Excellent A breakup leads to a couple falling in love Falling In.Out.In Love by Thor R Marriage Proposal contest entry

Dropping her chopsticks, Ally left the kitchen table in disgust to go grab a cardboard box. PJ looked up from his meal, wondering what she was doing. Ally returned, took the half-eaten bowl of rice and sesame chicken, and put them inside. She began rifling through the rest of the kitchen and pantry for other items that were hers. "What are you doing?" PJ asked. "I can't do this anymore," Ally responded. "What are you talking about?" "We can't just keep talking about how good or bad the rice is. I can't be here anymore," she said with focus, making sure the words came out clear. "You're leaving? Can't we just finish lunch?" "I've thought about this and I have to go.' "Was it something I said?" PJ dropped his chopsticks too. "No, it was the opposite. We don't talk anymore. We've been in this apartment for an hour and we've exchanged more pleasantries and meaningless sayings than a small-town barbershop." Ally said as she threw her hands into the air. "Oh," he said. PJ's eyes became wide as he felt a crack in his emotional foundation beginning to form. He could not say anything as he turned inward to watch this crack. After waiting a moment to see if he would say anything else, Ally gave a frustrated sigh then left for the living room. PJ was jostled from his thoughts and wondered what to do next. He hesitated then followed her into the living room like a sad puppy. "Can you hand me that picture frame over there?" Ally asked. PJ grabbed the picture of him and Ally at a Chinese restaurant -- Han's -- and handed it to her. PJ thought about how it was their favorite restaurant and where they had their first date. They went there so often the cook showed them how to make their favorite meal -- sesame chicken -- in case he got hit by a bus. PJ remembered that they stopped going there, or to any restaurant, when he started protesting about the money. Ally grabbed the frame, took the picture out and put the frame in her box. She let the picture fall to the floor. PJ watched it sit there, then Ally kicked it out of her way. "So, you don't love me anymore?" PJ asked. Ally did not respond. PJ did not know if she heard the question, but he felt tears bubbling up nonetheless. He was not going to let Ally see him cry. After a moment he asked a different question, "We've had some good times though, right?" Ally raised her eyes to the ceiling as if praying for wisdom. She thought, "He's not going to make this easy." She blurted out, "PJ, it's not my job anymore to make you feel good about yourself. Ever since I've known you you've had a confidence issue. At first it was cute but now you need to grow a pair." "So, it's over?" he said in a hurt tone. "Yep, it's over." "Over over?" "Ugg. Yes. PJ, it takes a lot of guts to do what I'm doing. This can't come as too much of a shock to you." He sat in silence as she went around the apartment getting her stuff. PJ's heart lurched. The crack was running from end to end now. He racked his head for something else to say. Nothing came to mind. Ally continued clearing her stuff; she had a lot. PJ decided to play on the computer. When he opened his laptop the scene across the street caught his eye. The sun was setting; with the light hitting the trees in a way that made them look ablaze. A soft breeze plucked leaves off and floated them to the ground. He admired the beauty of the picture, but fall was here, summer was over, and winter was coming. He felt the foundation crumbling and his emotional infrastructure began to fall. Then everything froze -- he had decided to change. He did not want his winter to come. PJ awoke from his stupor with the noise of Ally opening cabinets, ruffling blankets, and throwing things on the floor. "Is there another guy?" he said. Ally did not respond. PJ repeated in a louder tone, "Ally, did you hear me? Is there another guy?" "What? Oh, no. Although there's a cute guy I've seen at the gym." Ally wondered where this came from. She would have never told him that, but now she did not need to worry about his feelings. She felt freer. "I'm sure you'll find someone else too. What about Mary? I've seen you eye her a couple of times. It made me jealous." "Mary's nice but she's not very fun. She only wants to stay at home and watch movies, plus she complains all the time. I loved it when you and I would go hiking. Those were good times. Although you always made me carry the gear." "You said you didn't mind!" "Of course, I did. You packed 50 pounds of gear and barely used any of it. Also, you would have complained that you'd be too tired for work." "I couldn't slack off in front of my clients." "You teach yoga to five-year-olds!" That would have made Ally angry if it wasn't for her surprise at PJ's attack. He had never done that before. There was a long pause then Ally continued to gather her tennis racket and tennis shoes. "I know you don't like surprises. Will you be alright for your presentation next week?" she said. "I'll figure something out. This wouldn't be the first time I wasn't promoted, so... After you leave, I'll probably give Frank a call and we'll go drink and talk about how horrible you are. Breaking up with a guy on his birthday." PJ's bluntness surprised Ally. She did feel bad about doing this to him, but pretended as if the blow did not affect her. "Haha, I've always hated Frank. He always hated me for taking