Love Leaps: A Short Story by Karen Jerabek (best mystery novels of all time .TXT) 📕

With that, I slam the door in hisface. I wait to hear his footsteps walk away, then I crawl back tothe sofa and cry again. How could I have thought that Michael wasso perfect? I’m such a fool.

I really have to stop crying. Lookingup at the ceiling, I try to keep the tears from rolling down mycheeks as I take a deep breathe. I close my eyes wishing that Istill felt numb. Instead, I feel raw pain, and it’s piercing. Maybewatching some TV will distract me from all of this crap. Before Ican turn on the tube, that obnoxious buzzer is going off again. Myheart sinks and I feel like I’m going to vomit. I drag myself offthe sofa once more, hoping Michael hasn't come back.

As I crack open my door, Kate gives mea great big hug. I start to cry again. She brings me back to thesofa and gets me a new bottle of water. It’s such a relief tofinally have Kate here. She wants to know what happened, but theevents are so hideous, that I only want to go through the storyonce, so we decide to wait until Cecile and Juliaarrive.

Kate sets down copies of PeopleMagazine, National Enquirer and US Weekly on the coffee table.During a crisis, this is standard issue. There’s somethingcomforting about reading outrageously sensational stories. It kindof makes your own drama seem a little less, well, dramatic. Katereads me an article about this celebrity couple on the brink ofdivorce and an article about a nasty fistfight between these othertwo celebrities. Even in the midst of my crisis, these articlesamuse me.

The buzzer goes off again. Kateanswers the door for me and lets Cecile and Julia inside. They bothhug me and flop down in chairs, tossing their purses and jackets onthe floor. Kate picks up the phone and calls our favorite Mexicanrestaurant. She tells Miguel to have the dark corner booth readyfor us in about an hour.

Now that Kate is off the phone, andCecile and Julia have arrived, I guess it’s time to tell the wholemorbid story. Just thinking about where to begin, makes me startcrying again. They look at me a little bewildered, murmuring wordsof encouragement. Kate hands me a box of Kleenex and squeezes myhand. I take another deep breath. Okay, I’m as ready as I’m goingto.

“Since it was such abeautiful day, I decided to walk to the deli to get my lunchinstead of eating at my desk. On my way there, I stopped outsideBailey’s Fine Jewelry store to look at this beautiful vase that wasin the window. But, when I stepped closer, I could see inside thestore,” I say and gulp down another couple cries. “That’s when Irecognized Michael. At first, I was so excited thinking that he waspicking out jewelry for me. But then I saw her, a blonde leggybitch wrapping herself around him. He actually put his arm aroundher and smiled. I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Ijust stood there staring as the jeweler brought them pieces to lookat.”

“Oh my God! He’s cheatingon you!” Cecile shouts.

“Oh, it’s worse than that.I got up the nerve to go inside the store to confront Michael withhis tramp,” I say sniffling.

“Good for you, Meg,” Katesays, squeezing my hand again.

“Well, what happened?”Julia asks.

“I walked into the storeand the door chimes went off. Michael turned around and saw me. Hewent totally blank. I glared at him and simply said, ‘Hello,Michael’. He quietly muttered ‘hi’. The blonde leggy bitch turnedaround and she was all smiles and bubbly. I seriously wanted tosmack her. She asked Michael who his friend was, and all he coulddo was mutter ‘Meg’. She came over and shook my hand and said hownice it was to meet a friend of Michael’s. Then, she announced thatthey had just gotten engaged and were shopping for aring!”

“You have got to bekidding!” Kate exclaims outraged.

“That bastard! Did youslap the hell out of him?” Julia asks.

By now, tears are streaming down myface again. I’m trying not to get choked up, but I’m not succeedingvery well.

“No. I wish I had, but Iwas too shocked to say or do anything. I just said that I was lateand had to go. Then I went back to the office and sat in uttershock until I was able to call Kate.”

“So, that lowlife has beencheating on you with someone this whole time and now he got engagedwithout telling you!” Julia says.

“Apparently.”

“Meg, I know that ithurts, but its better that you found out now. Who knows how longMichael would have waited to tell you,” Cecile sayspragmatically.

“I know. I just haven’tbeen able to process the whole thing yet. That’s not even the endof the story.”

“You’ve got to be kidding.There’s more?” Kate asks.

“Yeah. After I got home, Ifell asleep on the sofa. I woke up to hear the door buzzer, and Ithought Kate was here. When I opened the door, it was actuallyMichael.”

“That jerk! What the hellwas he doing, showing up at your house,” Julia yells.

“Well, he kept trying toinsist that we needed to talk.”

“I hope you told him off!”Kate says.

“Not really. I wasn’tthinking that clearly. I had just woken up. I told him there wasnothing to talk about and that I hoped his life was cursed withpain and misery and that he would never experience happinessagain.”

“Wouldn’t it be great ifwe could actually put curses on people?” Julia says with a slysmile.

“I’m sure that he’ll getwhat’s coming to him. It’s only a matter of time,” Kate says andshe squeezes my hand again. “Karma always catches up with peoplesooner or later.”

“I hope so,” I say. “Ican’t stand to think that he’ll get away with doing this to me. Ihope the universe gives him one hell of a karmic kick in thepants!”

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