Fall 2019
Pacing next to her car, Sharon tried to think through her expectations for her meet up with Megan. It had been a few months since she left those boxers behind. The first month was like an explosion as accusations flew, but the following months were quite lonesome. Rob had filed for divorce, They both moved out, and Megan held almost everything against her. That’s what Sharon assumed at least.
Sharon missed that sharp wit and crafty planning that outpaced and mystified her. Their weekly texts lacked the intimacy that she grew used to even if it was under a guise. Again, She thought through what led her to not so subtly inform Rob about his wife’s infidelity. The argument the night before, and their broken agreement came to mind but she looked at her phone for the time to see no new messages.
If it hadn’t been for Joe, Sharon would not have had an excuse for them to meet up. Her art was being shown in the art museum downtown and had a few extra tickets. Normally Sharon would be on edge walking in this area but she had a different ledge to hang her mind on. The winter breeze stung her lungs as she tried to calm herself.
After waiting on the entrance steps for a few minutes, Megan strolled up to her holding her arms out for a hug.
“Hey, How are you?” Megan asked as Sharon fully embraced her.
As she leaned back, Sharon answered looking over her face, “Uhm… it's been a long month.” Sharon held out her hand as they started walking inside but was left behind as Megan rushed in.
“What are you waiting for? We only have two hours before the gallery opens,” Megan called back from the other side of the entrance.
Checking her pockets for the tickets, she replied, “Just making sure I have the tickets.”
Megan chuckled, still holding open the door, “Only you would leave something like that behind.”
“You’re too funny,” she quipped back, handing Megan her ticket as they approached the counter.
Walking into the central gallery, Sharon looked around to remember what each floor had while Megan darted off to the closest exhibit. “Hey, Do you-” Sharon asked, only to notice Megan already proceeding through the first exhibit.
Sharon quickly filled Megan. They walked past cases of rusted helmets and lockets to only get quick glances at each. By the time Sharon finally caught up, Megan was standing at the end of the exhibit.
“I know we have a time crunch,” Sharon stated while using air quotes, “but I think we should at least enjoy some of the museum.”
Disregarding the statement with a swipe of her hand Megan answered, “It was just the ancient artifacts. Did you really want to spend our whole visit looking at crumbling pots?”
Sharon sighed, “I guess not.” As they walked side by side over to the side gallery, she noticed Megan full attention and inquired, “Did you pre plan a route so you could hit every exhibit?”
“Of course, how else are we going to be able-” Megan stated but Sharon stopped her before she could reach the gallery and began pulling her up the stairs. “Woah, What's up,” Megan asked, startled by Sharon’s sudden aggression.
At the top of the stairs, Sharon stopped and explained in a huff, “I just want to enjoy our time together, Okay?”
Megan pulled her hand back, before she apologized softly while looking back down the steps, “Sorry.”
Before Megan could bring her head back over, Sharon wandered into the next exhibit. Megan Started on the other wall and tried to match Sharon’s pace. From time to time she would glance over to see Sharon trailing behind on her side. Impatiently she looked over some of the pieces across the room. To time her plan perfectly, Megan skipped over three or four pieces everytime Sharon moved by keeping a diligent eye over her shoulder.
“How are you liking the exhibit so far?” Sharon asked while Megan slid over to meet her.
“Oh! It's been nice so far,” Megan threw back at Sharon.
Sharon raised an eyebrow and asked while looking over the rest of the exhibit, “So did any piece stick out to you?”
“Well... “ Megan stalled as she tried to remember anything that she passed over, “The one that was like blue and orange doodles on a black background… uhm I think it was the Rocca piece.”
“You don’t have to try so hard, I saw you skip those pieces,” Sharon asserted as she moved on to the next piece. As Megan followed her, she asked, “So why did you pick that piece,” pointing back.
With her head down to hide her blushing, She answered, “Okay, remember that one guy you were interested in from, I think it was art 101… that painting looks just like his tattoo that he had on his arm.”
“Oh ya the sailor tat. You know what’s weird is that he wasn’t even involved in like the navy or any boat things,” Sharon said looking back at the painting.
As they continued back through the gallery, Megan asked, “So why did you stop talking to that guy? Did he find out that you puked in the restroom?”
“No he didn’t find out. I don’t know he just seemed disinterested after an hour I guess,” Sharon explained as they reached the entrance again.
“Did you kiss him before we got back to the bus?” Megan pressed.
Sharon shook her head looking over to her and defended herself, “No, he would have known if I did. Remember we couldn’t find any mints in the whole place and I didn’t want to spend ten dollars on a coffee.”
“So it was it because you didn’t kiss him,” Megan continued to grasp at any explanation.
Chuckling, she shook her head and answered, “I hope not… “ Sharon led them across the building and up another flight of stairs to the surreal exhibit. A high school class filled the room leaving them to slowly follow them through the gallery.
“What ever happened to that… uhm… turtle painting?” Megan asked, looking over an oil painting.
She looked over at Megan dumbfounded and replied, “I still have it. I’m the one who bought it.” She threw her arms up asking, “Sometimes you just have the most selective memory,” then she pointed at the picture, “also why does a mexican volcano remind you of… Wait, I think I see it. The sky and the yellow bits look kinda similar.”
“See! I’m not crazy,” Megan assured herself.
The line of students filling the hall was still filing in so they just slowly followed along. Sharon felt a little more comfortable around Megan but she still couldn’t forget about her anxiety. Everytime she felt like they were getting along, Megan seemed to ignore that their affair existed. She knew that the divorce lawyers were hungry for evidence, but she yearned for some assemblance of commitment.
Admiring The Persistence of Memory and surrounded, She thought that this would be the best time to bring it up. Jumping straight to the point would probably be too drastic, apologizing for the boxers would just be cliched at this point, but bringing up her betrayal would just end the discussion by how valid it was.
