Episode 145: Own Business
Darlene deliberately took her time, making her boyfriend wait a little. Garrick then sighed and went to her bed to lie down. "When I came in earlier, it smelled like fish…" After a few silent seconds, Darlene replied. "Mom thought she'd make something different for breakfast…" / "Ugh, I can eat anything else, but not fish for breakfast.".
To avoid a one-sided conversation, she answered shortly after, "Me neither. But we all survived… how's it going at home?" / "Pfft, pretty much the same as always. Sadie's arguing with Clifford, Leanne's arguing with me… Couldn't be better." His voice sounded almost monotonous, and she sensed there was something else in it. "Hmm, I see…" / "Yeah, I know. Of course, everything's always great at your house…" he said, almost sarcastically. "Well, not always. But there's good news. My sister is now engaged." / "Really? Wow, congrats."
"How long have they been together?" / "Since high school, so almost ten years." / "Oh, wow… Hey, we can definitely make it that many years, right?" / "Hmm… mh." Garrick turned his head slightly to the side to get a better look at her. "Tell me… Is everything okay? You've been acting so weird the last few days…" Darlene finished the last sentence and then closed the computer after saving.
Darlene knew it wasn't entirely fair not to look at him during the conversation, so she slowly turned her chair around. "I have my reasons for being 'weird.' You should be able to figure it out by now." Garrick looked toward the corner of the bed and bit his lip. "Well, I have a suspicion about what this might be about…" / "Hmm…" / "I guess… you want to talk about this one thing, right?".
Darlene briefly avoided his gaze but answered fairly quickly. "Yes, that's exactly what I want to talk to you about!" / "Hmm, I figured as much. Okay, let's talk then…" She took a short breath and looked at her dresser for a moment. Then she answered in a slightly frantic, but still calm voice. "I'm not ready for that, Garrick. If you absolutely have to participate in this stupid … sex competition… Then go ahead, but not with me!" / "Ugh… oh man, sweetie…"
Darlene stood up from her chair and walked confidently toward him, still with a slight air of resistance. “I mean it, Garrick. I don’t want to sleep with you just because everyone else does.” / “Nobody sleeps with…” Before he could even attempt a witty reply, she interrupted him. By now, she knew his sense of humor. “Oh God, you know what I mean!”/ “Yeah, sorry…” (short silence). “Really, you should think about how this goes from here…” she said seriously. “What do you mean?” He nervously looked at her face.
“What I mean is, I’d rather break up than get swept up in this stupid trend.” Garrick stared at her, shocked, unable to speak. “Darlene… Please, don’t break up with me…” She saw the fear in his eyes. Because she also knew that he was very much in love with her. The feeling was mutual, of course. Then she continued. “You do realize that this… is a personal matter. Something that’s nobody else’s business. And it shouldn’t matter when we do it, don’t you think?” Her stern voice was almost frightening to him. “Yes, sure…” / “So, is it really so important to participate in this nonsense?”.
This time it was Garrick who couldn't maintain eye contact. "No… No, it doesn't, Darlene. Sorry… Jake, he… He started all this crap. Besides…" Garrick lowered his gaze and sighed softly. Something told her that something was wrong. And usually, her boyfriend was a very talkative person. "What, Garrick? What the hell is wrong?" It took a moment for the boy to work up the courage to finally answer. "Things are totally chaotic at home right now, Darlene. My parents have separated, but it's still unofficial, and they're just carrying on with their nonsense."
Darlene calmed down, realizing that he seemed to be finding it difficult to talk about it. "What do you mean?" / "They're always trying to pretend everything's fine. I recently found out that both my dad and my mom are having affairs." There was another oppressive silence in the room. "That… I'm sorry, why didn't you talk to me about it sooner?" / "I didn't want to burden you with this too. It just gets to me when they both act like everything's okay all day long. Just putting on a brave face for my siblings."
Darlene slowly climbed onto her bed and sat down in front of him. "I can imagine that this is very upsetting for you… And they.. They're both having affairs at the same time?" Garrick nodded and ran his hand over his face. "Mhm… Yes. It looks like her marriage will soon be over too. They had the occasional argument, but I thought that would pass… And then this…"..
Darlene was silent again for a moment. Then she touched his leg and looked into his face. “Is that why you’re putting so much pressure on yourself with this sex thing?” she asked calmly. Garrick looked at her and nodded slightly. “Jake… He said that it’s one way to relieve stress.” Slowly, she withdrew her hand from his leg and tilted her head. "Aha. He must know a lot, phh. Screw Jake already, okay? I don't want to be your Anti-stress ball, Garrick." / "No, you shouldn't be, sweetie… Really, I'm sorry if you felt uncomfortable the whole time."..
Darlene remained seated calmly in front of him. Garrick had wanted to get rid of this mental burden much sooner. But he didn't know how his girlfriend would react. "Hm…and now? I mean… Do you even still want to…" / "Sleep with you? Of course I do, but not under these stupid circumstances. I want us to decide this for ourselves, and nobody else.".
Garrick looked at her for a moment, then smiled slightly and looked down at his hands. "You're right. Man, you… You've got some seriously cool self-confidence." / "You think so? You have no idea how scared I was of this conversation. I thought you'd be mad." / "Really? No, I'm definitely not."
"So… let's wait until we're both comfortable with all this, huh?" Garrick asked her with a slight smirk. "That's how it is. So you'll have to be patient with me." / "Hehe, okay… But I can kiss you anytime, right?" / "Hnhn, of course. I just want us to find the right time… Sometime, on a weekend or during the holidays." / "Now?" he asked her challengingly with a grin. "Nooo, my brother's home." / "Hn, just kidding… I'm glad to have you as a girlfriend." Darlene was relieved that the conversation had ended so well. And she's quite sure that her boyfriend will stick to this agreement. He's not a daredevil, but he's a person with a big heart and a great sense of humor, which she really appreciates about him.
@greenplumbboblover , @dandylion240 😊
