Sociopath by Patric Gagne
Author:Patric Gagne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2024-04-02T00:00:00+00:00
I slipped the note under the corner of the telephone, which triggered a thought that had been gnawing at me for some time. In recent weeks there had been at least a dozen different times Iâd wanted to make a call.
âWhat do you think?â I asked the tiger. âShould we see if heâs home?â I lifted the sleek black handle and dialed the number I knew by heart. David answered on the second ring.
âGuess where I am,â I said.
âHey!â he said. âI was hoping it was you. Caller ID just said LA.â
âHolmby Hills, actually,â I told him. âIâm at the Playboy Mansion.â
âGet out!â David laughed. âIâve gotta visit you someday. Your life is so crazy!â
The thought of David visiting made me so happy. Of course, I knew better than to put my faith in simple solutions. But still, it was lovely to imagine. Hearing his voice, thinking about being together again, it felt good. It felt honest. It felt real, even though I knew it was a fantasy.
âHow longâs it been?â he asked. âTwo years now?â
âCloser to three,â I said. It was the longest weâd gone without seeing each other since weâd met. âBut whoâs counting?â
Neither of us said anything for a bit. David broke the silence. âItâs weird,â he said. âWe havenât seen each other in years, we live on different sides of the country⦠but I still think about you every day. Like you live next door.â
I smiled, glad I wasnât the only one. âMe, too.â
âWhat do you think that means?â he asked.
âI donât know,â I replied, absentmindedly rifling through one of Hefâs desk drawers.
âWell, for what itâs worth,â he said softly, âyouâre still the coolest girl Iâve ever known.â
I stopped fidgeting and smiled. âYeah? Well, I think youâre pretty cool, too.â
After another pause, I decided to lighten the mood. âSo Iâm gonna send you a little present from Hugh Hefnerâs office. Think of it as a reward for being such a loyal subscriber.â
âPlease donât steal anything.â
âChrist, will you relax?â I told him. âI swear to God, youâre such a square.â
âAs in⦠not a THIEF?!â
âAsk forgiveness, not permission,â I replied.
âThatâs terrifying.â
âWell, itâs my motto, and Iâd say itâs worked out pretty well so far.â I could hear David laughing. âAddress, please?â
He gave me his mailing address and we said our goodbyes. Then he added:
âI really love you, you know.â
And I did know it. Even after all these years. âI love you, too,â I said. Then I hung up.
There, in the dark, my ear still warm from the phone, I felt unbearably at peace. Butâunlike when Iâd first entered Hefâs inner sanctumâmy tranquility was not the result of invisibility or apathy. It was because I felt seen. I felt acceptance. I felt honest, and yet I still felt safe.
I slipped the notepad into my pocket and turned to leave. Halfway to the door I stopped myself. I returned to the desk, grabbed a pen, and added to my note:
PSâNot true, I actually took one of your notepads so I could send it to an old friend.
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