Again, Markus stared at her, stunned. Quickly, he shielded his heart from the insult, and let it roll off into amusement. “That’s okay,” he said, recovered, “love takes work, right? And after everything you’ve put me through at the gym, and with those three nut jobs you call friends, you’re not getting rid of me anytime soon.” He laid back, and brought her head down to his shoulder. Maritess relaxed into him, and inhaled his scent. He comforted her, but she still pitied his undying, immature ignorance about human behavior.
“This does not mean that we are in love,” she said, fighting every urge her body felt to fall asleep.
“Fine,” he answered. He pulled the blankets over them, and soon they were both dreaming their own dreams.
…
CHAPTER 10
When Maritess woke up, the first thing her eyes saw was Tike’s nose. She stretched and rolled over, reaching a hand out to Markus. When her hand landed on the bed, she turned to see that he was gone. She listened, but there was no sound of him anywhere else in the apartment. Maritess rose, confused, and a little jaded. She got up and put some clothes on so that she could walk Tike. She poured some food in his bowl while she downed a glass of water in the kitchen. Anger was beginning to replace the concern she initially felt when she noticed he was gone. He hadn’t even left a note. She looked at the front door, it was still unlocked. He hadn’t even had the decency to lock up when he left.
As Maritess went to reach for the leash on a hook, the door opened. Markus walked in holding a box of doughnuts and a handful of daisies. She smiled, shook her head and rolled her eyes at him. Markus smiled back, and leaned down to kiss her. She let his lips press against hers, and breathed through the jolt of happiness it sent through her. He set the doughnuts down on the counter, and Maritess looked at them.
“Do you think I eat doughnuts?” she asked, looking down her nose at them. Markus just laughed and popped open the box. He handed her one, which she did not reject.
“Everyone eats doughnuts. I don’t think that you, in particular, eat them often, but I still think you eat doughnuts,” he waited to take a bite until she did.
. . .
When she was back from walking Tike, she found Markus clicking away on his laptop at her couch.
“When did you grab that?” she asked him. He told her that he had been out for about an hour. He went home to feed his cat, and grabbed them breakfast. “And the daisies? When did you pick those?” Markus laughed out a bit of embarrassment when he told her that an apartment building a block away has them growing at their entrance. “Well, thank you for stealing me flowers,” she said as she took a seat next to him, “I am still not in love.”
Markus didn’t bother to acknowledge her last comment. “You’re welcome for the flowers. Do you have any plans today?” he asked. She nodded. Her day was packed. She looked at his work on the laptop, and asked him the same. He was pretty bogged down with work, too, so they decided to part for the day with a promise to meet a few minutes early before their training session the next morning. Maritess joked that she would still be charging him, and he said that it was worth it. A minute or so after he left, she was still standing at the door. She heard the sound of his footsteps going down the stairs. Suddenly, she rushed to her window. Maritess stood back a foot or so, but still caught sight of him as he bounded onto the sidewalk. Even from a few floors up, he seemed confident. Maritess couldn’t help but smile.
…
CHAPTER 11
The sun was having trouble warming the air the next day. Maritess saw her breath flow in plumes from her mouth as she exhaled in the early morning outside her building. She caught the bus to work, and arrived before any of her employees. The sound of her keys clanging against the entrance always made her feel proud. She had worked years to open her gym, and was grateful for it every day she opened. She clicked on all the lights, and puttered around to set up. Soon, the place was flooded with staff and members, everyone productively moving and chattering. She glanced at a clock on the wall, and walked outside to meet Markus. She saw him as he got off the bus and stepped onto the sidewalk. She tried to duck behind a pillar, but he saw her before she could. His smile radiated to her even though he was still half a block away.
“Good morning,” he said as he approached. He wasn’t sure how Maritess would feel if he kissed her in front of the club, but he didn’t have to deliberate for long. She reached up to him, and placed a gentle peck on his lips. He wrapped his arm around her waist for a moment, and the two of them stood, shuffling back and forth, as awkward as teenagers.
