BLUE SKIES

Boe Boe barked hysterically at the front door. "Reggie must here. He will have to wash dishes before he starts breakfast." Pam thought as she smiled to herself. She was very aware of the week old dishes sitting in the sink waiting to be cleaned. She did not want to admit being a big S-L-O-B.

Reggie brought over plenty of groceries. These will last a while. Reggie began the task of doing the dishes Pam helped by rinsing. They both enjoyed doing things together. This is why she thought they got along so well.

Breakfast was started. Grits, eggs, bacon, buttered toast, her favorites. Over breakfast, the two reminisced of how they met at the library. Very unusual but it happened that way. They Pam talked about work and how far behind she was. She needed to get some work done today. But for now she would enjoy Reggie's company.

It was a lovely day. The sun shined brightly with a cool breeze blowing. After eating Reggie needed to leave to run errands. He told Pam he needed to talk to her later about something important. She nodded her head without looking up. She had already grabbed her laptop to start working. She admonished him to be careful as he kissed her goodbye. She sighed as she thought about tackling house cleaning first. Before she knew it Reggie was calling to make sure she hadn't sat in front of the television instead of working. He really was a big help.

Meagan, her baby sister, called every Sunday and today was no exception. The conversation was always the same. It would start off with Meagan talking about Little Dee and Kaylee. Little Dee was 2 and Kaylee, 4. Meagan would sometimes bring them to San Antonio for the weekend and Pam would take them to the museum or the park to spend time with them. They were growing so fast. Meagan would always say that her marriage was falling apart but could not leave because Marion, that was his name, had no one else. He was the sorriest excuse for a man Pam thought she could ever meet. She never liked Marion one bit and could not get Meagan to see that he was just no good. Silence would prevail and they would say their goodbyes.

Pam's little brother Marcus was the youngest of the 3. He was 23 and a lady's man, all the way. He would have a new girlfriend every 2 to 3 months. She often talked to him about settling down but he felt life was just beginning for him. Marcus went to school for engineering but quit to pursue his lifelong passion of art full-time. Pam owned several of his paintings and displayed them throughout her apartment. She loved them. She reached for the telephone to call him but he'd probably be still in bed. Later, she thought. After cleaning for a little while, Pam sighed with relief. Now she decided to sit down and work on the brochure. They had already discussed the main details. All she needed was to put it together, which was no problem. She decided to work on the patio. Turning on her laptop, she got to work. She worked with an excellent write, Micheal Spokes. He had a great sense of humor that kept her laughing constantly and looks that could kill. Mike lived in her complex. She decided to take her stuff and work over at his place.

Pam rang the doorbell. She heard him running. He came to the door wearing a cute pair of sky blue shorts. He had a surprised look on his face. He told her to come in and make herself at home. She explained to him why she decided to come over to his place. "No problem." he said. He asked if she wanted anything to drink. Pam told him no explaining how Reggie came over to cook breakfast.

Mike sat down with a serious look on his face which was very unusual. He blurted out," I'm gay." Pam gasped." Are you serious?" He said it was very difficult for him to admit but now he was pretty comfortable with it. Pam felt as if she was lied to. All these years and she would have never guessed, Micheal was gay. Well, she thought, there is no need to get upset he is going to need one of them now anyway.

He started mumbling how, "he never wanted anyone to get hurt, things happened so fast." Pam was speechless and had a questioning look on her face. "What are you saying Micheal?" She demanded to know. He took a deep breath. "I am seeing someone," he answered. Pam yelled out, "No you are not! Tell it is not true, she screamed as tears ran down her face." She covered her mouth and fell to the floor crying saying it could not be true." I'm sorry it happened so suddenly" is all Micheal could say. She yelled saying Micheal was supposed to be her friend and he knew how much she loved Reggie. She asked him how he could have done such a thing. He tried to explain. Pam walked out, wondering," Why?" "When everything was going so perfectly, how could he?" She truly loved Reggie. She tried to calm herself down as she walked back to her apartment but she only felt worse. Her life was over. Pam reached inside the medicine cabinet still crying and thinking she could never go on without Reggie in her life. Boe Boe started to bark.

Reggie called Pam's name but she did not answer. "I need to talk to you!" he shouted. She did not answer. She left the front door open, so he walked in. As he walked down the hall he saw the bathroom light on. Standing in the doorway, Reggie fell to his knees and started to cry. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he cried but it was all too late.

WRITTEN BY Erika Nicole Mivens

THE END