WHAT'S DONE IN THE DARK

   

I sat in the cafe waiting for my friend. I've known Wendell for what seems like my entire life. Our moms are best friends and he has seemed to always have the answers in bad situations. But this...I'm not sure even the almighty Wendell's advice can help me with this. What the hell was I thinking, Shannon was going to flip! No! She was going to kill me. Maybe I was dreaming. Yea, that's it, I thought to myself. This is all a dream and I'm gonna wake up in a minute. That's the lie I told myself.

     Wendell walked through the door with a big grin on his face. He always did light up a room. Girls seemed to always gravitate towards him. In middle school, high school and now in college. But the closer he got, his smile diminished.  

     "What's up man?" he asked, concerned.

     After we gave our usual 'frat bro greeting', I began to spill my guts.  He sat there with his forehead embedded in his hands, silent. 

     "Wendell, say something. Tell me what to do," I pleaded.

     "Ummm...," he slowly stuttered. "Bro, there is no easy answer for this." He picked up my cell phone from the table and handed it to me. "There's only the right answer."

     Hesitantly removing the phone from his hand, I knew he was right. There was no easy answer nor easy way out of this one. I just had to face my fear and the realization that this wasn't a dream. This was reality and it would be my reality for the rest of my life. I reluctantly dialed Shannon's number secretly praying that I would get her voicemail so that I would have a little more time to gather my thoughts.

     "Hello."

     Her voice was soft, almost as if she had just awakened from a quiet nap. "Hey babe...it's me. How about you stop by later for dinner and conversation. I'll order your favorite."

THE TALK

hey babe, come in and sit down
i’m really glad you stopped by
sorry for the mess you see,
i’ve been going through so much…

…man I can’t even lie.
i know you said I could come to you
no matter what was on my mind
but it seems that lately these days
the right words, I just can’t seem to find.
hey…do you remember the day we met
and you were wearing that cute pink top
girl your body was bangin’
and that smile…
wow…
you had a smile that just wouldn’t stop.
well, I just need for you to know
the last two years have been the best of my life
and up until last week
i was ready to ask you to be my wife.
hold up…don’t get me wrong I still love you
and that’s a feeling that will never go away
but unfortunately
I don’t think that your love for me
will be strong enough to make you want to stay
it’s hard for me to say this
but i found comfort
in the arms of someone else
i’m so sorry to have hurt you like this
it’s the worst feeling I’ve ever felt
i’ve prayed and I’ve prayed
i’ve been on my knees every night
but right now, I don’t think prayer is enough
to help me win this fight

wait! wait! don’t leave.
baby I need you to listen to me.
see other thing I have to tell you is…
i’m sorry…
i have HIV

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