Roommates

“For the last time, get out of my house!”

“For the last time, this IS my house!”

Another standstill it seemed. Sean sighed and scratched his head. It was always like this since Kaela had moved in with him. They were friends since childhood, going to school together, playing together on the weekends. For much of their childhood they were inseparable. Adolescence changed that, the two drifted apart and found themselves in friend groups of their respective genders. In fact, she had almost slipped his mind when his mom told her that she was moving back into town and was having trouble finding a place to stay. He had just bought a house, after years of scrimping and saving, and the thought of a roommate had crossed his mind more then a few times. He reached out to her and she agreed.

At first it went well. The two of them reconnected easily. Despite the fact that she had went to college and him the trades they seemed to share many of the same hobbies and interests. They had both been gamers, and had kept it up into adulthood. They had also both learned how to cook, and took turns trying new dishes on each other. Sean loved it, ever since everyone moved away to pursue their interests he had had a hard time making friends, and now he had a pal living with him. One time his mom joked that he had gotten married without knowing it, but he just laughed. She was just his roommate. Besides, she was way out of his league.

Recently though, everything changed. He wasn’t sure what happened, but it was like a switch had flipped in Kaela’s head. Every time they crossed paths there was something for her to nitpick, be it the way he put the cutlery away, or what ingredients he used for supper, she even got mad at him for putting the toilet paper so that it rolled away from the wall. Who would want it to roll AGAINST the wall.

The fights were reaching a point where Sean didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to kick her out, but he also couldn’t live like this. Finally he mustered up the courage to talk to her about it and went to her bedroom. The door was slightly ajar and he gently pushed it open. Kaela was absorbed painting. Sean knew she was something of an artist, but he had never seen any of her work. It was a landscape of a children’s playground. The sun was shining and the sky was clear, and blue. Looking at it brought a rush of memories back to Sean,

“Is that where we first met?” he asked softly, trying not to startle her, though he still managed to startle her,

“Y… yes,” Kaela blushed,

“It’s amazing,”

“T… thanks, I call it, Happiness,”

“Why that?”

“Because it was…” Kaela shook her head, “Why are you in my room?”

“Because,” Sean sighed, “I need to know why you’ve been so angry with me lately,”

“Why?” Kaela got more and more angry looking, “Why?! You know why?”

Sean stared blankly, “I really don’t,”

Kaela looked shocked, “How could you not pick up on the signals I’ve been sending you?”

“Signals?”

“Yes! The meals I’ve cooked you, the outfits I’ve been wearing, the hints I’ve been making-”

“I’m not good with hints,”

“Dammit Sean, what about the time I sat in your lap, hugged you, and told you it would be great if you took me out to dinner and a movie sometime,”

“I’m not good with hints,”

“What about the time I told you that I was interested in you romantically and you laughed at me,”

“I’m not good with hints,”

Kaela sighed in exasperation, “Sean, I don’t want to be your roommate, I never did, I came here, to this town, to try and get the man of my dreams, but after you didn’t show me any interest I couldn’t help but be mad at you,”

Sean stared into her beautiful eyes, “I just never thought a girl like you would even think about dating a guy like me,”

“Sean…” Kaela’s voice cracked as she threw herself around him, “The reason I named the painting Happiness…” Sean wrapped his arms around her,

“Is because that’s where we first met.”