“Now,” she said, taking on a more professional stance, “as soon as we walk through those doors, I am your trainer again, you got me? None of this lovey dovey stuff you’re all hung up on.” Maritess shoved him playfully.
“That’s fine with me, we have a mountain to get ready for,” he beamed at her. Maritess laughed and shook her head. She didn’t have anything contrary to say to him. She thought, she could definitely climb a mountain with him. What she wondered, though, was whether or not he would still be up for it once he saw what she had planned for his muscles today.
By the time they were half-way through their session, Markus was begging for reprieve. She kept throwing chastising remarks at him that perpetuated him to go just one more, just one more. She let him cool down when she saw his arms start to quiver under the highest amount of weight he had lifted yet. He was grateful, but the old irritation he typically felt for Maritess was just as strong as ever. She chided him about it, again challenging his notion of true love. Markus just shook his head. He threatened to kiss her if she didn’t knock it off. Maritess backed away in mock defense. Soon, they were seated at the juice bar, replenishing themselves.
Maritess and Markus found themselves talking about different places they’d love to see when, suddenly, a loud voice came from the entrance of the room. “Maritess,” the woman yelled, “It’s high time you take a vacation, girl!” Maritess swung her eyes in the direction of the voice. In an instant, she was up out of her chair and dashing into the open arms of her best friend. Markus watched as the two women embraced. If it weren’t for the difference in their complexion, they could be twins. Her friend was almost the exact same size as Maritess, with hair the same length and style, except she was not as muscular and her hair was sandy brown.
They put their foreheads together, holding back squeals of laughter. Maritess turned towards Markus and linked arms with her friend as they walked over to him. “Markus,” Maritess said, “this is my best friend in the whole world, Cassandra. I still have no idea what she’s doing here, but holy crap, I’m glad she’s here! What a great day!” Markus had never seen Maritess so giddy about anything before. His eyes sparkled as he looked at her and bathed in the joy she radiated.
Cassandra held out her hand and shook Markus’. “Wow, Tessie, this your new man or something?” She swung a smiling face towards Maritess who answered, “or something.” They both giggled, as if they shared an inside joke. Markus suddenly felt a twinge of insecurity, but it was quickly quelled as the women sat down and Cassandra started to tell about why she was there.
“I work in property acquisitions,” Cassandra said, “When the old mill came up for sale, I talked my firm into investing in it. So, they flew me out here. I scheduled a few personal days so I could hang around with my old pal, Tessie.” She put an arm on Maritess’ shoulder. The two of them had gone to high school together, and had grown up just a few houses apart. Their bond was evident in the way they traded off during conversation, each intently listening while the other genuinely expressed. Instead of feeling like a third wheel, Markus felt very included in their conversation as they reminisced over the last time they were in the same city.
Soon, the drill sergeant of time was beckoning Markus to work. He had pushed his departure as far as he possibly could. When there was finally not another minute to spare, he rose from the table. Maritess stood and wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a big h
ug with a kiss on his cheek. He returned the kiss to her other cheek, and held her for just a tiny, satisfying moment. Cassandra gave him a casual hug, too, and invited him to play hooky for the day and join them. Maritess shook her head, protesting the entire idea of playing hooky, but Cassandra ignored her pleas. Cassandra knew that Maritess would crumble when she heard the plans laid out for the day.
Markus shuffled his feet, he was pretty sure Maritess would cave, too, so he decided on whether or not to go along. He ran through his to-do list in his mind, and figured he could meet them for lunch and take the rest of the day off. With a time set, Markus hurried off to work. Cassandra took his seat directly across from Maritess and helped her finish her milk shake.
“Tessie,” Cassandra said, “what’s up with that guy, huh?” Maritess shook her head to dismiss the implication and answered that he was just a client. She nodded her head, rather stork-like, trying more to convince herself than Cassandra. “Oh, a client?” Cassandra said in mock understanding, “Yea, of course… because clients often gaze at their trainers adoringly when they talk…” Maritess couldn’t escape Cassandra, she never could. That’s why they’d always been best friends.
