Terri reached for her drink. "Why do you say that?"
"I just don't know how one person can be at the vortex of so much drama."
"My best friend, the drama queen!"
Louise shot Terri a cold glance by moving only her eyes. The bar was dark and not overly crowded; the music was loud enough to obscure their conversation.
"I wasn't always like this."
"Yeah, you used to be kind of boring."
"And there's nothing wrong with boring," Louise claimed. "Boring is OK. Walter's a freaking engineer, for Pete's sake!"
"You have a point."
"I don't date losers. I don't date drunks."
"You're a good person."
"So, why do I keep getting into these awkward situations? Why am I upset that some chick in my office is throwing herself at Antonio?"
"Because you and he shared a passionate relationship, and it wasn't all that long ago."
"More like a fling," Louise said. "And then he took off."
"It was definitely more than a fling," Terri argued. "And he didn't exactly ditch you. He just went back home after the assignment was over."
"I thought I was over him."
"Well, that's a tall order. Are we ever really over our exes? I mean, not the ones that didn't mean anything. I'm talking about the good ones."
"It makes me angry. It's just so... in my face. It's not fair."
"You're right, Lou. It's not fair. And none of this was your fault."
"Thanks!" Louise took comfort in Terri's reassurance.
"It wasn't your fault that Antonio came to work at your office last year," Terri said. "It wasn't your fault that he pursued you."
"It was my fault that I went along with it."
"Lou, regardless of how you feel about the guy now, at the time he seemed kind of amazing. I remember the way you talked about him."
"I was a fool."
"No, you weren't a fool," Terri insisted. "You were human. You met someone special, and you acted on it. If you hadn't, you probably would have regretted that decision, too."
"Oh, that would have been a much better decision!"
"Maybe. But you were following your heart."
"And I fell for him."
"Yeah..."
"I fell for a guy who was unattainable, and he left, and then my life fell apart."
"Ah, not so fast!" Terri argued. "Maybe his leaving was a blessing. Don't you feel that you're better off with Walter?"
"Walter, who cheated on me," Louise clarified dryly.
"Walter who had a one-night stand while you were spending night after night with Antonio. Let's be fair."
"Damn it!"
"I'm sorry, Lou."
"No, I'm... I mean, don't you see? It is my fault! It's all my fault." Louise was animated now. "If I hadn't done what I did, Walter wouldn't have cheated on me."
"You don't know that, Lou," Terri argued. "He might have done something else with someone else eventually."
"It wouldn't have been with Jo."
"OK, probably not."
"I create my own drama!" Louise exclaimed crossly. "I create the kind of life that I hate."
"Louise, you have to stop. You are not responsible for what happened."
"Oh my God, this is so messed up!"
"Yeah, I'm getting depressed," Terri noted.
"You see what I mean?" Louise said. "And it's not even your life!"
"I understand, Lou, I really do," Terri said. "But you and Walter, you worked things out."
"It's not all worked out."
"It will never be all worked out. What happened happened. But you guys seem like, well... It seems like you're comfortable."
"Comfortable," Louise mused. "Is that really a good thing?"
"You just told me that boring is a good thing. How can comfortable be worse than boring?"
"I guess you're right."
"Lou, remember - not to bring my own skeletons to your party - but I spent two years of my life with someone who turned out to be a felon."
"I'm sorry, Terr," Louise said, her voice dripping with empathy. "Sometimes I get carried away with my own problems. Has he contacted you?"
"No, thank goodness!"
"And the stuff with Frank?"
"I don't know any more," Terri said. "I guess it's being handled."
"Jesus! How did our lives become so messy?"
"I don't know."
"So, I guess we're both drama queens," Louise boasted with a smile.
"I guess!" Terri flashed her priceless smile, and everything seemed as though it would be okay. "Are you ready to get out of here, drama queen?"
"Yeah, we should go," Louise agreed. "I have to make a stop at the office."
"What for?"
"I have to print something out for an eight-o'clock meeting."
"Can't you just print it in the morning?" Terri argued.
"Printers never work when you try to print something right before a meeting."
"Yeah, I see your point."
"It'll be fine," Louise assured her. "It's late. No one will be there."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"OK, well, call me when you're done," Terri insisted, "so I know that you're okay."
"I'll call you."
'The Horse Farm'
Copyright © 2015 Daniel R. South
All Rights Reserved
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