Anniversary
It was a bit silly, but Nathan had always remembered how he and Ivy had met.
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Nathan’s friend Birch was in the same class Ivy’s friend Krista was, and their college held a large party. They were brought along by their friends.
Nathan had been watching the petite brunette all along and felt ashamed he was so shy to make any kind of move. As he finished one beer, he saw her going to the bar, and just for once, he made up his mind and made a beeline for the drinks stall.
“What a party,” he said. Did that sound casual? Damn, I think it sounded awkward.
“Yes,” she said.
“Can I get you something to drink?” he asked. I can’t believe I’m really going for that line.
“Yes please. I think I’ll switch to coke, I have had enough for the night.”
“That’s wise,” he said. He turned around to order the drinks and looked at her again. “I’m Nathan.”
“Ivy.”
“Pleased to meet you, Ivy.”
“Hey, Nate!” Birch interrupted. Nathan rolled his eyes. Birch was oh so much more easy-going around women than he was. “Who’s your friend?”
“Birch, this is Ivy. I just met her.”
“Ivy? Haven’t we met?” Birch said. Not again, Birch, please. Not with this girl.
“Yes we have,” she said. Oh, perfect. She’s one of Birch’s exes. I’m out of this before it’s started. “Krista introduced us. I came with her.”
“Krista’s already here?” Hey, what was that in Birch’s eyes? “I’m gonna look for her. See you, Ivy. Nate, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
And he was gone, dancing his way with a purpose, as if he had already located Krista and was merely choosing a long path, instead of actually being searching for her.
“I shouldn’t say this, but you should warn Krista about Birch,” Nathan said. “He’s a good guy, but… I don’t know, he just loves girls too much.”
“You’re an awful wingman, Nathan, did you know?” Ivy laughed.
“Damn. I am, am I not?”
“Krista is a full grown woman, Nathan,” she said. “Full grown. I think that’s why he likes her so much.”
“What? Is it the same Birch we’re talking here?”
“I saw it when Krista introduced us. I bet he doesn’t really remember when that was, the way he stared at her.”
“Live and learn,” Nathan mused.
“Tell you what,” Ivy said. “Feel like going somewhere else?”
This can’t be real. Is she really asking me to leave with her? Answer her, you idiot!
“With you? Of course.” Damn, that sounded so Birch!
“Cool. Let’s go.” She grabbed his hand. It felt warm.
The March evening was still cold. Nathan gave Ivy his jacket as they walked. Now they weren’t at the party, Nathan suddenly didn’t know what to talk about. The silence seemed to stretch out too much when they reached the Excelsior.
“The Excelsior!” she said. “Oh, they’re showing ‘Singin’ In The Rain’!”
“I love that movie!” Nathan said. “It’s so much more than just a funny musical.”
“Yes! It’s meta, with all the affair of the movie within a movie!” she heated up. “And the story about the end of silent cinema. The desynchronized dubbing scene is hilarious!”
“Oh yes. And it criticizes the old classic Hollywood, while at the same time being such a typical Hollywood product of its age.”
“We should watch it, don’t you think?” she said.
“Definitely! Popcorn?”
“For ‘Singin’ In The Rain’? No way!”
“I like the way you think,” Nathan said. Ivy smiled. Oh dear, I’m lost. I’m lost forever. Please let it be so.
After the movie, they went for dinner. They stayed together that night. And the next day. And the next.
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That had been twenty years ago. For twenty years, they celebrated the day they had met by watching ‘Singin’ In The Rain’ together.
Today, Nathan picked up the DVD and inserted it in the player. He switched the television on and stopped.
He wasn’t really sure whether Ivy would have liked him to watch it alone or not.
He couldn’t decide.
All he could do was weep.
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This is my accompanying entry for the Weekly Writing Exercise: May 22–28, 2017 at the Writer’s Discussion Group on Google+. I am responsible for creating the prompts for the Exercise, so I don’t take part, but I still like to write a story each week.
When I chose the image, it immediately reminded me of Singin’ In The Rain, and I decided to play along with that. But I felt like going with the sad ending.
