Page 36 of The Leaves In Autumn
“Something happened alright.”
Layla picks up that my tone is just left of normal.
“What!? What are you saying? Did you two hook up?”
I don’t immediately deny her conclusion, and it lights a fire under her ass.
“Oh my God! I knew you two were going to get together. Was it good? How was he? I mean, you know, whatever you want to share. TELL ME!”
“Take a breath! I’ll tell you some of it.”
“Yeah, right.”
She laughs at my words. Layla has reason to doubt. She likes hearing the nitty gritty details, which I have always provided too freely.
“I’m still processing. And you have to promise not to say a word to Van. Please.”
“I won’t! Now start talking.”
“Let me put you on speaker.”
As I hang the cowboy hat and remove the red dress, the telling continues.
“The long and the short of it is we caught the fever at the concert and got together and, oh Layla. It was, I thought, really great.”
The boots come off.
“Really, really great?”
“Yeah. He’s the best time I’ve ever had.”
A sigh follows my declaration.
“What happened then? He was upset in the limo. Long before the fight.”
“Exactly. And I don’t have any idea why.”
“Well, that isn’t good.”
“No shit.”
I lose the panties and bra and get into bed. So what if it is noon?
“You better be careful. If he has those kind of mood swings.”
“I know.”
“He needs to talk to his therapist about it.”
“What therapist? Is he going to a therapist?”
The picture of Layla kicking herself in the ass right now is crystal clear.
“Fuckity fuck! I wasn’t supposed to say anything! Van would kill me!”
“I’m glad you did. I’m not going to tell anyone. Now it makes more sense. He’s handling something bigger than I knew.”
“Van hasn’t told me everything, but he’s been worried about Aargon since before we met. It’s the whole suicide story.”