“So why did you stop trying to see me... and… “ she spat at the ground but paused reassuring herself that it wasn’t asking too much, “Uhm set me up with Ty?”
Megan stood there filling the air with pauses, “Well… Uhm… “ before she was dragged by her hand further down the hall. “Hey!” she shouted in surprise.
“Sorry, the line was moving up,” Sharon assured her, letting go of her hand.
Watching Sharon’s hand leave her, she tried to continue, “Uhm… well I just saw that you were so flustered when, was it Josephine?”
“She goes by Joe,” Sharon corrected her.
She continued tucking her hair behind her ear, “When Joe called you out when you were peering at me over that book stack.”
Sharon’s face was the same bright red as she looked awkwardly at the wall between paintings. From her experience Megan’s best option was to wait for her to recover from embarrassment so she looked over the piece in front of her. All she could do now was to plan out the next few answers.
“Why did you send us out to get those ‘Psyduck jars’ if you knew that they A. didn’t exist and B. didn't want me to see Ty?” Sharon asked, still staring at the wall.
Megan noticed her clenched fist and replied, “It was… Rob’s idea… and I couldn’t possibly explain to him why I would want to stop. You looked so happy.”
“Wait so you didn’t tell him to stop earlier, he was just that weird? He didn’t even introduce us.” Sharon asked looking back over.
Megan had been cornered and gave in, “I may have embellished that, yes.”
“You just never know what's good for you, do you,” Sharon stated, moving on with the group into the next room, leaving Megan.
She watched as Sharon disappeared into the crowd, whispering to herself “Crap.”
The next exhibit displayed larger sculptures that seemed unrelated to the previous rooms. A chair with what looked like historical information sat in the corner and what looked like a diorama sat in the middle but was obstructed by the crowd. Sharon could see Megan scanning the room as she stood in the next doorway.
“I’m sorry,” Megan said after finding Sharon in the next room past the high schoolers.
Sharon spent a few more seconds enjoying the piece they were standing in front of before answering, “So why do you always try to set me up, also that wasn’t a very good apology?”
Megan rolled her eyes, dropped her shoulders, and asked, “What do you-” before changing her mind, “I thought you wanted me to.”
“When did I ask you to?” Sharon questioned her as she spun around to face her.
With a snap she thought aloud, “Well I think it was Ryan… no Shawn… you asked me to set you up with him on the field-”
“Okay ya I remember that part now… “ Sharon stated while she looked at the wall again pretending to be an ostrich with her head in the ground. “But why did you keep doing it?” Sharon asked.
Megan talked to the painting, “You seemed to enjoy it and-” Megan stopped as she heard Sharon sniffle and drag her coat sleeve across her cheek. As she looked over, Megan continued, “And I just wanted to help my friend,” leaning over to embrace her. With her head on Sharon’s shoulder she felt every self restricted convulsions as Sharon tried her hardest to hold back her tears. “How long have you been staring at me from around the corner?” Megan asked softly.
Inhaling the smell of Megan’s coat as she held her tighter Sharon whispered in between sobs, “The first time you held me,” as Megan patted her on the back, “I can still feel that sweater.”
“I think we gotta keep moving,” Megan told her as the students started to flood the room.
Letting go Sharon asked, “Do you want to get some coffee, after I freshen up a bit?”
Megan agreed as she watched Sharon wipe her hand against her congested nose with a cheery smile. Standing outside the exhibit, Megan pointed to the cafe on the third floor and told her, “I’ll see you there.” She watched as Sharon took the stairs down behind them most likely because she was lost, which left Megan chuckling.
After waiting for ten minutes, Megan pulled out her phone while she waited at a tall table with her coffee nearly finished. As if it was timed Sharon wandered up to the table before Megan could check her emails.
Walking up, Sharon awkwardly waved when Megan asked, “Are you okay?”
“Ya I got a little lost on the way up,” Sharon said scratching the back of her head. “Did work stuff come up?” She asked while pointing at Megan’s phone.
Haphazardly putting her phone away, Megan replied, “Oh, I was just waiting for you, you were just taking a while so.”
Now scratching behind her ear, Sharon explained, “Okay so I thought the other stairs would lead straight up to the coffee shop, but well it didn’t… uhm so I ended up at that pointillism painting from Ferris Beuller.”
“You know there’s a bathroom here,” Megan said while pointing off to the left.
After sitting down at the table Sharon apologized.
“It’s fine, I… well… always like that, you know you end up coming up with fun ideas like that idea to share cereals,” Megan tried to explain as she held out her hands waving them back and forth as if she passed a ball to herself.
Sharon responded as she settled further into the seat, “Well there were just so many cereals that I hadn’t had in so long.”
“I wish we had planned that party,” Megan said, realizing why they had not discussed it further.
Megan looked off to the side as Sharon tried to think of a new topic quickly but digressed, “Ya I mean how did you ever come up with the idea for the contest with the garage sales anyway?”
“Contest?” Megan asked.
“You know the contest to find the best stuff and whoever found the best got to throw a party,” Sharon tried to further explain.
After a second Megan answered, “That, well things were getting kinda boring and I thought we should have a party and Rob thought we didn’t have any good ideas for a party so we decided to find one, I guess.”
“And the curtains pull back,” Sharon commented. Megan disdainfully looked back at her so she backpedaled, “I mean you always seemed to plan things out to an extreme, but you just change your plan before people can notice, like… “
“Like?” Megan questioned.
Sharon looked over to see the finished coffee and stated in a panic, “Like I, forgot to get a coffee, yep,” and finally picked up the menu she had been ignoring.
