The Christmas spirit gave me cheers,
until Kara called it quits.
I had two days to find a dinner date.
I couldn’t go home alone, not again.
Have Mom badger me about settling down.
No thanks.
I dated Kara for six months.
She tutored me in math
and got a bang instead of a buck.
But that’s all it was—a bang.
I told her good riddance.
The doorbells jingled
as I entered the diner.
Another man sipped his coffee
and had a downcast gaze.
Maybe what I was going
through was contagious.
I sat at a table.
Lori, the waitress,
poured me a cup of coffee.
I went to high school with Lori.
Our social circles didn’t align.
But our sense of humor
figured each other out.
I’d never been to Lori’s house,
and she’d never been to mine.
We winked or grinned
when we saw each other
pushing through crowds in the halls.
I finished my degree last year
but felt similar to Lori: stuck.
College wasn’t an accomplishment.
College was glorified homework
without experience.
I finished something that will last,
but the sentiment remains underwater.
I drown in what my parents expect of me.
I arched a brow as though
a good idea had surfaced.
I asked Lori, and she agreed
to spend the weekend with me at my parents’ house.
Lori said she didn’t have fancy clothes.
For a moment, I was just as concerned.
But then I told her, Come as you are.
“You…”
I pressed my finger to her lips. “I’m sure.”
“Okay,” Lori said. “But if they talk shit—”
“If they talk shit, I’m leaving with you.”
“Why are you doing this?” I said.
Lori shrugged. “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I love you.” I said, clearing my throat. “There. I said it.”
Lori blinked back tears, making them fall faster. “I love you, too.” She dropped her clothes and shook off her jeans and underwear. Lori pulled me by her finger, reeling me in like a fish, and I fell hook, line, and sinker.
My parents got over her style, and they adore Lori.
We could finally be ourselves together, in love forever.