise ?” She moved a bit on her stair to gain more room between them.
“I want you to promise me that no matter what happens between us, you will never use the L word to me.” Tim was even more confused now.
“The L word ? What L word ?”
“You know, “ she looked up at the ceiling as if it were written there. “the L word. The word people use to say that they are very attracted to each other. I L word you.” She looked at him defiantly. “Understand ?” He nodded yes but that confused her. So she once again stared nose to nose at him. “I’ll say it once again.” There was a hardness in her voice. “It is goodbye forever unless you agree never to say the L word to me. So tell me yes or no - do you agree ?”
Tim caught himself from uttering his catchphrase (I’ll have to think about that.) He knew this woman meant business. He knew the events of this evening had been quite strange and even a little scary but there was something about her, something unexplainable, something that felt right. He looked at her one more time and there it was - that sparkle in her eyes and he knew he would agree to almost anything at that moment.
And the rest, they say, is history. Marla was now known as Marla Weeks and has been that way for twelve years. Tim was hopelessly in L word with her but never had been able to tell her so. Tonight on their anniversary, he tried again and again she held him to his promise.
“Could you at least tell why I can’t use the L word with you ?” he asked.
“I will, “ she said with a wink as she turned out the lights and pulled up the covers, “but not tonight. Come to bed dear.”