Megan watched as Sharon pondered over the menu for a while, tapping her fingers against the table impatiently. For a second Sharon looked over to see Megan staring and waved and shrugged her shoulders as her coffee was being made. When she turned around to wait she thought of pulling out her phone but she didn’t want to give any excuse for Sharon to change the subject.
Sitting down with her coffee Sharon looked up from her first sip to see Megan with one hand tapping on the table and the other supporting her cheek. She set her coffee down and with new confidence finally spoke her mind, “So Uhm… You know like with the Ty thing and… well with the promise you made to end it with Rob… you kinda put it off because it wasn’t good for you but kinda just left me hanging.”
“I’m sorry, I’ve been keeping everything so secretive this whole year, but you never said anything so I just kept going with it until it got so out of hand,” Megan explained so readily that Sharon lost her train of thought with a blank stare.
Sharon asked, “So you’re not mad about the boxers, Which I’m sorry for?”
“I was… but I realized that I was just leading you on for so long. I just wasn’t sure how to handle this whole divorce thing. I still liked Rob, nothing was wrong per se,” Megan explained, using far too many hand gestures to symbolize their relationship.
Dumbfounded, she Stated bluntly, “You were having an affair, how can it be good if you’re having an affair?”
“You and Ty were fine even though you were also having an affair,” Megan snapped back at Sharon.
Taking in a breath, Sharon shot Megan down, “So it’s okay to lie as long as they’re happy?
“Well… I wanted to wait for a good moment to tell him,” Megan replied steadfast.
“What so he could get the short end of the stick!” Sharon yelled at a higher pitch than she thought. After they saw that no one paid any attention to them Sharon softly spoke, “Sorry.”
Megan composed herself and answered, “It wasn’t like that. You scared me.”
“I’m sorry for yelling,” Sharon apologized again.
Biting her lip Megan clarified, “No when you broke up with Ty. It scared me. Ty cut you out entirely, and the next day he was gone poof, non-existent, like… ”
As she watched Megan slowly break into tears, Sharon lent out her hand to loosely cover Megan’s, “Is there anything I can do?”
“How did you do it?” Megan sniffled after raising her head back up.
Sharon asked, “Pardon me?”
“How did you handle Ty leaving?” Megan clarified.
“I… I… I guess I just… never let my guard down,” Sharon stuttered out in the open.
Megan blew her nose on a rough napkin and continued to inquire, “Your guard?”
“You know, like in boxing I think, you know how can you get your feelings hurt if you never expect anything from them,” Sharon tried to explain again slowly growing quiet. “Yikes, that sounded really bad,” Sharon commented to the stunned audience.
Megan asked after a silent few seconds of deafening silence, “How can you live like that?”
Sharon replied after an even longer silence as Megan Stared wide-eyed at her frozen expression, “I… Just… Do.”
“Do you want to head to the gallery now?” Megan sheepishly asked.
“Why do we need to head to a gallery?” Sharon asked softly.
Looking around, confused by her question and replied, “Josephine invited us, remember?”
“Right, yes uhm ya lets go,” She answered with the same emotionless tone.
Halfway down the stairs Megan asked, “Hey can you message Josephine to let us in, I think we’re gonna be early?”
“Oh right,” Sharon sputtered with her head still spinning from Megan’s diversion.
She pulled out her phone but stopped to text at the next half level platform. On the first floor Megan stared up at her as Sharon slowly texted Josephine. Without a word she walked past Megan wanting to only do what she was told. Josephine let them in, but ran back to continue talking to some agents. Her mood wasn’t getting any better as they walked around the gallery so Megan grabbed her by the hand and pulled her around the corner. She pulled her close and looked into her eyes. With a small smile at the corner of Sharon’s mouth Megan made a move and kissed her.
After half a minute of making out Sharon stopped to look at Megan’s confused face and asked, “I know we’ve only known each other for like eight years, but do you think we’re moving a little fast?”
Chuckling Megan asked, “Well the exhibit opens in five minutes so I don’t think we’re moving fast enough.”
As Megan bit on her earlobe Sharon quipped back, “From the stories I’ve heard that’s plenty of time for you.”
“I missed you,” Megan said with a joyful laugh.
“I missed you too. Can we keep talking about this later because that’s all I’ve wanted to do for the past two months?” Sharon asked as she smiled.
Getting the last laugh out of her, Megan asked, “Only if you buy the hotel room.”
“Why did he hire a private detective to watch over you?” Sharon joked.
Megan answered flatley, “Yes.”
“What? Why would he do that? Is there enough evidence? I only left a pair of boxers,” Sharon thought aloud.
“Well it seems like he must be close. There was an anonymous tipster and now they have a strong assumption that it’s you,” Megan said quickly aloud for the first time.
Sharon had assumed that they had been watching her but never put the gravity of it to the front of her mind. Backing into a painting, Sharon tried to find out more, “So this anonymous tipster, what did he say?”
“Well supposedly they are one of my neighbors who saw you in the garage putting out some candles, which just sounds like they are jumping to conclusions but in conjunction with the boxers they hired someone to look into it. If it wasn’t for those tickets, I wouldn’t have been able to meet up with you,” Megan explained in more detail as Sharon’s face froze.
Before she put it all together, Sharon started talking, “Why didn’t you tell… Wait but there wasn’t… uhm how much longer is this going to last? The divorce filings, not like our relationship of course. We still need to talk about that, duh.”
“Well it should all be over within the month so by January I should be in the all clear,” Megan answered ignoring all of the jibber.
The doors finally opened so they kept moving through Joe’s gallery. Halfway through Sharon noticed a similar painting to the original sea turtle painting she had bought and remembered how Ty helped her carry it back. Unlike the original, this one glowed a dull yellow, presumably illustrating what dusk looked like underwater but it appeared as if candles were lit in the distance.
