Neal walked out of the house and started to stroll towards his car. Neal began re-collecting nostalgic memories that happened during happier times, when he and his ex- girlfriend Kristine were together. The woman that Neal had enjoyed a long relationship with broke up with him and no longer wants to see him. It represented the greatest shock imaginable for Neal. The ex-girlfriend, Kristine, was not only a beautiful attractive woman but above that – she was brave and hard working. Her unrivaled characteristics had made Neal love her so much that he was sure that they would end up together. The two had been engaged and looking forward to having a wonderful wedding and life of marriage.
Sadly, their relationship ended upon the discovery of certain bitter fruit that poisoned the relationship. The revelation uncovered the fact Kristine had been sexually unfaithful, and as a result became pregnant. Sadness and anger drove arguments thereafter, and Neal almost became violent to the point of slapping her. He left Kristine’s apartment that morning, an incensed and bitter man. Neal was not the same since then. He had never visited the place again after that incident and the fateful day. Neal tried to understand why he was so enraged with the incident. He always thought that he is a progressive man when it came to social and sexual issues. He could not bear the thought, on the back of his mind that he broke up from a long-standing relationship with a woman he so deeply loved. Nonetheless, he is paralyzed and unable to make a move towards reconciliation. The separation seemed to have affected him so much that it now could get revealed, contributing to his changed status.
After approaching and opening the door of his blue Nissan Sentra car, Neal gets in. Prior to opening the car door, he had paused for lengthy moments, mumbling something to himself, but finally removed the plastic cover over his car. Bending over to enter the car, he just dropped down into the driver’s seat. Somewhat worried, he ponders thoughts, eventually starting the engine and drives off. As he headed towards downtown, Neal was sweating profusely despite the fact that it was a chilly December morning. He paced the car to a crawl as he reached a secluded place. He parked the car near the yard, and tried to collect himself. His brown hair shone reflectively in the morning sun. Looking in the rearview mirror, Neal noticed the frame of his broad jaw. The slightly glistening sweat on his forehead betrayed any calm he wanted to display. The mirror only showed how nervous he was. It is easy to see that he was disturbed and confused. Neal had something burning deep in his thoughts. Neal’s appearance truly reflected his worried state of mind, as he had not even bothered to shave that morning. He looked as if he had been anchored to the ground and unable to move.
After a while, he drove, passed the parking lot of nearby shopping mall. He looked out of his car’s window and noticed a man dressed in a grey suit walking past his car to a nearby flower shop next to the mall. In collecting some past details in his mind, he pondered if he knew the man. The guy in the suit was so familiar, but Neal could not recall exactly where they had met before. His head was still very cloudy from the stress of all the changes in his life recently. It was a total turnaround.
Out of curiosity, he decided to follow the man, but hesitated initially before making the decision to do so. Neal followed him to the flower shop, where the man in the grey suit bought a bouquet of roses, which were Neal’s ex-girlfriend favorite flowers. He continued to follow the man to the coffee shop. It reminded Neal of him and Kristine, where he had always bought Kristine roses every anniversary of their first meeting, afterwards making sure to order her favorite drinks while presenting her with the flowers. The mall was right next to the apartment complex where Neal and Kristine used to live together. Neal was surprised to see that man in the suit walked into that apartment building. Neal decided to enter the apartment complex and continued to follow the man. This place reminded Neal of his past. Neal was trying to recompose himself by relating his memories to past events. Certain of these key memories, and re-collections, were among the reasons that led him to the changes that had so drastically affected him. Neal walked carefully, maintaining a good distance between them so that the “stranger” wearing a grey suit failed to notice that he was being followed. The entrance to the entire building had a welcoming face; had walls covered with beautiful pictures and quality furniture showing a good design; it had an attached bar. However, the polish in the elevator had faded in comparison to the past, and the door had rusted.
“This place has changed!” he whispered.
