Beverly

Clyde Dante

I walked into my house and it’s all dark. I turned on all the lights and sat down on the sofa. Where’s everybody? It’s 10 o’clock and they’re still out? I remembered that my mom told me that she will go out with a friend along with grandma and my dad.

Why is grandma and dad tagging along? Weird!

Cooper jumped to me and I patted him. I looked up to the ceiling and closed my eyes. Suddenly I feel hungry because Anna wanted a fancy dinner earlier and fancy dinner has a little tiny food which is annoying. I walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. I found a bowl of tuna with mayonnaise. I took it out and put bread on the kitchen table.

Tuna mayonnaise really reminds me of Beverly. She loves it and she almost eats it everyday. I can’t count how much she eats tuna, she loves it.

I sighed everytime I remember Beverly. Everything I do in this house really reminds me of her. Every little thing… everytime I eat breakfast… I always look at the seat beside me. It used to be Bev’s place but now it’s empty. She loves to talk about how much she loves the green bowl everytime she eats soup. I always said that she’s a weirdo for liking that bowl because that bowl is damn old.

I took out a spoon from the drawer and unconsciously I took a spoon that Beverly really likes. She always asked me to take the blue spoon for her and now I’m using it to scoop the tuna onto my bread.

When Bev’s here, the house has never been this quiet. She’s a loud person and she always talks about something interesting. My dad really loves it when she tells him something funny and mysterious. It’s been 1 month since she left…

Suddenly the door burst open and I walked out from the kitchen. I saw my grandma and my parents walked in with a lot of stuff.

“You’re home? How’s dinner with Anna?” Grandma asked.

“Good, I guess. Where were you guys from?”

“Malibu beach.” My dad answered.

“With who?”

“Just a friend.” My mom answered.

“Grandma, did you drink alcohol? You kept smiling weirdly.” I asked.

“Why? I can’t drink alcohol?” She hissed and I raised my eyebrows.

“What is this?” I asked, trying to look into the stuff that they brought home.

“It’s nothing.” They all answered it in unison.

“You guys are all weird.” I said and I walked back to the kitchen to continue to eat. I kept eating and eating until my grandma walked into the kitchen.

“You ate my tuna?”

“You made it and I bet you already ate it.” I said and my grandma took it from me.

“Never ever! Eat my tuna!” She hissed at me and I looked at her disbelief. The tuna’s taste is really similar to Bev’s. I drank a glass of water and walked upstairs. I walked into my room and took my fresh clothes to the bathroom… and then I realized again that I always have this new routine where I always bring my clothes into the bathroom.

I used to have Bev here so I automatically bring my clothes into the bathroom. Which is a little bit weird for me now because Beverly’s not here anymore.

I took a shower and after that I walked out from the bathroom ready to sleep. I jumped onto my bed and looked at the sofa. Gosh! I need to stop doing this! Clyde, you need to get a grip! Beverly’s not here!Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

This is not my first time feeling this… actually on the day she left. I felt weird. I kept looking at the sofa to check if she’s there or not. When she’s here… I often woke up at night to pee and everytime I woke up… I always checked on her. I often tucked her blanket up and just checked on her but now… everytime I woke up at night… she’s not there.

I closed my eyes trying to sleep but I kept tossing my body to the right and to the left. I got up and walked downstairs. I found my dad sitting in the living room drinking beer.

“Hey dad.” I said and he turned to me.

“Hey. Can’t sleep?” He asked.

“Yeah.”

“Anna?” He asked.

“No… We’re okay.”

“Want some?” He asked as he passed the beer can to me. I opened it and sipped it a bit.

“You know… it’s kinda quite in here without Beverly.” My dad suddenly said and I took a really deep breath.

“Yeah.”

“I thought you’re going to be with her because I already think of her as my own daughter.” He said and then he sipped his beer.

“No. I brought her here so you guys stop forcing me to get married.” I said and then I sipped my beer. He sighed and then he looked at me.

“Don’t you feel that something is missing within you?” He asked.

“No.” Actually… I don’t know.

“I talked to grandma and your mom, you can go back to New York next month.”

“Really? Why the sudden change?”

“Don’t make me change my mind, Clyde.”

“Okay, thankyou.” I said and then finished all his beer. He got up and when he was going to walk up… he stopped and then he turned to me.

“I just want you to be happy, Clyde. If you think I’m a bad guy forcing you here and even sometimes asking you to get married… because I want you to be happy. Having a life with the woman you love will make your life happier.” He said and I nodded. He walked up stairs leaving me alone. I sighed and leaned back to the sofa.

“At last… I’m going back to New York.”