“You know that painting reminds me of those candles you had in the garage… for some reason it also reminds me of Ty-” Sharon told Megan her thoughts because she thought it would be kinda romantic until her mind wandered into a nauseating thought.
She sprinted out of the gallery towards the only bathroom she could think of but made it ten steps before puking into the nearest trash can. Shortly after Megan found her in the opposite direction of the bathroom still dry heaving.
Patting her on the back she asked, “Are you okay?”
“Uhm ya I’m fine,” Sharon tried to brush it off.
Megan stuttered, “Did… did you say the candles reminded you of Ty?”
“Yeah,” Sharon stated, heaving at the thought.
Megan asked slowly but sternly, “Why did that remind you of Ty?”
“Because I told him,” Again she could barely finish her statement before thinking it all through, “He was there that night, in the garage.” Megan’s mouth hung open, unintentionally pressuring her to continue to incriminate herself. “I was freaked out. My plan didn’t go well, you just always seem to pull off elaborate plans so effortlessly and then he just figured it out,” Sharon continued far beyond what Megan could handle.
Standing up Megan looked down at her and slowly asked again, “If you knew that Rob knew, no wonder you weren’t upset, you knew this the whole time.”
“Wait I-” Sharon tried to explain as she straddled the trash can.
“You betrayed me and then played dumb for two months waiting like some kind of sick revenge,” Staring blankly over the crowd, Megan tried to explain to herself.
Sharon had no ability to reply in a meaningful way so she just whimpered, “Sorry.”
“Are you going to be alright?” Megan asked, still looking away. Sharon sat down, wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her coat, and nodded. “Alright, uhm… I’m going to go now… uh, I’ll text you later,” Megan explained. Leaning against the trash can, Sharon watched as Megan slowly walked into the crowd leaving her sobbing against the trash. A minute of crying led Josephine to leave her exhibit.
“Hey kid,” Josephine announced, trying to get Sharon’s attention, “It’ll be okay kid.” She rested her hand on her shoulder. “Hey it’ll be okay. Get up let's go get some food,” Joe insisted tapping on her shoulder now. “If you don’t get up now, you’re gonna miss out on some delightful sushi,” She continued.
Joe sat down next to her as she continued to sob. Setting her hand on Sharon’s leg stating, “I never thought of you as one of those crying types.”
“What did you see me as?” Sharon finally spoke.
Joe pondered for a moment, and then stated, “I don’t know, I just never saw you as well, this.”
She looked over to Josephine and asked, “So how much did you hear?”
“Nothing, I just saw you crying over here, and thought I’d help you like a good neighbor,” Joe explained.
Sharon replied, “You know I’m not your neighbor.”
“Doesn’t matter, let's go get some sushi. we can talk all of this after,” Joe said as she struggled to get up from the floor. Joe still held out her hand to help Sharon up.
On their way out the door, Sharon asked, “So why sushi?”
“I don’t know that just seems like what these agent types like,” Joe answered now, holding the door open for her.
“Thanks, uhm are you sure it’ll be fine if I come with?” Sharon asked as she zipped up her coat.
From a few steps down Joe reassured her, “Yes it is fine, but if they ask you’re my neighbor.” At the bottom of the steps she asked, “So that means one that you said you like is my neighbor? Is she the one that throws those obnoxious parties?”
Sharon looked up from her phone after almost tripping down the steps of the museum while sending a text to Megan. She just wanted to hear something from Megan, but knew she wouldn’t be forgiven so soon. “Uhm yeah pretty much,” Sharon reluctantly answered Joe before asking, “Can we stop somewhere so I can blow my nose?”
As they continued to walk down the street, Joe replied, “There will be a restroom there, it's only a few blocks away.”
“Is it that one?” Sharon asked after looking back up from her phone as they approached the intersection.
With her hand held against her forehead, Joe scanned the area, and noticed the place a block away, and questioned, “I think so?”
Sharon looked over at her smiling to ask, “Didn’t they tell you a name or like an address?”
“They said to meet at the same place as last time,” Joe remembered as they crossed the street.
Instead of the door, Joe promptly walked past and proceeded to look through the large window. Sharon stood next to the door and just watched as Joe searched the crowded restaurant from the sidewalk. Looking over to Sharon, Joe waved at her but Sharon just stood there confused with a tight grip on her phone waiting for an excuse to look at it.
“Go check the other window, this place is crowded,” Joe told her with a gesture.
Sharon threw out her arms and asked, “What do they even look like?”
“There! The guys I was talking to then, when you two went canoodling,” Joe stated as she insistently waved her on.
She brought her arms in giving in to the demand and walked around the corner. The place was just as crowded from the other side. There were a few businessmen but none that reminded her of the agents, a small family where the father wasn’t doing the best job of introducing sushi to his kids, and a young couple on their first date from what she could tell from their awkward handshake before sitting down. The mother eating her sushi while ignoring her husband's futile efforts made her chuckle before Joe came around the corner and walked past.
“Let’s go, I remember now that it's a few blocks down,” she said without even looking back as Sharon scrambled to keep up.
The sunset left her blind so she followed Joe down the street. She had no idea how Joe could see anything but her enthusiasm seemed well placed. Before she knew it she ran into Joe as she stood in front of the sushi restaurant like a pillar. The interior was nearly identical to the other sushi shop with only a few aesthetic differences.
Joe waved to the agents as they entered, and then politely informed Sharon, “We’ll be right over there, just uhm… freshen up a little dear.”
In the bathroom Sharon finally blew her nose on the dry paper towels thankful that they weren’t replaced with hand dryers yet. Before checking her hair, she pulled out her phone to see a few messages from her DnD group but nothing else. With her thumb held on the power button, Sharon took a deep breath and shut off her phone. After a moment she looked up to fix her hair in the mirror only to see the same person she saw every morning.
