LOVE.TXT
A short story I wrote while on CSM Creative Writing course in 2023. It's fiction, but I can't hide in it.
(1)
Grace and Rich were a match made in heaven. She was very neat, soft-spoken, a ballerina. He was a punk rocker. Truth be told, they both fell a bit short in terms of personality. But somehow, together, they were seriously cool.
(2)
I never used to speak to my boyfriend about TV shows I watch. But I took exception and told him how beautiful Grace and Rich were. Fred listened while staring into his screen. "Aha, sounds nice"
(3)
It's as if they were from different dimensions, Grace and Rich. What one lacked in, the other one fulfilled. Together, two lost souls became whole. It's like the love for the other made them fully unfold their wings. Of course they were only characters in a TV drama. But so what?
(4)
This is what I wanted, and this is what I was gonna get.
(5)
On a train to St Pancras, I fall in love with a guy a row ahead. I can't see him, but he's got the type of voice that suggests bleached hair and a nose ring. He's on the phone to his mum, talking about something his dad had said that felt a bit prickly. Aw. I bet he's very good-looking.
(6)
Fred and I met at a low point in both our lives. Our union was defined by our firm agreement on how shit the world is. It really got going when my ex-boyfriend kicked me out and I needed somewhere to stay. Fred didn't mind. And then things sort of happened, but it wasn't very romantic. I wasn't even that attracted to him. The only guy I fancied was the one I cheated on my ex with. But he wasn't available. So I learned to love Fred instead.
(7)
Meanwhile, on a school trip to Morocco, Grace suffered a brain injury in a car crash. Rich was shattered. It sent shockwaves way beyond the screen. Week after week, everyone waited for her to regain consciousness. This was a love story that deserved the happiest happy ending. But the writers room had other plans.
(8)
Grace died. I went looking for comfort. But Fred was busy working or whatever. He said, well a bit of death won't hurt the ratings, right? It set me off completely. I almost cried, blamed him for not caring. He couldn't understand what I wanted from him. We've both gone tense and quiet. We said, let's talk about this later.
(9)
We didn't talk about this later. We were both busy doing our own things. But I thought, maybe what was missing from this, and what was present for Grace & Rich, was kindness. Maybe it was really a kind gesture that was needed, not clarity or honesty. I decided it was time to take initiative.
(10)
'Hey so I've been thinking, it's been a couple years, and things have been pretty good. So, I thought, maybe we should, you know? Get married?' 'Pff sssure' 'No, really though, why not? It could be, like, nice?' 'Oh, you're actually serious' 'I don't know? Maybe? I think what I said last time wasn't fair. I shouldn't be demanding things from you like that. And you don't need to change. So, maybe let's just, go with it?' 'Well shit, I'm sorry but, I don't really see it like that' 'Like what?' 'I like you and everything, and you're a great mate, but, I have... a... girlfriend' 'Huh?' 'Yeah, an open relationship and such... I've been seeing her for a while, and it's actually going really well. I thought you would've noticed?' 'Sure. This is a joke, right?'
(11)
It was not a joke.
(12)
Rich grieved the loss of Grace in the most poetic, beautifully sad way. He would see her in his dreams, telling him she still loved him. He'd visit her grave. The whole friendship group supported him and cried with him. It was like what television broke television was healing. And, even though it was hard, Rich was gonna be fine. Eventually.
(13)
I can't wait to see what the nice voice guy on the train looks like. He finally gets out in Sittingbourne. I watch him walking down the platform: a muscular, scruffy man wearing a baseball cap and a tracksuit. Not my type. Very disappointing. Ah, what a voice though!
(14)
Surely there will be people who sound the way they look. And do what they say they do. Like Grace. And Rich. Or that guy I cheated on my boyfriend with. He was great as well.
