Two Hearts by Mel Gilden

Author:Mel Gilden [Gilden, Mel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Dylan awoke the next morning to the tiny mouse sounds of somebody moving stuff around nearby. He opened one eye and saw Sarah pushing old fast-food wrappers and beer bottles off the coffee table. Dylan remembered that at Sarah's insistence, he'd stayed over at her apartment. "In case Doug comes back." At his own insistence, he slept on the couch, not in her bed.

As he sat up and rubbed his eyes, Sarah explained that she'd made him breakfast in bed, "or at least in couch," to thank him for not leaving her alone.

Dylan blinked at what she'd set down on the coffee table: scrambled eggs and a couple of wedges of dark toast. No coffee, but the cola probably had some caffeine in it. Pretty basic, but it would do. Something to prime the old pump.

Sarah sat down next to Dylan and said, "I have something else for you, too."

He turned his head to ask what it was, and ran into a kiss. It was a good kiss, and Dylan enjoyed it. But the longer it went on, the more concerned he became about where this relationship was going.

Dylan gently pushed her away and said, "This isn't a good idea."

"Why not? You surf and you're sober. I think it's a great idea."

Dylan looked at her steadily. Time for the shock treatment. He said, "I have a girlfriend, Sarah."

"Oh."

"I know I should have told you sooner."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry."

She laid her head on Dylan's shoulder. "I can't go through this alone, Dylan. I'm scared. I'm scared I'll just slide away."

"You won't. You're not alone. Go to the meeting tonight. I'll be there, too. I promise."

Dylan was also scared. Before meeting Sarah he was convinced that Brenda was his one true love; but now he wasn't so sure. Here was this poor frightened creature who needed him. The question of whether he needed her was still open. But asking the question at all started him thinking about things he previously had taken for granted.

Though it was Sunday and he really wasn't busy, he left Sarah's apartment as soon as he could. He didn't know whether being alone was the best thing for her right now, but he did know that they should not hang around together. Let her call some other AA member. He wanted to help, but he didn't want either of them to get burned.

Dylan went to the beach and sat watching the waves for a while, then drove up to Will Rogers Park where he hiked along the trails. He even took the tour of the house and left a few bucks in the kitty. He stood on the berm of a big square field and watched the polo players knock the ball around.

Later, he drove back down to the Peach Pit for a burger. The karaoke was unemployed at the moment, and the equipment looked like an abandoned city.

"Want to sing a song?" Nat asked.

"No thanks. Brandon doesn't dance, and I don't sing."

"Besides," said Nat mournfully, "if you're going to sing in an empty room, you might as well do it at home.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.