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The real scene was quieter and more fumbling – like so much of Arthur’s real life when compared to the one that he lived with the movies, not to mention in his head. Delia had come to the break room to tell Arthur to take over at the counter, it was her turn to have dinner, and she had stolen a kiss as he headed out. “Can we talk?” Arthur had blurted out when she pulled away. “After we close up? Can we talk?” Delia raised her eyebrows, but she nodded. They agreed on the all-night diner outside of town, the one that Arthur had told her about. It would be one of the few places open after they locked up.
“So…” Arthur began tentatively, after they had slipped into a booth. “What are we going to do with the rest of our lives?”
Delia laughed. “Open a video store?”
Arthur smiled. “I’ll buy you a coffee. What do you want?”
“How about I buy you one?” Delia offered, standing up.
“Black.”
“Two sugars,” Delia said.
When she arrived back at the booth, all Arthur managed was, “Look…”
A few moments passed in silence before he started again.
“Look.” He played with the plastic lid of his coffee cup. “Delia.”
“Arthur?”
“Delia.” He cleared his throat. “I’m not looking to screw up your life.” She scoffed, but he continued. “Because I am. A screw up. I am screwed up. And you’re not. So please…”
Delia was chewing her lip as Arthur lost track of his words. Then Delia held up a hand and strode out of the diner. Whatever Arthur had envisioned wasn’t happening. It took him a moment to realize that he needed to follow her.
She was sitting on the curb outside of the diner. He sat down next to her.
“I don’t know what I thought,” she said in answer to a question that he hadn’t asked. She was crying. He didn’t know whether he should put an arm around her. He didn’t.
“Delia. I wasn’t –”
“Giving me the brush off? Yes, you kind of were.” She told him that she was just as confused as he was. Delia wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Listen, Arthur. I’m getting out of this town in a few weeks. You might want to think about it, too.”
“That sounded like a line from a movie,” Arthur said.
Delia’s eyes were glimmering and threatening to spill over. “Like a line from the big breakup scene?”
“Is that what this is?”
Delia sniffled and kicked at a rock that was sitting near the curb. Arthur felt close to tears too. All of his frustrations seemed to be coming to a head.
“I never said I was your girlfriend,” Delia said. “And you never said you were my boyfriend. And we never said that we loved each other. I think we both had reasons for those things.
Arthur nodded. “I think so, too.”
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About Victoria Large
