Next Door Neighbors

"You were drinking, you refused to talk to me, you got irritable all the time , I... I just didn't know what to do, how to react."

"Hence, my fault!" He said, and drained down the bottle, beginning to show the first effects of alcohol.

"No, I'm not saying that, I'm just... let's just try to forget this whole ordeal, alright? Put it all behind; besides, what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger, right?"

"Yeah, yet another of the infamous clichés that make people think life will one day treat them kinder than it currently does... bullshit, in other words."

"Nevertheless, let's pretend we believe it, okay? Let's try to..."

"To... what?" He clenched his fists tight. "Work things out? Pretend nothing ever happened? Forget that you fucked that guy? Or, that you let him do all these things to you? That you enjoyed being his little perverted whore?

"All right, let's just forget all about it!" He laughed, cruelly. "Let's just go to bed together, and pretend like nothing happened! Let's turn time back ten years ago, while we're at it!

"What do you say? Sounds good?"

"Stop being sarcastic, Robert," she said in a low, heavy whisper. "I didn't mean it this way; I just... I know it's going to be tough, okay?" He scoffed and she tried to ignore his reaching for a beer bottle. "I never said we'll just press a button and everything will revert back to normal, or, that we'll magically be transferred to better times.

"All I'm saying, is we can still fight for what we have; if there's still something here worth fighting for."

"I don't know," he shook his head slowly, drained down the first bottle of beer. "I just... don't know if I'll ever be able to..."

"Maybe, I shouldn't have told you, maybe..."

"Maybe you shouldn't have," he agreed, coldly. "At least, if I hadn't known, I'd... I don't know. What's the point, right? Now, I know. That's all that matters in the end. Wondering what if won't lead us anywhere.

"The real question is, where do we go from here?"

"To be honest, I think a good start would be for you to quit drinking; it'll give you a better clarity of mind."

"Ha," he chuckled, "so, you want your cake and to eat it, huh? I quit my little mind-saving habit, but, you..."

"I can't unfuck Stan, Robert," she cried in protest. "I wish I could, but, I can't! However, you can get your shit back together. You have a chance to make things right, be better than me.

"Besides, your drinking, your stupors, your foul hangover mood... don't you think they had something to do with what I did? That they helped push me into Stan's arms?"

"Stop saying his name," he said in a rusty voice.

"Alright, fine," she sighed. "Nevertheless, your drinking has been a serious issue, Robert; for both of us. Maybe, if you quit, you'll manage to perform better at your job; get new clients, something that pays.

"I don't know, I just... I just want you to quit drinking, before you kill yourself."

"Why?" He shrugged his shoulders, taking a good hit from his second beer.

"Because, I fucking love you, Robert, and I don't want you to die."

* * * *

"Are you kids alright?" Nina asked them, as she watched them from the door affectionately, and quite curiously.

"Yes, mom, we're... great," Lana replied, faintly lifting her glass of cold white wine.

"We really are, Nina," Robert added, his gaze fixed on the porch's view, the great mountains, their peaks covered in snow, reminding him that there's beauty to be found even in the bleakest of situations.

"Well, goodnight then... don't overdo it with the wine," Nina said sternly, and closed the front door behind her.

"She knows?" Robert asked Lana, lifting one eyebrow.

"No," Lana shook her head. "She's just being the typical overprotective Greek mother, that's all."

"Alright," Robert nodded with a frown, then lifted his glass to his nose, taking a big sniff.

"You okay?"

"I think so..." He mumbled. "I just... too much to process, and... I'm afraid, Lana."

"Of what?" She sat up rigidly.

"That if I take a sip, I'll... relapse."

"You're being silly, honey," Lana sighed in relief. "We'll just have to work at it together, make sure you stick to one glass."

"It's not going to be easy, Lana," he said sullenly. "I..." With a deep breath, he had the tiniest of sips; instantly, the taste of the strong, dry wine hit him like a runaway train.

"Put the glass down, pace it," Lana instructed him; it was with the heaviest of hearts Robert complied.

"You think we can overcome everything?" He then asked, his voice heavy, his heart drowning.

"Yes," she said, her voice suddenly breaking. "We're here, right? New beginning, new life, new..."

"True, but..." he sighed heavily and lifted his glass once more. "A toast to the new beginning; to erasing past mistakes, forgetting past sins."

"I'll drink to that," she clinked her glass on his and they both had a sip.

The sky was star-studded and the only sound was the wildlife noises from somewhere in the distance; they both breathed in the soothing countryside breeze and for a brief, glorious moment the past few months seemed like nothing but a bad dream.