The Lady in Red
Alex stands outside of the musty apartment building lobby, only a large glass door and a few feet separating her from her boyfriend, Brad. His back faces her as he stands at the mailboxes. He tries his key in three separate mailboxes before realizing his own was two columns to the right and two rows down. It’s his building, or rather, his father’s. This fact could be assumed by the arrogant and rambunctious way in which he holds himself over the space.
The consistent warmth of Boston in spite of the light breeze always puts Brad, into an oddly aloof mood — one she doesn’t particularly enjoy. She could see that he’d put extra effort into his long, dark hair and beard. Some time ago, Alex came to the realization that this upkeep was of no credit to her own presence, but rather the presence of females in general. When they are alone together, no such effort would be found.
“I’m fine with this,” Alex tells herself. She isn’t.
She thinks about this as she continues to watch him from the outside, waiting patiently. Mind wandering, Alex pictures the blue rush of the Charles River just blocks away, wishing she could just sit there alone, watching the bright sun reflect kaleidoscopes on the rippling water as she ponders her place in the universe. Briefly looking over his shoulder, he finally sees her. Expressionless, he gestures to her with his finger. Wait a second.
“Okay,” she mouths softly as he turns his attention back to the mailboxes.
Alex lets out a sigh as she crosses her arms in angst. The couple hadn’t seen each other in nearly three weeks, and she was hoping the distance and time would breathe fire into their first date back.
As they walk together, a silence takes hold over the air around them, immovable. The electric haze of the sun’s unrelenting heat dances over the smoothly paved street. Alex breaks the silence when the pair reach the crosswalk across from their coffee shop destination.
“How’s work?” She says, absently peering into a building in the opposite direction of her boyfriend. He stands still, as if he’s thinking. He’s not. It’s a spiteful silence.
“Fine.” He looks at the ground.
Under her breath, she mutters, “Just ‘fine’, huh? That’s cool.” Across the street, a woman in a gorgeous red dress that illuminates her body like the stop-light hanging above awaits her opportunity to walk. Looking over at Brad, she sees that rare glimmer in his eyes. He used to look at her with the same astounded expression.
The light turns green. Brad is already three feet off the curb, but she makes no effort to catch up. Staggering behind, Alex anticipates the passing of the girl in the red dress. She can’t actually see her from here, but the shameless head-turning of her boyfriend gives away her exact location. As she passes by, he turns around completely and begins walking backwards to observe the red dress girl’s bottom half.
—
What was once a bright flame that burned day and night dwindled remarkably slowly. The two-way street that was their love eventually deconstructed into a one-way road. There truly was no grieving to be done for what once was, because Alex had moved on long-ago.
