Oh, It's Funny Now

        This time, they were riding in the Prelude when the fight broke out.

         Or, not a fight really. That wasn’t their way.  Actually, they rarely fought at all, if ever.  There were no screaming, raging shout-fests. Doors were never slammed, insults were never hurled, and words were never wielded as weapons. Their relationship had always been as smooth and easy as undisturbed lake water on a lazy summer day.

         And yet, here they were, arguing for the third time this week.  And it was getting heated.

         “Liz,” Francis began. “Dude, what is the big deal? I crash at your place all the time. All of a sudden, I can’t?” 

         She clenched the steering wheel.  “I told you, you can’t be there Saturday night.”

         “Why not?”  He did not raise his voice, but there was an edge to his simple question that made her bristle.

         “Dude, it’s my apartment. Mine. Not yours. Why can’t you just respect that I want to chill in my own space alone—“

         He cut her off.  “You’ve been acting weird all week.  You know that, right?”

         She deflected. “I’ve been acting weird?  Are you kidding me with this?”

         “Liz, come on! What’s going on? I need to avoid the guys.  I’m not interested in being in the show and if I’m on campus, they’re going to make me participate. I’ve got to study for my mid-term. I don’t understand why you’re giving me a hard time. It’s not a big deal.”

         “None of this would have been an issue if you had told me this before you just committed yourself to spending the night at my place. A little inconsiderate, don’t you think?”

         When she took her eyes off the road to cut a glance at him, she saw that he was staring, eyes wide.  This is escalating quickly, she thought.          

        There was silence in the car, thick, uncomfortable, foreign.  She disliked this tension between them because it was so unnatural, but it could not be helped.

        He sighed with exasperation.  “I know there is something going on with you, Liz. We’ve been arguing all week—“

        “You keep asking me to do things that I’m not comfortable doing. That’s a thing, Francis.”

        He turned to her. “I’ve asked you to do me a couple of favors, which you’ve never had a problem doing before.”

        “So I can’t change, is that it?  You want me to lie to your professors, your fraternity brothers…you want me to lie.  I’m no longer comfortable with that.  Just accept it.” She bit her lip in frustration.  That she was lying to him right now was nothing short of irony, but it had to be done.

        When she looked at him again, he was rubbing his chin, contemplating his next words.  Trying to be diplomatic, Liz thought. 

        “Of course you can change, Liz.  I'm just...it's just unexpected, that's all.  And I’m trying to figure out what’s happened to spur this change in you.  I don’t get it.” He paused, and placed a hand on her arm.  She startled at his touch.  He wasn’t one for small, physical gestures, so for him to reach out was a true sign of concern.  “And the fact that you won’t tell me is also curious, to say the least.”

        Liz took a deep breath. The conversation was heading off the rails and she had to reign it in before one of them really said something to take it too far. “Look, maybe there is something going on, but I can’t talk to you about it. Not just yet. If I could, I would.  I swear.  But please stop imposing on me, okay?  I can’t deal with it right now. Okay, please?”  She turned to him with eyes that she hoped he would perceive as pleading, and that he’d relent.

        It took him a long moment, but finally, he acquiesced.  “Fine, Liz.  Okay, you win.”  He settled back into his seat.  “We do still have a problem, though.  I need to a place to hide out Saturday night.” 

        “Maybe you could spend the night in a motel?”

        “I don’t have money for that.”

        “Look, if we can find a cheap one, I’ll help you. It’s the least I can do.” 

        Francis  tilted his head, glancing thoughtfully at her.  He’s really trying to piece this together, she thought. I have got to keep a straight face. Given her own irritation at the situation, it wasn’t that hard to do.

        “Okay, let’s do it. A motel it is.”





        On Saturday, they found him a little rundown motel halfway between their college campus and her apartment.  His father, who had planned to come in that weekend to see his son anyway, would pick him up from the motel on the following day. 

        “Definitely not the Ritz-Carlton,” Liz remarked as he grabbed his bag from the car.  Old cars sat in the parking lot, weeds were overgrown in the landscape, and trash littered the walkways.  “This is going to be an adventure for you.”

        He shrugged.  “Yea, no doubt.  I’ll see you tomorrow? My dad says he’ll take us out for dinner.”

        “Sounds like a plan.”

        They stood, awkward for a moment.  “So, you’ve got the apartment to yourself tonight.  Big plans?” he asked pointedly.

        She cast her gaze downward and kicked at some loose gravel.  “You know.  Stuff.”

        “Uh-huh.”  He put the bag down on the ground, and then leaned against the car, crossing his arms over his chest.  He cocked an eyebrow in her direction.  “You sure you don’t want to tell me what’s going on?”

        Liz met his eyes.  “I can’t.  Not today. But maybe tomorrow. I’m working some things out. But I am sorry we’ve been arguing so much.  It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”  Before he could say anything,  she gave him a quick hug, hopped in the little sports car and drove away, leaving him bewildered and wondering.





         

        The next day, she was watching from a window that faced the parking lot when she saw Francis and his father arrive.  Everything was set.  Of course, she was tired, drained really, from all the fighting with her dear friend, but after today, she knew it would be all for naught.  He had been inadvertently throwing one monkey wrench after another into her plans, which had led to the incessant fighting. We’re gonna laugh about this one day, I’m sure, she thought.

        When they knocked on the door, she opened it wide and gave a loud shout:  “Hi Francis!” Get ready, she thought.

        “Hey Liz!” He returned her greeting with a cheery one of his own as he stepped inside.  “How’s it going—wait, what’s that sign?”  His jaw dropped.

        Liz smiled.  “Well, It says “HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY, Francis!’ so I think it’s pretty self-explanatory.”  At her words, the door to her bedroom opened and out poured more than a dozen of his friends and family, all shouting “SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

        When things died down, the music was playing and the guests were snacking, Francis found her and gave her a bear hug.  “This is awesome! When did you have time to do and plan all this?”

        “Oh, you know, while you were spending the night in the motel.”