The Lord of the Geeks

IV. A Change of Plans

A phone was ringing in Stella's dream. She pressed Snooze, only to realize that she had reached for her iPhone, which was actually ringing, and that the Snooze button only worked for the alarm, which in her dazed state last night, she forgot to set.

She was dreaming of a tall, handsome, green-eyed elf who was kissing her hair and swearing love in the liquid elven tongue, and she most definitely did not welcome this rude awakening at all. The caller would receive the full wrath in her voice.

"Go away, Richard!" She said, and it was all that she could muster. Her vocal chords were still at rest. How could some people be so dense and self-absorbed? She thought. And why did she answer the phone when she could have pressed the red button and denied the call? She berated herself. There were ten reasons to hate Richard at that precise moment and Stella added them to her growing list of resentment.

"Good morning, my princess. I have good news for you. I am picking you up from the Kingsford international airport! I wouldn't want you to worry about carrying your heavy luggage full of toiletries on the train, like you so heroically planned to do. Tell me, are you on your way already?" Richard was being unusually cheerful, blissfully unaware that Stella was really and truly in the process of leaving him. Wait, Stella's groggy inner voice told her, he must be realizing that his powers on her are weakening, hence this stubborn refusal to let go.

"Since when did I become your princess? You would do well to remember that I already told you that I'm staying longer in Auckland!" This city was beginning to feel like sanctuary, she thought. She didn't realize how tired she was, how absolutely tired, of Richard's neediness.

"You mean, you are doing this to me? Just when I need you to edit the words to a song inspired by your absence?" Stella could hear the pout in Richard's voice. It made her feel sick.

She sat up despite her body's refusal to leave the warm bed. She felt her blood rising, which was a strange feeling. She used to have infinite patience for Richard, even when they were constantly bickering like an old married couple. It was too early in the day for that image, and she felt the irony in it. For they would never be married. For the first time, Stella felt she could stop repeating the same mistakes she had been making for two decades. She could stop hoping Richard would choose to be with her. For he couldn't, and he wouldn't.

"No I am not doing this to you. I am doing this for me. Please, Rich. Maybe this is good for us? For me, I mean." Stella needed to be stronger and more consistent if she was going to be serious about moving on. Then she remembered Eddie.

"Stey-a!" Richard screamed his pet name for her, which he only used whenever he wanted her to do something against her will, which usually involved asking her to stay. Stella interrupted him before he could further hurt her ear drums.

"I have to go now, Rich. And stop calling me. I cannot afford the mobile roaming charges! I am here and I will make the most out of my trip. I can deal with my classes online. I'll see you in a week."

She could hear him building his protests, but she pressed the End Call button. She put the phone on silent mode and resolved to ignore Richard for the rest of the day. Make that for the rest of the week, which she planned to spend happily with Eddie.