I turn toward the door, fully expecting to know who I’ll see before I look. “Cassey!”, I call out.
But instead, I see another familiar female face. That of Rebecca. I begin to thank myself for that dream of my failures & foul-ups the previous evening, as I tell myself that this is the reason why her arrival doesn’t cause all of them, & potentially more, to make themselves known at the moment.
“Who’s Cassey?”, she asks. “Nobody special,” I fire back before she can sense any passage of time I might be taking to form an answer. “Just a case.”
“Ahhh,” she says. “Nobody special, eh? Not like we were.” She pauses, before adding. “You were the case when I was with you. I think I turned you into a case.” I nod, replying, “You turned me into a case, alright. A basket case. Even for the longest time after we parted, I was all messed up inside, blaming myself, asking myself questions, wondering why it was over. But now, there is no question why, just confirmation of the fact that it’s over. You & I are over, & I am over you.”
“Oh, really?”, she says. “Really!!”, I spew back. “Well,” she says, “this is America. You have a right to your opinion.” She pauses again. Then, she steps in close to me, & says, “But I have the right to try & change it.” She grabs my face, & presses our lips together. I try to fight her off, & eventually break away.
I’m about to tell her what I truly think of her eye-to-eye, until I look over her shoulder, & see Cassey standing in the still-open doorway.
I decide to forget Rebecca again, & give my “just-a-case” girl an explanation. “Cassey!,” I call out. But she walks away down the hall. |