He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

So a couple of days ago I was grocery shopping and saw this guy that looked like someone I know with his father laughing and smiling and joking around. Knowing that the person who I know has an estranged father I was faced with this overwhelming cloud of sadness for him and wondered what kind of man he would have been if he and his father had a better story. If you've ever read or watched the movie "Attonment" you know that gut wrenching feeling of the story being false.

It's weird thinking that things could have or would have been different. It's sad.

Whatever, the following has a happy ever after ending.

"Him" as short story by Hyacinth Guimbatan

When you meet someone for the first time you don't really know what to expect but with him I knew the story would be good. That smile and unwavering confidence had my head spinning. The more we talked the more charm was spun and shaked around me. And when I left the party I could still taste the magic of the kiss we shared.

It was a whirlwind romance. Dances in empty parking lots. Dates next to the lake. Lighthearted conversations about where we wanted to go in life. There were no sad stories. There was no feeling of truth being withheld. It was all honest and sincere.

The stories that I enjoyed the most were about him and his father. They would go golfing every Sunday. They would go sailing just the two of them. How they would talk about everything under the sun and discuss the works of Ethan Hawkings, Thoreau and Emerson. All of these books I have seen at his own apartment. His family would always have dinner together on Sunday afternoon. All of them would be eating the same thing at the same time but never at the table it rather in their own little usual spots around the house. His mother would be at the TV, his brother on the floor playing with the dog, his father in his office and he would sit at the table right in the middle of it all, watching. You could feel the love in the air and the comfort they brought to one another. They would joke about who farted, bring up silly stories and the house would just fill with warm thoughts.

As much as I loved his family and as much as I cared for him our story just simply fizzled out. We remained close friends. He still gives me advice about school and what I should do once I was sending my applications out. I listen to him go on about the beautiful and strong woman he was dating and give him advice on his family and work related issues. We have a great completely platonic relationship. I guess I just couldn't bare the thought of losing him as a friend.

As I watched him and his new girlfriend talk and joke around at his birthday party his father came up to me and squeezed my shoulder. Not because he and I knew I was the right choice for him but because we both knew she was and that I was still always going to be there as a friend.

She and I became quick friends bonding over religion and the topic of pageants and bikini competitions. We shared tips on posing and where to tan and self-tanning. We made plans for EDM events and slowly began secretly planning our own weddings.

I began seeing someone else and the two of them would give me all the advice they could think of. And while I admired their love for me I knew I needed to just dive in. Because there was nothing me holding me back other than the want to be happy and have what they did, I couldn't help but fall fast and hard for this man. It was something that I knew I never could have done if the two of them hadn't fallen in love or if I still had feelings for him. But what I have now is everything he and I lacked and so much more.