Real Life Sucks!

11

He almost didn't answer it. People already thought him ignorant, anyway, but he didn't want Katie's last memory of him to be him ignoring her. He had to take the bull by the balls, or horns. Whatever. He tapped the answer button and switched to speaker before curling his fingers into the duvet. The duvet protected him. It coddled him. When it wasn't twisting around his feet and trying to kill him.

"Hi! Hi! Hi! It's me! Katie!" Her bubbly voice did not sound as though she were about to rip his heart out. That was either good, or an oddly exuberant way of starting to tell someone that they creeped them out and never wanted anything to do with them anymore.

"I know. It said 'Katie' on the screen." He knew he was mumbling, but fear forbade him from talking louder. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? What for? Never mind. You're always sorry about something." She sounded happy, which was Katie's natural state. Perhaps she was really glad to get rid of him? "Anyway. How's you? Been out? Been playing the game? How's your sister and that beautiful queen of a girlfriend? I love those two, by the way. Love them!"

"I ... I mean ... Well ..." He looked out of the window. Been out? Of course he hadn't! Outside was far too 'outside' at the moment. "The game ... yeah. A bit."

After he trailed off, an uncomfortable silence creating a yawing gulf between him and the phone, he realised he had only answered one of the questions. Then again, Katie did that. Words seemed to erupt from her in such a fast, random succession, he found it hard to decide which of those questions were the most important. He probably should have led with the well-being of Rebecca and Serena, but, of course, the game was the first thing to spring to mind.

"Great! Look, we have a problem. Well, you have a problem." Here it came. The reason behind those four words of doom. As she paused, Rory began to chew his fingernail, squeezing his eyes closed. "Tickets for the game-con sold out really fast. I mean, so fast! But, and here's the problem, I managed to get us all tickets for both days. But, there's a 'but'. For you, that is."

"You mean you're not ..." Confused, he wondered if he had read all the wrong things, online, about the phrase 'We need to talk' and now felt guilty that he had thought bad about Katie wanting to be rid of him. "The game-con? I ... I don't ... um ..."

"Both days. The catch? Overnight stay." He could almost imagine the wide-mouthed, teeth-gritted, exaggerated cringe that Katie probably made, anticipating his reaction. He saw that look a lot. Fear of what he would say. "I know. I know! It's hard enough for you to build up the courage to go to the shops and I'll completely understand if you don't want to go. You know what, it's okay. We'll find something else to build up to the launch party. It'll be fine. Are you fine?"

In truth, Rory didn't know how he felt. It was also true that, although he had managed to pierce the veil of his inability to go outside, though with caveats, he still had to gird his lions for that every time. Loins. Gird his loins. Was he fine? Doubtful. Unlikely. Possibly? He had to think about that for a moment. Maybe two. Or more.

By the time he realised he should do that thinking at another time, not keeping Katie waiting for his answer, the timer on the call had ticked upward. He had left a gaping silence between them again and he began to panic that he had left it too late to say anything. Again. He had to say something, now! Anything. A decision. A call for adjournment until he could work through the facts of the case. Toilet break.

"Okay." That was too vague! Far too vague! He flopped back on the bed, screaming in silence to the ceiling before sitting up again. "I'll ... I'll ... do it? The con? Overnight. Sleeping somewhere not here. I can do that? Yeah ... I ..."

"Rory, sweety, you don't have to do anything you don't want to. The game-con. The launch party. Nothing. It's okay to be a little selfish, sometimes." Every time Katie said something mature, her voice lowered in tone. It made Rory wonder if her happy-go-lucky self was only a façade. "I'll support whatever decision you make. I promise. But I will charge you double for the game-con tickets. You know, for the inconvenience. I'm kidding! I'll charge you triple. I'm kidding!"