by Leonard Cachola
The following story is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Jack had been dating Katie for a year. Despite the occasional fights here and there, they were a happy couple.
They were together constantly, either on the phone or at Jack's dad's house. Oftentimes, Jack would make the hour-long drive to Katie's to pick her up. Katie spent all of her time with Jack; riding around with him while he delivered pizzas. She sometimes stayed at his dad's house and did the cooking and cleaning. It wasn't long before Katie began wondering when Jack was going to ask for her hand in marriage.
However, Jack had other ideas. He wanted to finish school, but lacked the money to do so. He desired to play the drums, but couldn't muster enough courage to move beyond imitating his favorite drummer, Neil Peart of Rush. Jack loved to read comic books, delving into the realm of heroes and villains, and, at one point, expressed a desire to write.
Katie's cousin Steve was Jack's best friend. They grew up together and shared many of the same interests in women, music and had a good time around each other. Steve had a beautiful wife, Cindy, and two children.
However, Steve's marriage was a rocky one. He constantly drank and didn't pay much attention to Cindy, other than wishing her to remain in the house to take care of the kids.
Jack was growing tired of Katie. He complained she never made the effort to make the drive to visit him. They began fighting about her nagging personality and his selfishness. Yet, they stayed together.
However, Jack's dad was contemplating a move back home to Dallas, which put more strain on Jack and Katie's relationship. Katie figured if Jack was going to make a move to marry her, this was the time.
Jack decided it was time to act. He had always found Cindy attractive, but had never acted on his passion because he wasn't sure if she felt the same. He felt that Steve was treating her worse than she deserved, but he was still loyal to his friend. While on a visit to Steve's, with Steve passed out on the couch and Katie at her mom's house, Jack confessed his love to Cindy. She reciprocated.
When he returned home, Jack couldn't stop talking about Cindy, believing her to be his true love. He wanted to rescue Cindy from her marriage. He began talking about how he could be a much better father than Steve. Jack asked Cindy if she wanted to move out, but she was worried about her kids. She didn't want to leave them behind. One month later, Jack moved Cindy and the kids out of Steve's house. When Steve arrived home and found his family missing, he panicked. Katie called Jack and left angry messages on his answering machine, but to no avail. It didn't matter to Jack and Cindy anymore. They were together and happy.
Six months later, the pair moved to Dallas to live ...
Cachola is a senior English major who misses his friends.