Mere Words

Before she could give herself over to her nerves, she dialed the number. It rang four times, and she thought the person on the other end had decided not to answer.

She nearly hung up, but she knew she was being foolish. You’ve spent your entire life being a fucking coward. You know you don’t have to be that way now.

“Hello?,” was the hesitant answer.

“Hi!,” she exclaimed, heart slamming against her rib cage. “I may as well tell you now, but I’m nervous as hell and don’t know what to say.” The stammering speech and nervous laughter testified to this.

“I don’t want to talk to you,” came the curt reply.

Silence followed.

“This isn’t good enough. It will never do, and there’s no time to explain just now.”

“I’m sorry to have wasted your time,” she muttered in a hoarse whisper.

“Meet me after work. The bench. You know the one, by the lake in the park.”

“…okay.”

“We’ll walk to my place from there, because you’ll never understand through mere words.”

Click.

116 thoughts on “Mere Words”

  1. “We’ll walk to my place from there, because you’ll never understand through mere words.” I like that, but I think he was kind of a dick in getting there.

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      2. That depends. On whether or not she likes tulips. And whether or not he likes skittish women. Of course, I’m just throwing ideas out there…

        How do you think the story ends?

        And I like how you assumed it was a “he.” 😉

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      3. Well, given your last story, I kind of just imagined it as a continuation of sorts. I think she likes tulips, but I don’t believe they are her favorite. I didn’t see tulips mentioned there, so I wonder why on Earth that would be pertinent. I think it ends with a lot of physical expression, since mere words won’t do.

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      4. Hmm, interesting perspective. Maybe it is a continuation. Maybe it’s a graduation. Maybe she is calling the boy that magnetized her. And maybe that’s exactly where it’s headed next.

        I like the way you think.

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      1. Hey no problem!! You did a great job getting me interested! Nothing to be nervous about, these words belong to you, ultimately you are the only one that needs to be happy with them!! ❤

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      3. I’m much better at acclimatizing to the cold than the heat. When I was living in Indonesia, I never stopped sweating buckets, earning myself the coveted nickname Puddles (kidding about the last part…I’ve always dreamed of being called that).

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      4. Okay Puddles, your wish is granted! 😉

        The heat is unbearable for me at certain times of year down here. But nothing like I know Indonesia must be. I’m planning a big move soon, that is if I can finagle everything just right!

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      6. Not quite, but I’ll be a lot closer to you than I am now! I’m headed to the Pacific Northwest, woman! I have to sell my house (working on getting it cleaned out to list it) and secure a job, and I’m done with the South. Done. This is a dream long in the making!

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      11. Hahaha! Oh lord I hope it’s easier than it all feels. But I’m gonna do it. I’ve been dreaming about it for years. It’s time to choose my own destiny – I don’t know if you ever played those games or read books like that, where you get to choose your own ending. But that’s what I’m finally doing. Getting out of the passenger seat and into the driver’s. 🙂

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      12. I’m here for moral support…as you know, I’ve relocated several times in my life (to different countries, mind you, but I’m sure moving across the country brings many of the same challenges), so I could potentially give you some advice.
        Are you moving with your cats?

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      13. I will need all the advice I can get, I assure you!

        This is brand new for me and life changing.

        And there’s no way I’ll move without the boys. I’ll have to find somewhere that will let me keep them.

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      14. I’m so proud of you for taking such a courageous step to change your life! No, I’m not being facetious. 🙂 Please let me know what you need advice on. I’ll do anything I can to help!
        SO glad to hear your boys are going with you. I’ve always found it hard to understand why some people choose to leave their pets behind. That’s just like leaving one’s own kids behind!

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      15. Exactly! Those fellas are my family. And one of them has been with me for about 12 years now. He’s…14, I think? Still feisty. The other one, I’ve had for about 6 years, and he was a kitten when he wandered up to me and climbed my pants, purring and meowing. No way can I leave them.