The man in the suit entered the elevator. Neal was surprised that it still worked. From its look, one would think that it was not functional. A part of him believed that it would stop halfway while ascending, trapping the man. He waited for some time to see the inevitable happen, which did not. Mustering enough courage, Neal entered an elevator after five minutes of waiting. Once inside it he closed the door, then pressed a button to the floor that he used to visit in the past often. The inside of the elevator indicated badly needed repairs, as the lights were intermittently blinking – plus, the exhaust fan did not work. Upon reaching the fifth floor, Neal stepped out of the elevator and approached the door to the apartment he once often visited.
He hurriedly knocked twice on the door. The woman who opened the door was none
other than his ex! Kristine had dressed casually and had twisted her hair upwards.
“What are you doing here?” asked Kristine.
“I was following somebody," replied Neal.
“Really?” Kristine asked, surprised.
“Yeah, that’s true” Neal replied.
“Long time, no see", added Neal’s ex-girlfriend.
“Yeah, it had been awhile," Neal said.
Neal was still in shock to see her there. Before he could decide on whether to enter the apartment or say goodbye to his ex, he looked over Kristine’s shoulder to see who was in the apartment with her. Neal saw the man that he had been tracking. He was surprised to see that man, but now he was sure where he saw the man. Neal looked devastated. His face sank by the bitter stabs and shocking revelation of a blinding bitter truth, he did not wish to recognize. It dawned on him that their relationship had been characterized by mistrust and suspicion. This single reason proved why they did not end up together, as had earlier thought they might. This man – the man in the grey suit – was the guy who had fathered a baby with his ex-girlfriend. Deep down inside, Neal felt saddened seeing his ex, realizing they are no longer together. Neal knew that it was time for him to move on. He gathered a deep breath and asked if he could get in and collect the rest of his belongings.
“May I come in?” asked Neal.
“Sure," she replied.
Kristine nodded her head and spoke again, “Yes, absolutely."
“Thank you," said Neal. Without any second thought, he walked into the room and collected his belongings. Courageously enough, Neal began to talk to both of them. “I will make a cup of coffee”, said Kristine as she walked out of the living room. Neal was uncomfortable being alone with the grey suit man. “Look, I need to say something”, said the grey suit man as he cleared his throat. Still feeling uncomfortable, Neal did not look up.
The man kept talking. “Kristine and I grew up together since childhood. We are very close friends, but never had any romantic feelings for each other, and what happened between Kristine and me was a fateful accident. Kristine loves you very much and she would never consider marrying anyone other than you. I cannot bear the thought of you guys breaking up on my account. I do not know how to convince you that it is you that Kristine wants in life forever, no one else. I know this for sure because Kristine tells me everything.” Finally, the man paused.
Kristine walked into the room with a coffee cup. She seemed to have heard the whole thing. As Kristine came close to Neal, she did not hand the coffee cup to Neal. She put the cup on table, turned around, and embraced him in bear hug. She was sobbing with no words.
The grey suit man started talking again. “Neal, there are couple more things you need to know. Kristine did not abort the baby as you have been told. She gave birth to a boy who is now almost seven years old and lives with my parents. Kristine visits him regularly and loves him very much.”
Neal suddenly started to recall his childhood. His mother conceived him when she was 16 years old. His mother was also brave to keep him and raise him with her parent’s help. He started to reminisce his grandparents and how he felt about not knowing much about his father. For a while, he almost hated his mother for having him and bringing him up without knowing his father. Eventually, he came around to understand his mother’s dilemma. Perhaps, it was a casual encounter. It is at that time, he made a promise to himself ---that he would never let another person grow fatherless or not knowing about father –if it were up to him.
Here is his opportunity to make good on that promise. He would help Kristine raise that child and make sure the grey suit man becomes a part of their life. He was real surprised that he is trying to be kind to the grey suit man and taking the whole episode in stride. He had such a huge conflict with the grey suit man, his life turning upside down, all because of him. Can he be nice to him and accept seeing him around. But, the very thought of accommodation seemed to lift a huge weight off his heart. He felt good.
Neal wanted to share his birth, mother, childhood, and grandparents information with Kristine and the grey suit man, but could not, not yet anyway. “I will share this with Kristine later,” he thought to himself.
Having felt an immense relief, Neal suddenly felt clarity, having his mind clear of all the clouds. He is not chained and immobilized anymore.