Sharon missed that sharp wit and crafty planning that outpaced and mystified her. Their weekly texts lacked the intimacy that she grew used to even if it was under a guise. Again, She thought through what led her to not so subtly inform Rob about his wife’s infidelity. The argument the night before, and their broken agreement came to mind but she looked at her phone for the time to see no new messages.
If it hadn’t been for Joe, Sharon would not have had an excuse for them to meet up. Her art was being shown in the art museum downtown and had a few extra tickets. Normally Sharon would be on edge walking in this area but she had a different ledge to hang her mind on. The winter breeze stung her lungs as she tried to calm herself.
After waiting on the entrance steps for a few minutes, Megan strolled up to her holding her arms out for a hug.
“Hey, How are you?” Megan asked as Sharon fully embraced her.
As she leaned back, Sharon answered looking over her face, “Uhm… it's been a long month.” Sharon held out her hand as they started walking inside but was left behind as Megan rushed in.
“What are you waiting for? We only have two hours before the gallery opens,” Megan called back from the other side of the entrance.
Checking her pockets for the tickets, she replied, “Just making sure I have the tickets.”
Megan chuckled, still holding open the door, “Only you would leave something like that behind.”
“You’re too funny,” she quipped back, handing Megan her ticket as they approached the counter.
Walking into the central gallery, Sharon looked around to remember what each floor had while Megan darted off to the closest exhibit. “Hey, Do you-” Sharon asked, only to notice Megan already proceeding through the first exhibit.
Sharon quickly filled Megan. They walked past cases of rusted helmets and lockets to only get quick glances at each. By the time Sharon finally caught up, Megan was standing at the end of the exhibit.
“I know we have a time crunch,” Sharon stated while using air quotes, “but I think we should at least enjoy some of the museum.”
Disregarding the statement with a swipe of her hand Megan answered, “It was just the ancient artifacts. Did you really want to spend our whole visit looking at crumbling pots?”
Sharon sighed, “I guess not.” As they walked side by side over to the side gallery, she noticed Megan full attention and inquired, “Did you pre plan a route so you could hit every exhibit?”
“Of course, how else are we going to be able-” Megan stated but Sharon stopped her before she could reach the gallery and began pulling her up the stairs. “Woah, What's up,” Megan asked, startled by Sharon’s sudden aggression.
At the top of the stairs, Sharon stopped and explained in a huff, “I just want to enjoy our time together, Okay?”
Megan pulled her hand back, before she apologized softly while looking back down the steps, “Sorry.”
Before Megan could bring her head back over, Sharon wandered into the next exhibit. Megan Started on the other wall and tried to match Sharon’s pace. From time to time she would glance over to see Sharon trailing behind on her side. Impatiently she looked over some of the pieces across the room. To time her plan perfectly, Megan skipped over three or four pieces everytime Sharon moved by keeping a diligent eye over her shoulder.
“How are you liking the exhibit so far?” Sharon asked while Megan slid over to meet her.
“Oh! It's been nice so far,” Megan threw back at Sharon.
Sharon raised an eyebrow and asked while looking over the rest of the exhibit, “So did any piece stick out to you?”
“Well... “ Megan stalled as she tried to remember anything that she passed over, “The one that was like blue and orange doodles on a black background… uhm I think it was the Rocca piece.”
“You don’t have to try so hard, I saw you skip those pieces,” Sharon asserted as she moved on to the next piece. As Megan followed her, she asked, “So why did you pick that piece,” pointing back.
With her head down to hide her blushing, She answered, “Okay, remember that one guy you were interested in from, I think it was art 101… that painting looks just like his tattoo that he had on his arm.”
“Oh ya the sailor tat. You know what’s weird is that he wasn’t even involved in like the navy or any boat things,” Sharon said looking back at the painting.
As they continued back through the gallery, Megan asked, “So why did you stop talking to that guy? Did he find out that you puked in the restroom?”
“No he didn’t find out. I don’t know he just seemed disinterested after an hour I guess,” Sharon explained as they reached the entrance again.
“Did you kiss him before we got back to the bus?” Megan pressed.
Sharon shook her head looking over to her and defended herself, “No, he would have known if I did. Remember we couldn’t find any mints in the whole place and I didn’t want to spend ten dollars on a coffee.”
“So it was it because you didn’t kiss him,” Megan continued to grasp at any explanation.
Chuckling, she shook her head and answered, “I hope not… “ Sharon led them across the building and up another flight of stairs to the surreal exhibit. A high school class filled the room leaving them to slowly follow them through the gallery.
“What ever happened to that… uhm… turtle painting?” Megan asked, looking over an oil painting.
She looked over at Megan dumbfounded and replied, “I still have it. I’m the one who bought it.” She threw her arms up asking, “Sometimes you just have the most selective memory,” then she pointed at the picture, “also why does a mexican volcano remind you of… Wait, I think I see it. The sky and the yellow bits look kinda similar.”
“See! I’m not crazy,” Megan assured herself.
The line of students filling the hall was still filing in so they just slowly followed along. Sharon felt a little more comfortable around Megan but she still couldn’t forget about her anxiety. Everytime she felt like they were getting along, Megan seemed to ignore that their affair existed. She knew that the divorce lawyers were hungry for evidence, but she yearned for some assemblance of commitment.
Admiring The Persistence of Memory and surrounded, She thought that this would be the best time to bring it up. Jumping straight to the point would probably be too drastic, apologizing for the boxers would just be cliched at this point, but bringing up her betrayal would just end the discussion by how valid it was.
