Exes Meet at a Party
“A character arrives late to a party; not knowing their ex is there. The relationship did not end well. The host introduces them, not knowing their history.”
The smell of cigarettes hit me as I walked into the house. It was a small place, cozy and warm – inviting even. I pushed my glasses up onto my face it was the first time I had been out of the house for a while. Work had gotten in the way of things recently, and going to a party where she could forget all her worries is what she really needed.
Going to the kitchen first, she reached into the fridge and pulled out a cold bottle of beer. Taking a small sip she winced at the taste – still as bad as she remembered it.
“Hey Sam, over here!” My friend Josh called over to me from the living room, “I want you to meet someone!”
“Okay I’m coming!” I called back.
Josh was a relatively new friend of hers, but there was something about his easygoing manner that really made her feel at home. He was kind, funny, and everything you would want in a friend. Pushing through the crowded masses, she eventually made it to Josh.
And that’s when she saw him. That familiar messy blonde hair, those green eyes, that pointy nose, the chapped lips… Freddy. The warm and comfortable atmosphere was now boiling hot and suffocating. She could feel the palms of her hand begin to sweat, and the cool, refreshing drink in her hand was now burning with the icy cold.
His expression mirrored hers. Shock. Fear. Anger.
Oblivious to the whole situation, Josh cheerily said, “Sam, this is Freddy, Freddy this is-”
“Sam.” Freddy stated.
“Don’t call me that.” I snapped, the grip around the bottle tightening.
“Sorry… Samantha. I didn’t mean to-”
“Wait you guys know each other?” Josh interrupted.
“Yes,” I stated bitterly, “We used to date.”
A look of horror grew on Josh’s face, “Oh. Right. I’m gonna, leave you two now, because, thing – over there.”
And with that it was just the two of us. Well, what felt like just the two of us anyways.
“Why are you in town?” I said, trying to swallow my fear.
“Well, I’m on vacation and I thought-” He began.
“No, why did you come back. You left me.”
“I was scared! I wasn’t ready to be a dad-”
“And you thought the best thing to do was to just up and leave?!”
“Shhh, keep your voice down!” He urged.
“No! I was pregnant, Freddy, with your child! And you left me! How do you think I feel?! I didn’t know what to do! And not only that, you left without telling me anything! I couldn’t call you, text you, your friends didn’t even know where you were – I thought something bad had happened to you, and I told that to myself everyday for 9 of the scariest months of my life and-”
“Wait 9 months?! You had it?!”
“It, is your daughter Freddy!” I screamed.
A heavy silence rung through the air: the music had stopped, the chatter had died, and all attention was on him and me.
Tears began to well in Freddy’s eyes, as he whispered, “What’s her name?”
“Mia,” I managed to choke, “I told myself everyday that you would come back and be safe and sound. That you would say sorry and everything would be okay… but that was a daydream. I knew deep down you left. I knew you wouldn’t come back. It’s been 3 years, Freddy.”
When I looked up, he was gone. Just as before.
