Page 51 of To Love or to Lose
When Logan comes back to the table after grabbing drinks for everyone, the environment instantly becomes more lively. Everyone sits up, preparing for the next conversation he brings to light.
“What’s with the silence?” He asks the group as he pulls out his chair and sits back down.
Nobody says anything.
“Okay…” He whistles slowly. “Is there some type of feud I don’t know about?”
Eloise speaks up first. “I think there’s been a silent war happening for quite a while now.”
I involuntarily look at Genevieve, who still hasn’t looked up from her plate.
“I think we need everyone to speak their piece,” Winnie suggests, dropping her fork onto her plate.
“That’s a great idea,” I say, which makes Genevieve look at me for the first time, though she doesn’t make eye contact. “Don’t you agree?” I direct the question toward her.
“I don’t see what difference talking about it will make,” she replies curtly.
“It might not make one, but don’t you think it’s worth a shot if it means our friends have a chance to express their emotions without feeling trapped in the middle?”
Genevieve doesn’t answer at first, but when she looks over at Winnie, who’s nodding in encouragement, she relents. “Fine.”
“Jameson and Gen need to be the last to go since they are the parties of conflict,” Logan says, then points a butter knife around the table. “So, who’s going first?”
“I think I should, since I feel least involved in this situation,” Eloise says, looking between Genevieve and me.
“Everyone gets three sentences to express their feelings, after that, nothing from this conversation will be brought up again,” Logan declares the rules quickly before motioning to Eloise with his butter knife. “Let’s hear it, E.”
Eloise takes a breath before starting, “I respect both parties, but I obviously have biases.” Genevieve smiles at the fact. “While I think the competition you two have going on is justifiable, I feel it is unnecessary. I feel, overall, it would be better for everyone if the two of you could come to some type of agreement to solve future issues.”
“Thank you, E.” Logan picks up his butter knife yet again, pointing it at Winnifred. “Win, you’re next.”
She can barely look at me or Genevieve. Her eyes are darting every which way before they land on Logan for a moment.He nods to her encouragingly, giving her the confidence to continue.
“I don’t like confrontation, which is probably obvious.” She winces when she realizes she wasted one of her sentences on opening remarks. “But I am a firm believer that nothing will be solved by avoidance, and if you two can’t eventually work your problems out, it’s going to take a toll on all of us. I think that, if you focused on working together rather than against each other, it would be mutually beneficial.”
By Genevieve’s facial expression, I can tell she doesn’t agree with Winnifred, but she’s only looking at my shoulder. She attempts to aim her frustration at me but refuses to look at my face.
“Okay, my turn,” Logan says, standing from his seat so he can circle the table as he speaks.
Genevieve laughs at his dramatics, but gives him her full attention, nonetheless.
“Both of you are my best friends—no matter the duration—and the rift between you two has seemed to fall on my shoulders in more ways than one. I think it’s important to recognize that I am the most unbiased of the group, and I am not picking sides. All I want is to see you both get along, because I honestly believe you could find common ground and be super great friends if you got past the rivalry.” With that, he sits back down.
I can tell that he and Winnifred have the same feelings on the situation, Logan just happens to be more upfront about it.
“Okay,” Genevieve picks up Logan’s butter knife with a smile. “Is it my turn now?” I wave her on, giving her the silent go ahead.
“I think it is ridiculous that you are all attempting to cease our rivalry, especially when I’ve already tried to explain how important this is to me, but I will not get into that. The way I go about competition is not up for your skepticism, and it’s difficultfor me to even try to explain why I am the way I am, but all I know is it’s not up for your interpretation. Jameson and I are not friends for good reasons, and while I can compromise on the ground of attempting to be more civil for the sake of our friend group, that is all I am willing to give.”
I scoff, not believing she’s serious.
Genevieve immediately looks at me with a face of disgust. “Do you have something to add? Or is your cave dweller dialect all you’re willing to contribute?”
“I will gladly speak my piece.” I take the butter knife from her hold, clearing my throat. “While I understand Genevieve’s concerns and why she is hurt, I find it immature that she has not attempted to make amends on any ground or come to any type of compromise. I’m not in the business of fighting fire with fire, but it seems that’s the only way for me to get my point across without falling into the lion's den at dinner.”
The butter knife clanks in the center of the table between all of us. There is no formal declaration, but the fallen knife seems to be enough to end the conversation indefinitely.
The delegation feels nice for a moment, but the feeling quickly vanishes.
