Tuesday, 28 June 2011

• The Brooklyn Romance: Change is Inevitable

  

  Note: Inspired by true events; reimagined in retrospect for advice.

  "What do you want to do after graduation?" Darcy asked Rafferty, her head resting on his bare chest, his arm under shoulder and wrapped around her back. Her temple was right above his heart, and she felt his pulse beat twice as strongly as it usually does. They snuggled in that cozy after-sex warmth on Rafferty's queen-sized bed which took up three-quarters of his bedroom.

  "Be with you?" he said, giving her that smirk that tells of both uncertainty and joviality.

  "Good answer." Darcy shifted her body closer to Rafferty's and took a good look at his face. His usual five o'clock shadow looked especially stunning on him today. She closed her eyes and waited for sleep, listening to the murmuring of his heart.

  This was nine months ago.

  Rafferty and Darcy were out to lunch at Chipotle for the third time that week. It was their usual place of casual lunch dining, expensive enough to merit a two hour stay but cheap enough for them to split a burrito bowl if their first round didn't kill their midday hunger. Their Chipotle dates became a staple part of their final year at the same college together. Rafferty was two years older, ambitious, and would have already taken over the world if he didn't feel pressured by his parents to finish his Bachelor's degree first, which turned into a dual degree in English and Education. Darcy was completing her sophomore year, ambling through her Visual Arts degree with some major artistic frustrations. Final exams were looming quickly, and she lost motivation to finish anything for her portfolio, worth 40% of her final grade. Neither of them had much of an appetite that afternoon, both wrought with anxiety over different things.

  "Hey Darcy, can I borrow your phone one more time?"
  
  "Sure." Darcy pushed her smoky violet BlackBerry Curve towards him. He's checking his email for the tenth time in thirty minutes. Why is he so anxious? Does he want to leave? Make it stop. Darcy bit her tongue hard so she didn't say these things aloud. Getting into Teach for America was a huge deal for Rafferty and his family, who always thought he'd be that quirky school teacher kids adored and moms went to conferences for. It would also mean he would probably get shipped off miles away, and go through hell for a year before gaining respect at his school.
  

  "I'm going to log you out of Gmail really quickly. Just need to check my email one more time."

  "Okay."

  Pregnant pauses are the worst because there's no surefire way of telling when the silence will break. It's just like, oh, shit, water br--

  Silence broke. Darcy felt her stomach stomach collapse inside itself, the kind of feeling she always got before an art critique or after the first big drop on a rollercoaster.

  "YESSSS I'M GOING TO NEW YORK!!!!!"

  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh. Oh God, this isn't really happening is it? I'm going to be sick. Be happy. Be okay. Be good for him. Darcy's thoughts were racing.
  

  "Oh my God, where?!"

  "TEACHIN' IN BROOKLYN BABY!"

  Darcy gave as much enthusiasm to her fake "YAY" as she could and hugged him. He squeezed her tightly and kissed her face sloppily, all the while the reality of what was going to happen in two short months rose up her throat in one big lump. A reality that would be ten hours away, roundtrip.

  To be continued...
  

  Darcy asks you: Whenever a good opportunity/change comes by for either you or your SO, but you know it might cause some tension in your relationship, how do you handle the situation? Do you talk about future changes right away, or do you take things day by day and see what happens?
  

  Image Source

  • 12:30 PM
  • 1393 Views
  • 6 eProps
  • 3 Comments