LJ Idol: Week 8: Yes, and

“I will ask you to marry me.”

“Yes. And then we will have a beautiful wedding.”

“Yes. And then we will buy a beautiful house.”

“Yes. And then we will have lots of babies.”

“Yes. And then we will live happily ever after.”


They are five years old. They have been best friends since they can remember.

Their mommies and daddies always tell them they will get married someday. She’s not really sure what married means, but she thinks it means you live in a house with a boy. He’s not sure what married means either, but his mommy says that’s how you have babies.

She’s not sure where babies come from, but they adopted a dog two months ago and she think it works kind of like that. Her older sister said her mommy picked her up from a hospital, so she thinks that must be like the doggie place, but for humans.

His daddy likes to read him books and the boy and the girl always live happily ever after. He thinks that must be how it works, and it sounds nice.


•••


“We’ll graduate from high school.”

“Yes. And then we’ll go to college.”

“Yes. And then we will go to law school.”

“Yes. And then we will win all our cases.”

“Yes. And then we will be famous and have lots of money.”


They are thirteen years old. They still have been best friends for as long as they can remember.

They know what marriage is now and they are not sure they want that. But they can’t imagine their life not together, and they think this would be a perfect plan.

She thinks she would like to be a lawyer. She watches a lot of “Law & Order” and she thinks she could do that. She wants to help people.

His parents always complain about how much he argues with them. He thinks it would be fun to argue for a living.


•••


“We graduate tomorrow.”

“Yes. And then we leave for college.”

“Yes. And we will call each other every day.”

“Yes. And we will see each other every month.”

“Yes. And when we graduate we can be together.”


They are eighteen years old and standing in their caps and gowns to check out how they look. They leave for college in two months.

She is going to one side of the country, and he is going to the other. She thinks she might want to be a doctor now. She still wants to help people.

He thinks he still wants to go to law school. He still likes to argue.

They think it won’t be any different, not seeing each other every day. They have been best friends for as long as they can remember, and no distance can change that.


•••


“The divorce will be final on Monday.”

“Yes. And then maybe you can finally ask me out for real.”

“Yes. And then maybe you will finally say yes.”

“Yes. And then maybe it will work out and we will get married after all.”

“Yes. And then maybe we will finally live happily ever after like we planned.”


They are thirty-three years old. Their lives are nothing like they thought.

He didn’t go to law school, but he does work in a law firm. She didn’t go to medical school, but she did get her nursing license.

They never stopped talking, but they did sometimes go months without a word. She met a boy her sophomore year and fell head over heels in love. Five years after they said “I do,” she realized she couldn’t stand him.

He met a lot of girls that never lasted until he met one who did. Six months after they walked down the aisle, he found her in bed with someone else.

She thinks she should have waited for him. He knows he should have waited for her. They both think maybe this time it will be it.


•••


“It’s negative.”

“Yes. And so we’ll try again.”

“Yes. And this time it will work.”

“Yes. And soon we will be buying baby clothes.”

“Yes. And a year from now we’ll have our family.”


They are thirty-nine years old, and the only thing missing is a baby. They got married a year back and they are happy. For the most part.

She wishes her hours at work weren’t so long. He wishes they could move to a better neighborhood.

But mostly they just wish the stick would turn positive. She knows she would be a good mom. She knows he would be a better father.

He knows they would give their child the world. All they need is a chance.

•••


“This is it.”

“Yes. And then I have to find a way to go on.”

“Yes. And then you will meet someone new.”

“Yes. And … then I will be happy.”

“Yes. And that is all I could want.”


She is forty-two years old, dressed in black and watching the love of her life being lowered into the ground. The stick never turned positive, but the cancer test did.

Two months, the doctor had said, and it was not nearly enough time.

He wanted her to move on once he was gone. He made her promise.

The last words she spoke to him were to swear to him she would.

She hopes he didn’t know she was lying.





Written for Week 8 of therealljidol. All of the above is fictional.