QuietlySpeaking™
NOT QUITE
Imperfect
Irene Ayo Asuen
a novel
It was a beautiful Sunday evening in September but thirty-three-year old Kendra Mercury could see nothing beautiful about the evening as she waited anxiously for Ian Sharp, her boyfriend of several years to come home. She was fully dressed in a black pair of jeans and a grey V-neck sweater. She was lying down on their king-size bed in their bedroom, mentally going through how she was going to break the news to Ian. She knew he would be upset when she told him the news but she could not keep it a secret any longer. Besides, he would find out sooner or later anyway.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Ian came home. As soon as Kendra heard him come in, she got up from the bed, took a deep breath and made her way to the living room to give him a kiss and a false bright smile. It was time to roll the dice …
In the quiet of the morning before the dawn
of day as I take my morning walks,
I speak silently. I listen quietly.
I hear, I think and I smile.
​
​
I have a voice. I have an audience.
I am my audience and so are other early risers,
the whistling birds, the chirping squirrels,
the crawling ants, the gentle breeze and the rest of nature.
We are one. We are each other's stories …
​
​
“Anne, can you hear me? I’m in my room and already dressed!” Still no answer. At that moment, Kelly realized with panic that those clicks, which she had always taken for granted each time Anne walked on the partially carpeted floor when she came into the apartment, could not be heard. Anne always wore heels. Kelly began to get nervous as it dawned on her that a stranger might have broken into their apartment. The bedrooms were a short distance from the living room. She quickly closed her bedroom door and locked it. The only weapons she could find in her room were her heavy snow boots and even those were not enough to protect her. Beads of sweat broke out on her face and she began to pray for someone to help her. This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Nothing was supposed to go wrong.
There was a knock on her bedroom door and then Dave called out. “Hey! Kelly is that you in there? It’s me Dave.”
“Yes. I’m here,” she replied in relief as she recognized his voice. She quickly opened her door to let him in. He entered her bedroom and closed the door. The lock clicked into place as Kelly fell into his arms for comfort.
“What’s wrong?” asked Dave in an even tone. There was a hungry glint in his eyes, which she did not notice immediately. He was dressed in jeans and a white shirt, not the tuxedo he was supposed to be wearing for the wedding.
“I was just a little startled by the door unlocking. I thought it was a burglar. How did you get in? I thought the door was locked.” Dave did not have a copy of the keys to her apartment.
“I picked the locks to let myself in,” he said calmly, without further explanation.
“Why? All you had to do was ring the door bell,” she responded a little uneasily. She would have pulled away from his hug, except that he still held her tightly.
“Well, I didn’t. What does it matter anyway? I am here, aren’t I?”
“Dave, what’s going on with you?” Kelly tried not to sound afraid. This was Dave after all. Crazy, fun, safe Dave. Her Dave.
“I came for my woman. You are my woman, Kelly, not Dan’s. I have loved you for years. I have waited for you forever. You are mine. You can’t marry Danny.”
For the first time, Kelly saw the naked, hungry look on Dave’s face coupled with obsession. It was the look of a crazy man. This was certainly not the David Rivas that she knew…
What about us? What about love?
What happened to us?
What about our promises to each other?
Why did we break-up? Or did we?
The pull, the pain, the regret, the anguish!
Are we the ones that got away from each other?
Do we stand a second chance?
Or are we too scared to try again?
Are we willing to fight the obstacles?
We were, we still almost are.
Perhaps we still can be.
What temptation …
​
​
I knew it was you when I first saw you.
I don’t know how but I just knew.
There was just something about you.
Still can’t place my finger on it.
You felt it. I felt it.
The connection was there.
​
You declared that you loved me
without having met me…and I believed!
And if ever there was a skeptic, it was me.
Yet, I believed because…
“I always have something to say.
Sometimes quietly and sometimes loudly.
And sometimes even in quotes... “
“I am responsible for what I say.
You are responsible for how you interpret what I say.”
“Destiny is anywhere, anytime and anyone.”
“I am everything you imagined and nothing you expected."
“The business of being you requires no apologies,
no excuses…and a whole lot of courage.”