Even if Maritess had told her that he was simply crushing his single heart out, Cassandra still wouldn’t have bought it. Cassandra saw a glimmer in her eyes that Maritess had been fighting for the past day. She hurried to throw up defenses, but they were in vain. Maritess laid down her mental weapons as Cassandra took her hand. Maritess tried to fight off Cassandra’s prying eyes, but she couldn’t. Finally she said, “Look, Cassie, I’m not in love with the guy. Nothing’s changed. You know what I think about all that stuff, and you know that it has no place in my life. Ever. Understand?”
“Still?” Cassandra replied. “Tessie, the past is in the past. Why are you still letting it affect your present?” she asked. Maritess was shaking her head in protest, but Cassandra continued anyway, “That was a long time ago. You will never move on as a person until you let yourself heal, and you won’t ever know if you’ve healed if you keep your wound all bandaged up for all eternity. It’s just not logical, Maritess. I love you. Loving people is great! You should let yourself love a little more.” Cassandra sat back with her arms at her side, finished with what she was saying, but still open for Maritess to reply.
During Cassandra’s previous visit, their last conversation had begun in a very similar way. The defiance in Maritess wanted to go to war with Cassandra over what she’d said, but her heart wanted to have fun with her friend while she was nearby. Rationale prevailed, and Maritess shook the anger from her face.
“Cassie, please don’t,” she implored, “I love you, too. I love people, I do. I just don’t need a random man in my life to do so. I’m good these days. Things are great. And yea, so Markus is a little bit more than a client.” Maritess turned her expression into a teasing smile, and Cassandra was instantly hooked. She ushered them to her office so she could grab her things. Maritess told her managers that she was leaving for the day, and might be on an amended schedule for the next couple, but trusted that everything would be okay upon her return. The last part she said as a threat of expectation, and she left without a doubt that her employees would be just fine without her.
…
CHAPTER 12
The pair were as close as they’d been the day they’d graduated from high school. They spent the morning sifting through racks of clothes at their all-time favorite boutique. The lady who owned it when they first stumbled upon the tiny shop was still behind the counter, and added to the joy the two felt in their reunion. They emerged a couple of hours later with their arms full of bags. They stopped to sit down in the courtyard of the shopping plaza. Cassandra went to grab them a snack, since it was still a while before they had plans to meet Markus for lunch.
Maritess started talking as soon as Cassandra sat down. “I just don’t know about Markus,” she confessed. Cassandra was instantly excited. She listened, hopeful that Maritess had finally come to her senses. Before she even continued, Maritess was shaking her head to let Cassandra know she was on the wrong track. The disappointed confusion was evident in Cassandra’s face as she stirred their coffee cups and handed one to Maritess. “No, it’s not like that,” she assured Cassandra, “Trust me.”
Maritess began to tell Cassandra about Markus and his quest for true love. She told him about his answer on her questionnaire, and how shocked he was when she showed up as his trainer. Maritess told her all about how much fun it was to push Markus to the point where he finally gave, both with weight and with insult. Cassandra rolled her eyes, having never quite understood why Maritess liked to torture people so much. Maritess assured her, though, that she made sure never to actually hurt him, but she had never been kind to his feelings. She told her about the women she’d set him up with, and about how he ended up at her apartment the other night. When Maritess finished her confession, Cassandra had a world of things to say.
“So, you’re telling me, that after all of that, you don’t feel the slightest spark at all for him?” Cassandra asked, incredulously. Maritess shook her head to answer ‘no’. Then she shrugged her shoulders. Cassandra beckoned her to answer by tapping her hand on the table.
“Well, you know,” Maritess said, searching for the right words, “It’s not that I don’t feel anything for him. He’s great in bed, and he’s funny. He’s smart, and he puts up with my personality. He’s a great client. I guess I enjoy his company, but it’s not like I couldn’t find another man to fulfill the same things that he does… could...,” she paused, then definitively said, “might.”
