Spreading The Word

Ben

I let go of Jerrod’s shirt. He stumbled back, his expression surprised. Maybe he had expected me to throw the first punch. He had been ready to fight me. But I wasn’t here for that. I hadn’t come to beat up my best friend. I had only come to set the record straight.

“She’s a great person, Jerrod. You know that. She doesn’t deserve this shit.”

I turned around and left the office. Jerrod stayed behind, gaping. I had never been one to back down from a fight. There had been enough fights in high school that had shown Jerrod that. But this wasn’t high school, and Jerrod was like a brother to me. If I ended up with Mila, he would be a brother-in-law, in fact.

So, I wasn’t going to go there.

Instead, I headed back home like a good boy to seethe in private.

After I had taken the time to calm down, I phoned Mila.

“How are you doing?” I asked.

“Better,” she said, and I was relieved. “I came off my shift just now. I’m going to crawl into bed for a few hours.

“Have you told your parents yet?”