I Thought She Made You Up Ch. 05

Amy was the first to find me. They went in separate directions, agreeing to return to the apartment once an hour to check in. Cell phones would have been handy back then. I was in a small Mom and Pop diner when she saw my truck.

I saw her from the window, and wondered if she was going to come in. After ten minutes she made her decision. She came up slowly. I got the feeling if I yelled "BOO!" she would run back to the car.

Sliding tentatively into the booth, looking askance.

"Want some coffee?"

She nodded. I signaled the waitress over.

After she got her coffee, she settled back.

"I'm sorry Jimmy, we should go...."

I stopped her.

"Why are you sorry? You did nothing wrong. I wasn't trying to get away from you, no, wait,I was trying to get away from you. From CeCe. From the whole dynamic. We're living in a fools paradise, Amy. It's going to end badly. CeCe is graduating this spring, and she'll leave us. Mark my words."

Tears slipped slowly down her cheeks.

"You're wrong! She'll never leave us, she loves us. We cried all night, Jimmy. We couldn't sleep. Please come home. We'll work it out. She promised to be better, you'll see."

I held her hands.

"Amy, Amy. She won't get any better, she'll just get more subtle. She's too set in her ways. I'm sure she loves you. I'm sure she loves me. But I think she may love us because we're forbidden fruit. I'm a redneck from the wrong end of the economic strata. You're a woman. The two things her father would have a stroke if he knew about. And living together as lovers? That's the icing on the cake. But, Amy, I'll still love you when she leaves."

She beat her hands on the table. The waitress started over but I waved her off.

"She won't, she won't, you'll see! She loves us, she'll always love us. You're wrong, Jimmy. so wrong. You'll see. Please come home, it'll be better."

As I sat there holding her hands I realized two things. Amy loved CeCe more than she loved me, And I probably loved CeCe more than I loved Amy. And when she left us, it would destroy us both.