away his tennis partner." "Yeah, he's had it rough with relationships; I've been his only consistent friend since college." "I know. You reminded me every time you had to leave early. It's cool that you're always there for him but I hated it when you left." "Really? You always seemed so encouraging." "Of course, I did. What girlfriend would tell her boyfriend not to console his best friend?" "I wish you would have said something. There were some nights that he was just being selfish, and I could have come back." "You're too nice to have done that. You can't say 'no' to anyone." "I can say no. I do it all the time." "No, you can't. You'd give someone your right nut if they asked for it." "Well jokes on them since, according to you, I need to grow a pair." Ally gave a deep, hearty laugh. It's the hardest she could remember laughing. She turned to PJ and stared at him with a daring, mischievous look. "If you think you can say no, then say no to this: happy birthday." She puckered up and leaned close to him. "No, you're horrible." He said and pushed her away. "Oh, look at Mr. Bigman, trying to make a point." PJ pushed her away. He rose from the couch to go to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. He returned to the living room to wait for the water boil. "Before you leave, don't forget to take your cat!" PJ yelled so Ally could hear from the other room. Ally peaked her head around the corner. "What? It's a birthday present." "What made you think I wanted a cat?" "You were always coming home from work stressed and I thought he'd help." "Get me a stress ball then or a massage, not a cat!" "Why not? Cats are cute, warm, and you can cuddle with them." PJ stormed into the room where Ally was to see her taking down the photos and posters she had placed on the wall. "Why do you think I dated you? Besides, I'm allergic." "You never told me that!" "Then what did I mean when I said, 'Thanks for the cat Ally but I can't take him, I'm allergic.'?" "You didn't say that!" Ally contemplated this for a moment then started to doubt her memory. "What did I say?" she said sheepishly. "You just responded with, 'Oh, they're not that bad, besides it'll be nice to have someone else in the apartment when I visit." "If only you stood up for your...", Ally stopped. They heard the tea kettle whistling in the kitchen. PJ left to take it off the burner. Ally reflected. PJ had been a good boyfriend, although maybe a little too passive at some points, but she didn't want to end on a bad note. She finished taking down the pictures. He returned slurping a full mug and placed Ally's favorite thermos, filled with her favorite tea -- Lady Grey -- on the dresser. "For the road," he said. "I'm sorry PJ. I wish I would have listened better." She wondered where that apology came from. It was so easy for her to say but felt new. Had she never apologized to him before? PJ nodded his head in acceptance and started looking for the cat. After finding it, and using rubber gloves, PJ carried it in his outstretched arms like it was Simba from the Lion King. He put it, all and its things, in Ally's, now overfilled, box. "Well I better get going. Thanks for the times we had together. If you need references as you go back on the market let me know," said Ally with a wink. "What happened between us? Why are you leaving Ally?" PJ said with utter sternness. "I don't want to do this PJ." Ally said with a sigh. "You have to do this. I want to know." She gave a deep sigh and thought for a moment. "We just became... comfortable. Not the happy, content, we've-done-a-lot-so-let's-just-rest comfortable. It was the I'm-not-going-to-go-anywhere-else- I-like-where-we're-at comfortable. I will say that you have always been kind and romantic to me and I like that about you." "And you've always made things interesting," PJ responded. Ally felt burdened and like a jerk. What could she say to make him feel a little better? "Can we be friends?" is what she came up with. PJ paused, considered her words then responded, "No." Ally blinked in shock. She didn't think he would be so blunt or mean. PJ took a deep breath. "Ally, we've been more open and honest in the last 30 minutes than we've been in months. I remembered why I'm attracted to you: you're brave," he said, then gulped. "I don't know of anyone who would give up a spot at a law firm to become a yoga instructor. And I remember why I've been scared to stand up for myself, especially to you. It's because I think so highly of you, I value your opinion more than anyone else's, even my own. But now," he paused, then continued. "Now I think you're wrong. If you walk out that door, we'll both regret it. You're too stubborn to come back and I'd be too scared to pursue you. You make my life more exciting and even though I'm 'comfortable' I know I've made your life more peaceful. I promise to not be a homebody so much, but you need to listen to me more. No Ally, we can't be friends because the only thing we can be is together." PJ's heart exploded, the veins in his neck started pulsating, and the sweat in his palms started to drip onto the floor. Ally gulped and starred with wide eyes at the floor. They stood frozen as if an artist was painting every detail. Then Ally looked at him, dropped the box on the floor and flung her arms around his neck. Author Notes A revision of an earlier version

© Copyright 2024. Thor R All rights reserved. Thor R has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.