Love and Other Natural Disasters by Holly Shumas

Author:Holly Shumas
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780446504775
Publisher: 5 Spot
Published: 2009-01-08T06:00:00+00:00

The awkward silence was broken when a couple came to greet Tamara and Clayton. I realized that the vast majority of attendees were coupled. There were larger groups, but they were just couples coming together. The principal unit of the party was definitely a dyad.

Ignoring Jon, Charlie said to me, "We could go meet some people."

Jon was looking around, trying to seem casual, but I could see the tension in his jaw and neck. Somehow I felt like I should rescue him. I at least had Charlie to take the edge off; Jon had no one.

"How are you, Jon?" I said.

He turned to me gratefully. "I wish I knew."

I smiled. "I know the feeling."

"It's funny, all the things I wish I could tell you and then you're here and I've got nothing."

"You could just start somewhere, and see where it goes." I didn't know what I wanted to happen, just that I wanted him to keep talking.

"Why don't we start with how great you look tonight." His eyes lingered on my face, and I had to look away. "Really great."

"Thanks."

"Can I tell you the truth? It feels ridiculous to stand here with you and tell you anything else." When I nodded, he continued. "I've never felt this heavy in my life. It's hard to walk sometimes, I'm so heavy."

I'd forgotten Charlie was even there--he'd been trying to give us privacy, I guess, by looking around at the party and pretending not to listen--but he suddenly broke in angrily, glaring at Jon. "What are you doing?" he demanded. "Trying to make her feel guilty?"

"Charlie," I said, "that's not how he meant it."

"How'd you mean it, Jon?" There was no mistaking the challenge in his tone.

Jon shook his head, suddenly exhausted. "I'm walking away. Okay? Have a good night, Eve."

"What was that all about?" I asked Charlie. I was watching Jon retreat.

"He bugs me, the way he was looking all hangdog. He made his bed, Eve."

"What's with you and the cliches tonight?"

He grinned. "Right now, I've got bigger fish to fry than you and your ex. Where's the bar?"

I wanted to put in an appearance and go home, but I'd promised Charlie a night out and I could see how much he loved being there. He came alive among people who'd never heard his stories; his discomfort was in being known too well. I was the opposite. Being truly known seemed like the point of everything.

I pretty much hitched my wagon to Charlie and relied on him to steer. He was a dynamo, moving from couple to couple and group to group with a simple, "Hey, can I cut in?" He was egalitarian, spending no more time with the few single women than with the obviously attached. It was connection he craved, but the fleeting kind. He was good at making people feel listened to in a minimal amount of time; if you asked them later whether he had a short attention span, they would most likely have answered no. But I could see it.

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