Jimmy let that piece of paper lay around his desk for a couple of weeks. Surrounded by overdue bills from the local utility company, the television and cable company and numerous credit card, this small indifferent white envelope had nothing that distinguished it from the rest, besides her familiar handwriting.
Jimmy woke up kind of early on that Sunday morning. Some people who walked by his building were making load noises. It almost sounded like a fight and Jimmy when never one to miss out on such things. By the time he got out of bed and threw on a pair of his red holiday boxers that she gave him as a gift, the people on the street were gone. Disappointed, he walked out into his kitchen and was surprised to learn that it was 5:10am. An hour later the sun would come up on another morning in Arizona.
He brewed up some of that expensive flavored coffee that she made him buy online and then turned on Sportcenter in the other room. He did not want to wake her up. Things were going well between them, or at least that was the way he felt about her. Three and a half months was not enough time to tell where it would wall lead.
On his way out to the balcony where he planned to smoke a cigarette, he picked up the envelope from the pile and carefully opened it without a tear. It took Jimmy half a cigarette to withdraw the letter form the envelope. Good news or bad news, any news from Maria could only spell trouble for him, now that he moved on.
Later on, in the bar, when they held hands, he told her about what she said. Lizzie tried to be the good girlfriend, the kind that was understanding and not too jealous. But he could see it on her face. Later on that not when they made love he closed his eyes and held her close, as if he had not seen her in a while.
Holding on to two women in the arms of the one, he thought about it all and wondered how much time will pass until he will forget about Maria and move on with his life.
NYC Novels