“So why did you stop trying to see me... and… “ she spat at the ground but paused reassuring herself that it wasn’t asking too much, “Uhm set me up with Ty?”
Megan stood there filling the air with pauses, “Well… Uhm… “ before she was dragged by her hand further down the hall. “Hey!” she shouted in surprise.
“Sorry, the line was moving up,” Sharon assured her, letting go of her hand.
Watching Sharon’s hand leave her, she tried to continue, “Uhm… well I just saw that you were so flustered when, was it Josephine?”
“She goes by Joe,” Sharon corrected her.
She continued tucking her hair behind her ear, “When Joe called you out when you were peering at me over that book stack.”
Sharon’s face was the same bright red as she looked awkwardly at the wall between paintings. From her experience Megan’s best option was to wait for her to recover from embarrassment so she looked over the piece in front of her. All she could do now was to plan out the next few answers.
“Why did you send us out to get those ‘Psyduck jars’ if you knew that they A. didn’t exist and B. didn't want me to see Ty?” Sharon asked, still staring at the wall.
Megan noticed her clenched fist and replied, “It was… Rob’s idea… and I couldn’t possibly explain to him why I would want to stop. You looked so happy.”
“Wait so you didn’t tell him to stop earlier, he was just that weird? He didn’t even introduce us.” Sharon asked looking back over.
Megan had been cornered and gave in, “I may have embellished that, yes.”
“You just never know what's good for you, do you,” Sharon stated, moving on with the group into the next room, leaving Megan.
She watched as Sharon disappeared into the crowd, whispering to herself “Crap.”
The next exhibit displayed larger sculptures that seemed unrelated to the previous rooms. A chair with what looked like historical information sat in the corner and what looked like a diorama sat in the middle but was obstructed by the crowd. Sharon could see Megan scanning the room as she stood in the next doorway.
“I’m sorry,” Megan said after finding Sharon in the next room past the high schoolers.
Sharon spent a few more seconds enjoying the piece they were standing in front of before answering, “So why do you always try to set me up, also that wasn’t a very good apology?”
Megan rolled her eyes, dropped her shoulders, and asked, “What do you-” before changing her mind, “I thought you wanted me to.”
“When did I ask you to?” Sharon questioned her as she spun around to face her.
With a snap she thought aloud, “Well I think it was Ryan… no Shawn… you asked me to set you up with him on the field-”
“Okay ya I remember that part now… “ Sharon stated while she looked at the wall again pretending to be an ostrich with her head in the ground. “But why did you keep doing it?” Sharon asked.
Megan talked to the painting, “You seemed to enjoy it and-” Megan stopped as she heard Sharon sniffle and drag her coat sleeve across her cheek. As she looked over, Megan continued, “And I just wanted to help my friend,” leaning over to embrace her. With her head on Sharon’s shoulder she felt every self restricted convulsions as Sharon tried her hardest to hold back her tears. “How long have you been staring at me from around the corner?” Megan asked softly.
Inhaling the smell of Megan’s coat as she held her tighter Sharon whispered in between sobs, “The first time you held me,” as Megan patted her on the back, “I can still feel that sweater.”
“I think we gotta keep moving,” Megan told her as the students started to flood the room.
Letting go Sharon asked, “Do you want to get some coffee, after I freshen up a bit?”
Megan agreed as she watched Sharon wipe her hand against her congested nose with a cheery smile. Standing outside the exhibit, Megan pointed to the cafe on the third floor and told her, “I’ll see you there.” She watched as Sharon took the stairs down behind them most likely because she was lost, which left Megan chuckling.
After waiting for ten minutes, Megan pulled out her phone while she waited at a tall table with her coffee nearly finished. As if it was timed Sharon wandered up to the table before Megan could check her emails.
Walking up, Sharon awkwardly waved when Megan asked, “Are you okay?”
“Ya I got a little lost on the way up,” Sharon said scratching the back of her head. “Did work stuff come up?” She asked while pointing at Megan’s phone.
Haphazardly putting her phone away, Megan replied, “Oh, I was just waiting for you, you were just taking a while so.”
Now scratching behind her ear, Sharon explained, “Okay so I thought the other stairs would lead straight up to the coffee shop, but well it didn’t… uhm so I ended up at that pointillism painting from Ferris Beuller.”
“You know there’s a bathroom here,” Megan said while pointing off to the left.
After sitting down at the table Sharon apologized.
“It’s fine, I… well… always like that, you know you end up coming up with fun ideas like that idea to share cereals,” Megan tried to explain as she held out her hands waving them back and forth as if she passed a ball to herself.
Sharon responded as she settled further into the seat, “Well there were just so many cereals that I hadn’t had in so long.”
“I wish we had planned that party,” Megan said, realizing why they had not discussed it further.
Megan looked off to the side as Sharon tried to think of a new topic quickly but digressed, “Ya I mean how did you ever come up with the idea for the contest with the garage sales anyway?”
“Contest?” Megan asked.
“You know the contest to find the best stuff and whoever found the best got to throw a party,” Sharon tried to further explain.
After a second Megan answered, “That, well things were getting kinda boring and I thought we should have a party and Rob thought we didn’t have any good ideas for a party so we decided to find one, I guess.”
“And the curtains pull back,” Sharon commented. Megan disdainfully looked back at her so she backpedaled, “I mean you always seemed to plan things out to an extreme, but you just change your plan before people can notice, like… “
“Like?” Megan questioned.
Sharon looked over to see the finished coffee and stated in a panic, “Like I, forgot to get a coffee, yep,” and finally picked up the menu she had been ignoring.
Megan watched as Sharon pondered over the menu for a while, tapping her fingers against the table impatiently. For a second Sharon looked over to see Megan staring and waved and shrugged her shoulders as her coffee was being made. When she turned around to wait she thought of pulling out her phone but she didn’t want to give any excuse for Sharon to change the subject.
