(Reunited) 100 Love letters I'll Never Send part 4 (Inside your Shadow) (c) 2022-2023

 

It didn’t take him long to see that sign to a city that he had been to years ago. He took the turn and noticed how it seemed to have the looks of Mississippi towns in one town It had the forest with dirt roads. It had the buildings congested all together with clean black asphalt streets. Had the road where one could see horses on one side and a river on the other side.

He crossed the state line with an ashtray full of cigarette butts. He kept pressing the repeat button for the same song, “Come Sail Away With Me” because he figured it could put him in a confident mental state. Then he pulled into a Trucker’s Road Stop. Took about ten minutes and four dollars in quarters and fifteen minutes to vacuum and clean the inside and outside of his car. Kept pushing the aerosol can of fragrance until it was out. Then he put a nicotine pouch on the upper gum above his teeth inside his mouth. Hated the taste. Made him a little nauseous.

              He got back on the interstate listening to a Classical Music radio station. It was five thirty pm. He had forty minutes to go. From what he saw on facebook, he was pretty sure that she arrived home at around six.

…missing text…

              “There it is. I need to get flowers. Wait. I got flowers in the ice chest,” he told himself. As he drove into the driveway of her house that feeling came back to him that this was not a good idea. Regardless, he double checked on facebook to make sure. The first thing he saw were the sunflowers in the flower bed. Then he saw the statues of the cats. Later he would wonder about the cats, he saw in the picture frames behind her door entrance, resembled the Bandit and Omni, or was he just wanting to see that. The house was painted in yellow. Yellow was her favorite color.

              “Baby I got these for you,” that was the first thing he said when she answered the door. She took the flowers. Said halfheartedly and frightenedly, “Thank you.”

“You haven’t aged at all. You’re even more beautiful than the last time I saw you. I know it’s been a while and we didn’t depart on the best of terms. Baby, I’ve come here to be what I should have been a long time ago; your Knight in Shining Armor. To give you a life that you deserve. Remember when I couldn’t seem to keep a job. Well, now I work for one of the best financial advisory companies in the state. We’ll have the perfect view of the sunset every day. And our bed is big enough for your cats to snuggle with us.” He paused for a couple seconds. He was panicked. He couldn’t remember what to say next. His eyes started to water. She looked at him perplexed. He continued, “I’ll even cook for us every day. I’m your knight in shining armor.”

              After a long five more minutes of listening to him, she calmly placed her finger over his lips, “Stop it honey. You’re embarrassing yourself.” She said.

“But baby I’m here for you. To give you the life you deserve. I’m your knight in shining armor,” his voice began cracking. She folded her arms in front of her chest, “Yes, you’ve told me that over and over again.”

              By hearing the tone in her voice, he immediately knew that something was wrong.

“Look, you seem like a sweet man. But whoever you think I am. I assure you, I am not.”

“But I made CDs of your favorite songs,” he began crying. His logics came and he knew the woman he was talking to was not her. He had manufactured the whole fantasy in his mind,

“Now, I don’t want to be a total witch. If you don’t get off of my property.”

              He turned around and took the walk of shame to his car. Started his car. Took the coin out of his pocket. Thought about throwing it out the window. Not yet. He’d get rid of the CDs too. He put the coin into his cup holder. He took one last look at the house. Turned back around too soon to see another woman looking out of the house’s side window. His cell phone rang. He answered.

“How’s it going Romeo?” His sponsor said. The call from his sponsor in itself reminded him that his higher power is always there for him.