Read Online Running Northwest by Michael Melville - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Michael Melville
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was different. Moreover, she had a good friend sitting next to her who was truly interested and willing to listen, albeit in a somewhat nosey and forceful way.
Stephanie turned her body and pulled one leg up onto the couch. She put her left elbow on the back of the couch and ran her fingers through her long hair. The wine glass was still in her other hand. She looked at Karen who was staring at her waiting for what was going to come out next. Stephanie sat waiting for another question from her nosey friend.
“Okay, Steph, let me see if I understand this so far, with what you’ve already said,” Karen said as she rubbed her face, took a sip of wine and took a long look at the picture of the man from Stephanie’s past that was sitting in the middle of the coffee table in front of them.
“So this Thomas James guy. Over the course of a few years, he slowly and patiently tried to become a part of your life. You hated him at first and then eventually you ended up caring for him a lot as a ‘friend’,” she said sarcastically.
“But he was someone you talked to about other relationships you had and other guys. He gave you honest opinions and actually talked to you about those things, even though he had feelings for you the whole time. He slowly becomes one of your closest friends, and you became one of his closest friends. You and he talked to each other about everything. When something was wrong, he was the first person you usually called, just as you were usually the first person he called when he needed to talk. He knew more about you, generally, than any man ever has before, and made an effort to learn as much about you as he could. He wanted to know what made you, you basically, and he actually paid attention to you when you were talking. H e did everything he could to get you to trust him or at least tried to. He did not lie to you and he did not purposefully hurt you. Am I right so far?” she asked Stephanie.
“More or less, so farm” Stephanie answered quietly feeling like a huge jerk more than she already did.
“Okay, so eventually you and Thomas started spending a lot of time together alone and also with friends. You and Thomas would go for walks, have coffee for hours, and take his dog to the park and things like that. Eventually he admitted to you that he had feelings for you; then a little later on he told you he had fallen in love with you, correct?” she asked.
“I feel like I’m on trial , Karen,” Stephanie said with a nervous laugh.
“No, not a trial, but I’m thinking you should have gotten a mental exam a long time ago,” Karen said jokingly.
“Ha, ha, you’re a funny old lady,” was all Stephanie could manage as a reply.
“Anyway, he told you he was in love with you. He sent you flowers when you got a new job because he was proud of you, and the card from those flowers you still have over five years later. He was not a bad man, he wanted a family, and he had his own money, he was somewhat successful for someone his age. And let’s not forget he was handsome as hell; at least I think so.
“He took care of his family. His dad thought you were great. He was loyal to the small group of friends that he had. He would and tried to do anything to make you happy and to be good enough for you. What’s more, even after you turned him down multiple times out of stupidity, he never backed away, never stopped loving you, and never stopped trying to prove himself to you. He was still very much in your life when you started seeing other guys, was still in your life when those guys were gone. He made no real attempt at dating other women. He even chose chasing after your dumb, skinny ass when he had the chance to get back together with a woman from his own past. You treated him like crap sometimes, made him feel stupid. Even when you did that, he did not back away, did not treat you like crap back as most guys did; and he just tried harder. He was a complete gentleman. He never tried anything
Stephanie turned her body and pulled one leg up onto the couch. She put her left elbow on the back of the couch and ran her fingers through her long hair. The wine glass was still in her other hand. She looked at Karen who was staring at her waiting for what was going to come out next. Stephanie sat waiting for another question from her nosey friend.
“Okay, Steph, let me see if I understand this so far, with what you’ve already said,” Karen said as she rubbed her face, took a sip of wine and took a long look at the picture of the man from Stephanie’s past that was sitting in the middle of the coffee table in front of them.
“So this Thomas James guy. Over the course of a few years, he slowly and patiently tried to become a part of your life. You hated him at first and then eventually you ended up caring for him a lot as a ‘friend’,” she said sarcastically.
“But he was someone you talked to about other relationships you had and other guys. He gave you honest opinions and actually talked to you about those things, even though he had feelings for you the whole time. He slowly becomes one of your closest friends, and you became one of his closest friends. You and he talked to each other about everything. When something was wrong, he was the first person you usually called, just as you were usually the first person he called when he needed to talk. He knew more about you, generally, than any man ever has before, and made an effort to learn as much about you as he could. He wanted to know what made you, you basically, and he actually paid attention to you when you were talking. H e did everything he could to get you to trust him or at least tried to. He did not lie to you and he did not purposefully hurt you. Am I right so far?” she asked Stephanie.
“More or less, so farm” Stephanie answered quietly feeling like a huge jerk more than she already did.
“Okay, so eventually you and Thomas started spending a lot of time together alone and also with friends. You and Thomas would go for walks, have coffee for hours, and take his dog to the park and things like that. Eventually he admitted to you that he had feelings for you; then a little later on he told you he had fallen in love with you, correct?” she asked.
“I feel like I’m on trial , Karen,” Stephanie said with a nervous laugh.
“No, not a trial, but I’m thinking you should have gotten a mental exam a long time ago,” Karen said jokingly.
“Ha, ha, you’re a funny old lady,” was all Stephanie could manage as a reply.
“Anyway, he told you he was in love with you. He sent you flowers when you got a new job because he was proud of you, and the card from those flowers you still have over five years later. He was not a bad man, he wanted a family, and he had his own money, he was somewhat successful for someone his age. And let’s not forget he was handsome as hell; at least I think so.
“He took care of his family. His dad thought you were great. He was loyal to the small group of friends that he had. He would and tried to do anything to make you happy and to be good enough for you. What’s more, even after you turned him down multiple times out of stupidity, he never backed away, never stopped loving you, and never stopped trying to prove himself to you. He was still very much in your life when you started seeing other guys, was still in your life when those guys were gone. He made no real attempt at dating other women. He even chose chasing after your dumb, skinny ass when he had the chance to get back together with a woman from his own past. You treated him like crap sometimes, made him feel stupid. Even when you did that, he did not back away, did not treat you like crap back as most guys did; and he just tried harder. He was a complete gentleman. He never tried anything
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