Sitting down with her coffee Sharon looked up from her first sip to see Megan with one hand tapping on the table and the other supporting her cheek. She set her coffee down and with new confidence finally spoke her mind, “So Uhm… You know like with the Ty thing and… well with the promise you made to end it with Rob… you kinda put it off because it wasn’t good for you but kinda just left me hanging.”
“I’m sorry, I’ve been keeping everything so secretive this whole year, but you never said anything so I just kept going with it until it got so out of hand,” Megan explained so readily that Sharon lost her train of thought with a blank stare.
Sharon asked, “So you’re not mad about the boxers, Which I’m sorry for?”
“I was… but I realized that I was just leading you on for so long. I just wasn’t sure how to handle this whole divorce thing. I still liked Rob, nothing was wrong per se,” Megan explained, using far too many hand gestures to symbolize their relationship.
Dumbfounded, she Stated bluntly, “You were having an affair, how can it be good if you’re having an affair?”
“You and Ty were fine even though you were also having an affair,” Megan snapped back at Sharon.
Taking in a breath, Sharon shot Megan down, “So it’s okay to lie as long as they’re happy?
“Well… I wanted to wait for a good moment to tell him,” Megan replied steadfast.
“What so he could get the short end of the stick!” Sharon yelled at a higher pitch than she thought. After they saw that no one paid any attention to them Sharon softly spoke, “Sorry.”
Megan composed herself and answered, “It wasn’t like that. You scared me.”
“I’m sorry for yelling,” Sharon apologized again.
Biting her lip Megan clarified, “No when you broke up with Ty. It scared me. Ty cut you out entirely, and the next day he was gone poof, non-existent, like… ”
As she watched Megan slowly break into tears, Sharon lent out her hand to loosely cover Megan’s, “Is there anything I can do?”
“How did you do it?” Megan sniffled after raising her head back up.
Sharon asked, “Pardon me?”
“How did you handle Ty leaving?” Megan clarified.
“I… I… I guess I just… never let my guard down,” Sharon stuttered out in the open.
Megan blew her nose on a rough napkin and continued to inquire, “Your guard?”
“You know, like in boxing I think, you know how can you get your feelings hurt if you never expect anything from them,” Sharon tried to explain again slowly growing quiet. “Yikes, that sounded really bad,” Sharon commented to the stunned audience.
Megan asked after a silent few seconds of deafening silence, “How can you live like that?”
Sharon replied after an even longer silence as Megan Stared wide-eyed at her frozen expression, “I… Just… Do.”
“Do you want to head to the gallery now?” Megan sheepishly asked.
“Why do we need to head to a gallery?” Sharon asked softly.
Looking around, confused by her question and replied, “Josephine invited us, remember?”
“Right, yes uhm ya lets go,” She answered with the same emotionless tone.
Halfway down the stairs Megan asked, “Hey can you message Josephine to let us in, I think we’re gonna be early?”
“Oh right,” Sharon sputtered with her head still spinning from Megan’s diversion.
She pulled out her phone but stopped to text at the next half level platform. On the first floor Megan stared up at her as Sharon slowly texted Josephine. Without a word she walked past Megan wanting to only do what she was told. Josephine let them in, but ran back to continue talking to some agents. Her mood wasn’t getting any better as they walked around the gallery so Megan grabbed her by the hand and pulled her around the corner. She pulled her close and looked into her eyes. With a small smile at the corner of Sharon’s mouth Megan made a move and kissed her.
After half a minute of making out Sharon stopped to look at Megan’s confused face and asked, “I know we’ve only known each other for like eight years, but do you think we’re moving a little fast?”
Chuckling Megan asked, “Well the exhibit opens in five minutes so I don’t think we’re moving fast enough.”
As Megan bit on her earlobe Sharon quipped back, “From the stories I’ve heard that’s plenty of time for you.”
“I missed you,” Megan said with a joyful laugh.
“I missed you too. Can we keep talking about this later because that’s all I’ve wanted to do for the past two months?” Sharon asked as she smiled.
Getting the last laugh out of her, Megan asked, “Only if you buy the hotel room.”
“Why did he hire a private detective to watch over you?” Sharon joked.
Megan answered flatley, “Yes.”
“What? Why would he do that? Is there enough evidence? I only left a pair of boxers,” Sharon thought aloud.
“Well it seems like he must be close. There was an anonymous tipster and now they have a strong assumption that it’s you,” Megan said quickly aloud for the first time.
Sharon had assumed that they had been watching her but never put the gravity of it to the front of her mind. Backing into a painting, Sharon tried to find out more, “So this anonymous tipster, what did he say?”
“Well supposedly they are one of my neighbors who saw you in the garage putting out some candles, which just sounds like they are jumping to conclusions but in conjunction with the boxers they hired someone to look into it. If it wasn’t for those tickets, I wouldn’t have been able to meet up with you,” Megan explained in more detail as Sharon’s face froze.
Before she put it all together, Sharon started talking, “Why didn’t you tell… Wait but there wasn’t… uhm how much longer is this going to last? The divorce filings, not like our relationship of course. We still need to talk about that, duh.”
“Well it should all be over within the month so by January I should be in the all clear,” Megan answered ignoring all of the jibber.
The doors finally opened so they kept moving through Joe’s gallery. Halfway through Sharon noticed a similar painting to the original sea turtle painting she had bought and remembered how Ty helped her carry it back. Unlike the original, this one glowed a dull yellow, presumably illustrating what dusk looked like underwater but it appeared as if candles were lit in the distance.
