Unknown Love by Allecyn A. G. Howard

Author:Allecyn A. G. Howard
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 979-8-88504-156-0
Publisher: New Degree Press
Published: 2022-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

fifteen.

My flight landed at Reagan National around noon the Saturday before the conference. I was giddy Erin had agreed to go to the parade. I sent a text message in all caps to announce my arrival, but it went unanswered. Was she backing out of our plans?

After I picked up the rental from outside of the terminal, I checked again. Still nothing.

I drove over to Gravelly Point, which was adjacent to the airport and waited, watching planes take off and land to kill time. It was the same spot I’d sat in to see Parker off all those years ago. I sent Erin another text.

Are we still on for today?

I waited a bit longer with no response. The day was still young, but I didn’t have a desire to go to the parade by myself. I called my cousin to tell her I was on the way.

Just as I was circling the block to pull into her driveway, my phone buzzed.

Are you okay? I thought your flight got in at twelve?

As usual, the timing of her text was terrible. I had just driven thirty minutes away from where Erin lived. It was edging on two o’clock in the afternoon. Our texts obviously were amiss, so I called.

“I texted you when I landed. You didn’t respond, so I waited a while and texted again with no response. Did you not get my texts?”

“If I got it, I would have responded. Why didn’t you just call?” Irritation loomed in her voice,

“I didn’t call because that’s not what we do. We only text, so I texted.” My justification spoke for itself. “What would have happened if I just popped up?”

“I guess we’ll never know.”

I remembered her address from years before. It was seared in my mind although I had only been there once before.

“We’re not going to make the parade.” She sounded deflated.

“Parades don’t have end times. I’m on my way.” I backed out of the driveway and headed toward the city.

*

It had been two years since I had seen her last. I felt anxious walking up the steps, but my stride remained steady. I was where I was supposed to be.

“Hi,” she spoke before I rang the bell.

Startled, I clutched my chest and grinned. “I didn’t see you there. Were you waiting with baited breath?” I said jokingly. She was sitting on the steps just inside of the front door.

“Yep! Now, let’s go.” She opened the door only to walk out. If excited were a person, Erin was it.

I was still in shock we were going to the parade together. She had always said I was “so gay.” My outness made her seemingly uncomfortable, which I didn’t understand that given some of the people she had dated. It wasn’t like I wore rainbows and fit into the personas I’d watched growing up. Perhaps it had bothered her with those people too and I just didn’t know it.

*

From where she lived, it was a short walk to the parade route. As we strolled, I imagined what it would be like if this were my reality.

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.