Implications

For my writing workshop. Assignment: write about a conversation where one person won't listen.

At exactly four o’clock on Saturday afternoon Joy’s phone rang. She had been expecting the call, so she let her ringtone annoy everyone else in the café for a few more seconds before picking it up. “Hi, Elise. Are you in the parking lot? Uh huh… Yes, it’s the green door. Just come right in. Yes, the green door on the�"oh, I’m sitting by the big statue of a bear. You’ll see it. On the left. It’s on your left, I said. I’ll see you in a minute, alright?”

            She set the phone down with the same amount of exhaustion that a hiker might exhibit at the end of a complicated trail on a treacherous mountain. She almost broke out in a sweat. This conversation with Elise had been coming for a couple weeks now, but after recent events its necessity escalated to an alarming height. Joy wasn’t entirely positive about what she wanted to say, but something had to be done.

            A few minutes later the green door at the far end of the café swung open and Elise stepped inside timidly. “Joy!” she called.

            The girls embraced, albeit somewhat awkwardly, and sat together at their table next to the enormous bear statue. “So… you really wanted to see me,” Elise said.

            “Yeah. Um, I just miss you. You know? I haven’t seen you since last summer and both our lives are pretty exciting now. I thought we should catch up. I didn’t want just a simple phone call.” Joy ran her hands over the smooth table top. Anxiety refused to let her sit still.

            “I’m not buying that, Joy. I mean, I miss you too. But that can’t be it. What’s wrong?”

            Joy wanted to scream out that everything was wrong, that Elise was wrong, and that if things didn’t change soon she would end their friendship out of frustration. However, she knew that getting straight to the point would be painful and not very beneficial. “Well, you just got engaged.”

            “Yeah, thanks for the congratulations.”          

            “Congratulations, I guess. That’s what I really wanted to talk about.”

            “Aren’t you happy for me?”

            Joy paused to fight back the desire to say yes just to see Elise smile. “I’m worried for you.”

            “I don’t understand,” Elise said with a frown.

            “Elise, you’re not going to like what I have to say. But it needs to be said. After everything you’ve told me about Nick and everything that I’ve seen in Nick, I really need to express my concerns. What you’re doing is foolish. You’ve been dating for a month!”

            “We’ve known each other for over a year, though. We’ve talked about marriage seriously. I’m really exciting about my wedding, Joy. I thought you would be excited too. Why can’t you just be happy for me? Why are you taking this so badly?”

            “You thought I was moving fast when I got engaged after six months, El. And Jay was a total gentleman about it. ”

            “Are you implying that Nick isn’t a gentleman?” Elise stiffened with defensive tension.

            “He’s anything but, El, and you know that. I watched him all summer, how he treated you. I can’t tell you how many times he called girls ugly, stupid, or both. Even you! Maybe the phrase ‘semetrically and mathematically unattractive’ rings a bell.”

Elise cringed, but hadn’t yet found her voice.

“Do you remember how many times you told me that it didn’t matter that Nick was your best friend?” Joy went on. “That you would never be able to date him? What happened to that? Is he different?” Joy took a moment to breathe. She hadn’t intended on blurting all that out at once. “Just tell me he’s changed and I’ll be happy for you, I’ll congratulate you, I’ll even be a bridesmaid if you ask me to. Just tell me he’s different.”

            Elise pressed her lips together in a frown that almost looked like defeat. “You just don’t know him like I do, Joy. You don’t see him how I do.”

            “If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck.”

            “What are you really trying to say, Joy?”

            “Don’t do this to yourself. He doesn’t respect you.”

            With a beguiled sigh, Elise stood up. “I just need a friend, Joy. No one else seems to think highly of Nick either. I had hoped that you at least would respect our friendship. That you would support me. But… I guess I was wrong.” She walked out of the café without another word, and the green door slammed shut.