“Okay,” Cassandra said, sarcastically. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe that’s fine, and totally beside the point? Who cares if you could replace him with someone else? What should matter is how you feel about him now. So, how do you feel about him now?”
“Mildly amused,” Maritess replied. Cassandra continued to press her further by asking if she thought he could be a good partner. Maritess shrugged a single shoulder in the air. “I guess he could be, if he were with someone actually looking for a partner. I, however, am not looking for a partner. I think that is the bottom line. I don’t want to be with anyone. I just don’t want to be in love.” Maritess felt like that sealed the issue in her mind, but Cassandra pried a little bit more.
“But, why not? Why wouldn’t you want someone else in your life?” Cassandra asked. Maritess replied that she simply didn’t. She did not want to share her life with anyone else. She felt no need to do so. In fact, Maritess liked her life. What she didn’t like were people who tried to tell her that she was wrong. At this point, Maritess was willing to agree with all these crazy people about their stupid ideas on love, if only they would let her abstain from it without further comment, judgment or insult.
Cassandra continued to prod at Maritess about her decision to remain loveless. She told Maritess that a dog was not the same as a human companion. She told her that, eventually, she would be old one day. Cassandra warned that she needed some type of family, and even though she would always be there for Maritess, she hoped to have her own family, too. A couple of hours flew by quicker than heartbeats as Maritess further explained herself. At last, she finally had to defend why she would not at least try things with Markus.
“Markus is a great man,” Maritess said, “He deserves a wonderful woman. I’m not saying that I’m not wonderful, but he has a more romantic view of life than I do. I think there are plenty of women in the world who would make a better match for him than me. So, why would I want to set myself up with something like that? Only to have him decide, years from now, that I wasn’t really the one after all. Even then, he probably won’t understand that I’m not the one because the one doesn’t exist. It’s just not a risk I want to take, especially when I’m totally happy with my life at the moment. If it were up to me, he’d get swept off his litigating feet by someone else before this gets out of hand and I lose a client.”
Cassandra
sat back and considered her friend’s words. There was a time when she and Maritess had planned their future weddings together. Now, her friend was oddly sure of herself as she denounced love all together; not dramatically, not pathetically, but with strength and with a mere sense of malice. There was something that didn’t sit well with Cassandra, but she had no choice but to accept Maritess for all she was, as frustrating as that may be. Still, she couldn’t let it go quite that easily.
The two of them noticed the time and headed toward the café to meet Markus. They arrived a few minutes before he did, and stood outside in the sun while they waited. Cassandra looked at Maritess, and decided to call her bluff. “Hey,” she said. Maritess looked up with a smile as Cassandra continued, “So, if you feel absolutely nothing for Markus, I could maybe take him off your hands for you.” Cassandra stated her proposal as if she were in front of a hard-sale client. Maritess was impressed, outwardly relieved, but couldn’t quench the sudden rise of jealously she felt. She stamped out the squandering, little flame, and gave Cassandra her blessing. If Cassandra wanted to date Markus, that was fine with her.
…
CHAPTER 13
By the time Markus met them at a table, the two women had decided to seamlessly transfer Markus between them. Maritess rose to give him a hug when he approached, but turned her cheek when he went to kiss her. Cassandra rose as well, and Markus had no choice but to hug her, too. They sat down and, after they’d placed their order with the server, Cassandra dropped a confession in their laps.
“So, I know that I said I’d taken a few personal days, but that was kind of a white lie. They’re actually called ‘re-acclaimation’ days. I’m supposed to be finding an apartment and getting all my stuff moved over from Seattle,” Cassandra said. Maritess was stunned and waited for her to continue. “It turns out that this contract with the mill is going to take a few months of work. Since I’m from here, and it was my idea, they made it my project. So, I’m going to be moving home for a while,” she said as she turned to Maritess. “What do you think?” she asked.
No Such Thing As True Love Page 5