“You know that painting reminds me of those candles you had in the garage… for some reason it also reminds me of Ty-” Sharon told Megan her thoughts because she thought it would be kinda romantic until her mind wandered into a nauseating thought.
She sprinted out of the gallery towards the only bathroom she could think of but made it ten steps before puking into the nearest trash can. Shortly after Megan found her in the opposite direction of the bathroom still dry heaving.
Patting her on the back she asked, “Are you okay?”
“Uhm ya I’m fine,” Sharon tried to brush it off.
Megan stuttered, “Did… did you say the candles reminded you of Ty?”
“Yeah,” Sharon stated, heaving at the thought.
Megan asked slowly but sternly, “Why did that remind you of Ty?”
“Because I told him,” Again she could barely finish her statement before thinking it all through, “He was there that night, in the garage.” Megan’s mouth hung open, unintentionally pressuring her to continue to incriminate herself. “I was freaked out. My plan didn’t go well, you just always seem to pull off elaborate plans so effortlessly and then he just figured it out,” Sharon continued far beyond what Megan could handle.
Standing up Megan looked down at her and slowly asked again, “If you knew that Rob knew, no wonder you weren’t upset, you knew this the whole time.”
“Wait I-” Sharon tried to explain as she straddled the trash can.
“You betrayed me and then played dumb for two months waiting like some kind of sick revenge,” Staring blankly over the crowd, Megan tried to explain to herself.
Sharon had no ability to reply in a meaningful way so she just whimpered, “Sorry.”
“Are you going to be alright?” Megan asked, still looking away. Sharon sat down, wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her coat, and nodded. “Alright, uhm… I’m going to go now… uh, I’ll text you later,” Megan explained. Leaning against the trash can, Sharon watched as Megan slowly walked into the crowd leaving her sobbing against the trash. A minute of crying led Josephine to leave her exhibit.
“Hey kid,” Josephine announced, trying to get Sharon’s attention, “It’ll be okay kid.” She rested her hand on her shoulder. “Hey it’ll be okay. Get up let's go get some food,” Joe insisted tapping on her shoulder now. “If you don’t get up now, you’re gonna miss out on some delightful sushi,” She continued.
Joe sat down next to her as she continued to sob. Setting her hand on Sharon’s leg stating, “I never thought of you as one of those crying types.”
“What did you see me as?” Sharon finally spoke.
Joe pondered for a moment, and then stated, “I don’t know, I just never saw you as well, this.”
She looked over to Josephine and asked, “So how much did you hear?”
“Nothing, I just saw you crying over here, and thought I’d help you like a good neighbor,” Joe explained.
Sharon replied, “You know I’m not your neighbor.”
“Doesn’t matter, let's go get some sushi. we can talk all of this after,” Joe said as she struggled to get up from the floor. Joe still held out her hand to help Sharon up.
On their way out the door, Sharon asked, “So why sushi?”
“I don’t know that just seems like what these agent types like,” Joe answered now, holding the door open for her.
“Thanks, uhm are you sure it’ll be fine if I come with?” Sharon asked as she zipped up her coat.
From a few steps down Joe reassured her, “Yes it is fine, but if they ask you’re my neighbor.” At the bottom of the steps she asked, “So that means one that you said you like is my neighbor? Is she the one that throws those obnoxious parties?”
Sharon looked up from her phone after almost tripping down the steps of the museum while sending a text to Megan. She just wanted to hear something from Megan, but knew she wouldn’t be forgiven so soon. “Uhm yeah pretty much,” Sharon reluctantly answered Joe before asking, “Can we stop somewhere so I can blow my nose?”
As they continued to walk down the street, Joe replied, “There will be a restroom there, it's only a few blocks away.”
“Is it that one?” Sharon asked after looking back up from her phone as they approached the intersection.
With her hand held against her forehead, Joe scanned the area, and noticed the place a block away, and questioned, “I think so?”
Sharon looked over at her smiling to ask, “Didn’t they tell you a name or like an address?”
“They said to meet at the same place as last time,” Joe remembered as they crossed the street.
Instead of the door, Joe promptly walked past and proceeded to look through the large window. Sharon stood next to the door and just watched as Joe searched the crowded restaurant from the sidewalk. Looking over to Sharon, Joe waved at her but Sharon just stood there confused with a tight grip on her phone waiting for an excuse to look at it.
“Go check the other window, this place is crowded,” Joe told her with a gesture.
Sharon threw out her arms and asked, “What do they even look like?”
“There! The guys I was talking to then, when you two went canoodling,” Joe stated as she insistently waved her on.
She brought her arms in giving in to the demand and walked around the corner. The place was just as crowded from the other side. There were a few businessmen but none that reminded her of the agents, a small family where the father wasn’t doing the best job of introducing sushi to his kids, and a young couple on their first date from what she could tell from their awkward handshake before sitting down. The mother eating her sushi while ignoring her husband's futile efforts made her chuckle before Joe came around the corner and walked past.
“Let’s go, I remember now that it's a few blocks down,” she said without even looking back as Sharon scrambled to keep up.
The sunset left her blind so she followed Joe down the street. She had no idea how Joe could see anything but her enthusiasm seemed well placed. Before she knew it she ran into Joe as she stood in front of the sushi restaurant like a pillar. The interior was nearly identical to the other sushi shop with only a few aesthetic differences.
Joe waved to the agents as they entered, and then politely informed Sharon, “We’ll be right over there, just uhm… freshen up a little dear.”
In the bathroom Sharon finally blew her nose on the dry paper towels thankful that they weren’t replaced with hand dryers yet. Before checking her hair, she pulled out her phone to see a few messages from her DnD group but nothing else. With her thumb held on the power button, Sharon took a deep breath and shut off her phone. After a moment she looked up to fix her hair in the mirror only to see the same person she saw every morning.