No matter where you go or how far you run, you can’t run away from yourself. I don’t claim to know all the answers, and if I could go back now and change things by telling you who I was right from the start, I’d do it. But I can’t. I can no more change what happened between us than I can change who and what I am. And for the first time in my life I’m happy about who I am. I’m not hiding anymore and I’m ready to face the world. Even if I don’t get a happy ending, I’m going to try as hard as I can to find one. Because I think gays are set up to live together as married couples and share their lives just like straight couples. I feel sorry for you, Luis.”
Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box. He tossed the box on Luis’s lap and said, “I’ve been carrying this around since the day you blew me off for Melvin in the library. Here. I don’t want it anymore.” Then he slammed the door as hard as he could.
When he was gone, Luis picked up the box and looked inside. It was a small gold wedding band. He exhaled and turned the ring over. There was an engraving that read, A Week with 4 Thursdays. He sniffed and wiped another tear from his eye. When he slipped the ring onto his ring finger and saw it was a perfect fit, his hands and lips actually started to tremble.
Luis looked out the back window, but it was raining too hard to see anything clearly. He stared at the door and bit the inside of this cheek. All at once, he realized that if he continued living the same way he’d been living his life, he’d never be happy and he’d never be complete.
So he pushed the door open and ran out into the street. While the rain soaked his body, he jogged back to the alley where he’d left his little dog. Maybe, just once, it wasn’t too late for him.
Maybe, just once, there was a chance for a happy ending.
When he reached the spot where he’d dropped the dog off, Jase was standing on the sidewalk looking into the dark alley. When Luis heard Jase shout, “dog,” he crossed in front of him and ran into the alley. His face was wet from rain and tears and his vision was blurred. If he didn’t find the dog he’d never forgive himself for what he’d done.
“Here, dog,” he shouted, as he looked back and forth at the back end of the alley. “C’mon, dog,” he said.
But he couldn’t find him anywhere. Luis’s heart began to beat fast and a feeling of doom swept through his body. As he was about to turn back and shrug his shoulders at Jase, he looked down between two dented, rusted trash cans and saw the little dog shivering against the brick wall. He was curled up into a ball, so terrified it looked as if he couldn’t even move.
Luis went down on his knees in a deep puddle and scooped the wet dog up in his arms.
He held him as close to his body as he could to keep him warm and safe. Though the dog was still shaking, he lifted his head and licked Luis’s lips. “I’m so sorry, dog. I’ll never let you go again. I promise. Never again.”
For a minute or two, he remained in the puddle and cradled the dog in his arms. His chest heaved and tears rolled down his face. When he finally stood up and turned, Jase was still standing on the sidewalk. His clothes were drenched and his hair was soaked. Luis could see drops of water dripping from the tip of his nose. But he was still there; he hadn’t left. He stood with his hands in his pockets, with his lips pressed together, forming a gentle smile.
And Luis knew that if he lived to be one hundred years old and he forgot every other significant event that had ever happened to him in his life, he’d never forget the way Jase looked at that very moment.
Luis pressed the dog to his chest and ran over to Jase. When he was standing in front of him, he looked into Jase’s eyes and smiled. “I do love you,” he said. “I do want to share the rest of my life with you. I don’t want to run anymore.”
Jase put his arms around him and pulled him up against his body. “We’re safe now.” The dog was between them. He stuck his small tongue out and licked Luis’s cheek first, and then he licked Jase’s ear.
Without caring who was watching, Jase lowered his head and kissed him. When Jase did this, Luis reached into his pocket and pulled out his plane ticket to Vancouver. He released the ticket and a gust of wind blew up in the air, where it spun in a circle above his head. Then it went down into the gutter and landed in a long, narrow puddle next to the curb. While the ticket floated down the street and disappeared in a larger, darker puddle, Jase lifted Luis and the dog into his arms and carried them both to the long black town car that had just pulled up to the curb.
THE END