I woke up this morning with the details of a plot conundrum all laid out in my mind. It was fabulous. It also means I woke up at five and my hand ended up cramping from taking notes, but it was worth it. I might not think so later this afternoon, but that is what coffee is for. For now, set the timers and let’s get to the morning prompt.
This one feels more like I slipped back into outlining mode. i think I will have to circle back and make sure there is something that the others really want from him. I also might make more of his extrication process.
Wednesday, May 15th: He was on a mission.
He was on a mission. He needed to know. He needed to find out this one last detail before he could let it go. Yes it sucked that his girl left him for his best friend. He accepted that. He could see that they cared for ach other. He could even see they were a better match. He just needed to know exactly when they got together. If they didn’t get together until after she dumped him it would be fine. If it was before then it was a different matter.
He braced himself for the answer. He was ready. He settled into the booth and waited for the others to arrive. When this group gathered there was always a lot of drinking. While they were all pretty straight laced this was one of the four times year they all let loose. He planned to take advantage of it. He made his drink a simple non-alcoholic one, seltzer with a slice of lime. He wanted his wits about him.
He planned to wait, time his questions so they didn’t seem suspicious. It turned out, he was overthinking it. It took less than the length of his drink to learn that the two paired up more than six months before his official break up. By the time his drink was empty, he learned that everyone in the group knew it more or less the entire six months.
He excused himself to go and get a refill. He ended up depositing his glass at the bar and when no one was looking slip out. He bore the couple no ill will, but it hurt. It hurt that they betrayed him, yet somehow it hurt worse when everyone else knew but no one told him.
‘Not really friends are they,’ he decided. Ge may be able to let it go, but as he walked away he realized that he could no longer consider any of them friends. When the calls came to see where he disappeared to, he ignored them. When calls came in the next day, he ignored them as well. He kept ignoring them.
He ignored texts asking him to meet for drinks or dinner. He stopped answering any calls and began the process of extracting himself from anything that tied him to the others. Slowly the calls and texts stopped. The message was clear, he was no longer part of the group. He worked on his business for a while and gradually, he began building a new group of friends. Trust was harder, but slowly there were a few he was building it with. The separation felt good, it felt right. One day he stopped even thinking of the group at all.
Then the envelope arrived. It was a wedding invitation. He could tell that without even opening it. Still he opened it. He RSVPd in the negative and sent the card back that afternoon. Three days later the calls started again. He thought about ignoring them, but finally caved. He picked up the phone and answered the call.
Ten til Midnight 