Boy Trouble
Another short tale from long ago when I shared rental homes with random people.
One housemate Janet had a boyfriend, Rick - a nice dude and a grad student in Russian literature. Sometimes when Janet was busy with her own academic chores upstairs he would hang out with the rest of us down in the den watching baseball, offering astute analysis of the game while sipping whiskey on the rocks.
Their relationship eventually floundered as Janet found Rick to be generally unmotivated and directionless. He decided to study abroad to prove he wasn't messing around. And without much fanfare, he left for Russia.
And, almost as quickly, Janet brought home Christopher. I guess that’s that.
A month or so later my phone rang. I was a bit confused to hear Rick's voice on the line, reaching me all the way from Moscow. He explained that Janet failed to return any of his calls, so naturally he worried. This was back before cell phones and the world wide web were a thing, so I have no idea how he got my number, especially from that part of the planet. He must have been desperate. He asked if she was out of town, or in trouble, or exceedingly busy – anything to explain why she was unresponsive.
I hadn't the heart to directly tell him she already had another man in her life. In fact I was surprised he didn't know about Janet's new lover, or that she didn't tell him. Nor could I bring myself to lie about it. All I could offer was, "No, man. She's.. uh.. she's still here."
Rick was smart and got the hint: Janet simply ignored him - he's old news and she moved on. After a long and painful moment of silence he whispered, "I see." He apologized for calling and having to put me through this awkward exchange. I apologized too and ended the conversation by saying, "take care."
I got off the phone and felt terrible - as if I just broke up with a really sweet guy, and he wasn't even MY boyfriend.
[names were changed to be polite]