        And thank you!

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      16. Wow, 12 years is a long time! I’ve had one of mine for almost 8 years (she approached me as a few-week-old kitten), and the other one for 5 and a half years (she’s now close to 15). Both of them are familiar with air travel! 🙂

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      19. Well, I dunno. I don’t know anything! I know I’ll need to hire a mover. I don’t have much but bedroom furniture, really. But I don’t know how to drive a u-haul myself! I wonder if the movers could haul my car, too? And I could fly with the cats? AHHHH so much to think about. But these are important questions.

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      31. Kinda rough last night. I should email you about all this at some point. Tonight’s gonna be bad, too. But the end is beginning to come in sight. Pretty soon, it will be down to just scrub scrub scrubbing things I’ve long neglected. Then stick a sign in the yard!

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      37. Yes, exactly. I barely slept last night, so that’s probably why I’m having trouble focusing today. Tonight’s gonna be worse because we’ve saved the biggest and most important chest of mementos for last.

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      39. There aren’t any fights or anything, but he’s never gotten over the split. So it’s….it’s hell on the emotions.

        I wish I had anyone else! But perhaps it wouldn’t be fair to him to do that even if I did.

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      55. I hope this all makes sense, but I didn’t wanna answer in English…for obvious reasons…

        La nuit dernière était encore le pire. Au lieu de l’affaire solennelle d’habitude, il a perdu son sang-froid d’une manière importante. Pousser un cri, jeter des choses, me blâmer pour tout. C’était mauvais. Il était vraiment mauvais et effrayant. Il est venu ce matin pour présenter des excuses. De nouveau. Comme d’habitude. Mais je pense qu’il peut se calmer et m’aider à finir maintenant. Habituellement, ces explosions sont intermittentes et non une réalité quotidienne. Ce fut une très mauvaise nuit. Ah, il va bien se passer par la suite. Comment ça va? Est-ce que tu as passé une bonne nuit?

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      56. Quelle nuit horrible! Heureusement, c’est fini. Moi, j’ai passé une nuit plutôt agréable. Il faisait extrêmement chaud hier (45°F)…j’ai transpiré comme une folle!

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      59. Comme ci, comme ca. I am…okay. Drained and fatigued, didn’t sleep well. And not looking forward to the weekend. Yet, I am. Because the further I trudge through this, the closer I get to being done and moving on for good!

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      60. Bon courage, mon amie! (As I’m sure you know, ‘bon courage’ doesn’t mean ‘good courage’. ;-)) Hope you get some much-needed rest for your body, mind and spirit this weekend. I’ve been busy today meeting deadlines (otherwise I would’ve responded earlier). Un gros câlin pour toi!

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      61. Whew – no worries! I’ve been busting my ass all weekend. Getting closer and closer to having this house ready to put on the market. It will probably be at least two more weeks, though. But then this puppy is going on the market, and I will be onward and upward!

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  11. Omg. I got a totally different handle on this than everyone else. I imagined her reaching out to her Mom in a half way house or something with the intention of re-establishing some sort of relationship. The girl hoping it would be different this time. 😦

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  12. Ok. So I’m thinking no way is she this nervous if it doesn’t involve a love interest. The curt response can either be because the call really did come at a bad time?(cheating partner,super hero mid-heroism) but a planned meetup means partner still wants contact…and understanding? I’m thinking he is going to confess to being a superhero. No way is it going to be a bad news kinda talk. Why would they walk to his place after a bad news kind of talk? Superhero confession…or proposal. I would take either…or both.:-)

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  13. This is really good! I want to know what happens next! =) I’m curious what happened between them to cause the curt response, but wasn’t bad enough to deny meeting to talk.

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  14. I am fascinated by all the endless possibilities that your post suggest and your imaginative followers. I felt it might have been a ex-lover who was fed up with explaining it was over. Beautifully written.

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Lay it on me!