Episode 5: Tough Decision

Have you ever had a dream about someone that was so intense that it actually gave you feelings for that person? That is exactly what happened to me. It is funny, though, because I thought I was over Stacy, but I guess my subconscious had other ideas. So, just like that, my feelings for Stacy are back. I cannot just ignore my newfound old feelings and pretend that they do not exist.

So, now what?

It was Saturday morning around eleven o’clock, when Joel was awakened by a pounding at his door. He was still slumped down on his couch, sitting in the same spot where he had his dream the previous night. The last thing he remembered before finally drifting off to sleep was looking at the clock, which read 7:38.

He quickly sprung up off of his couch as the loud pounding came again, which came with Joel’s cell phone receiving a text message, immediately followed by a phone call. Joel looked at the screen of his phone to see the name John.

“I’m coming!” he shouted, trotting toward the door.

“Hurry up!” yelled John. “I have to use the bathroom!”

Joel unlocked the deadbolt and was about to turn the knob, when John burst through the door, almost hitting Joel in the process, and ran down the short hallway to the bathroom. Joel simply shook his head as he shuffled into the kitchen where he reached into a cabinet and pulled out a box of Lucky Charms.

Joel proceeded to pour the cereal into a bowl, followed by pouring milk onto the cereal, and adding a spoon. He turned to put the milk up just as John came out of the bathroom.

“Thanks man,” said John, taking the cereal off of the counter.

“Dude, bring me back my Lucky Charms before something bad happens to you,” said Joel, going after John. “I am running on about three and a half hours of sleep and I am not in the mood.”

“But they are magically delicious!” said John, sitting on the couch and turning on the television.

“Then make your own bowl,” said Joel, taking the bowl out of John’s left hand and the cereal-filled spoon out of his right hand just as he was about to insert it into his mouth.

“Oh, come on!” yelled John. He then noticed that Joel was not laughing along with him. “What is wrong with you?”

“Rough night,” answered Joel, taking his first bite of his cereal.

“What happened?” asked John.

Right as Joel was about to answer, John’s tone signifying that he had received a text message went off. “Go ahead, I’m listening,” he said

As Joel proceeded to tell John about the dream and the resurfacing of his feelings for Stacy, John completely ignored him as he continued to text. Finally, Joel noticed and asked, “Are you even listening?”

“No,” answered John. “Sorry, I’m not.”

“Ok,” said Joel. “I’m officially done talking to you now.”

“Uh huh,” replied John. “Then what happened?”

“You can stop pretending to listen now,” said Joel, snidely cutting his eyes over toward John, then returning his gaze to his cereal.

“Sweet,” responded John, returning to his text messaging.

So John and I sat there in silence as we watched TV for about an hour or two. Well, I watched TV while he continued to text Tiffany. Actually, I spent most of my time wracking my brain to try and figure out what to do. Obviously, it is not fair to Katie if I still have feelings for Stacy, but I really like Katie. It would be nice to talk to someone about it, but Captain Text Message can’t talk to anyone but his girlfriend.

Finally, around two o’clock, John suggested that we get something to eat, so we ordered a pizza. Then, out of nowhere, he actually did and said something that shocked me.

“Alright,” said John, turning off his cell phone, “I am tired of seeing you mope. What is going on?”

Joel looked at John, a surprised expression shaped his face. “I don’t think I have ever seen you turn that thing off,” he said, motioning toward John’s phone.

“Dude, despite what I say,” responded John. “I do care. Now, what is going on?”

And that is why John and I are best friends. When it comes down to it, he does actually care. So, I explained to him everything that had happened the previous night, but it dumbfounded him as much as it did me. We threw out some possible solutions, some we weighed more heavily than others, but in the end we passed on all of them.

“I think that I finally figured out what you need to do,” said John.

“What is that?”

“Go out and have a few drinks.”

Joel paused for a moment, then nodded. “That is the best idea you have come up with so far,” he said.

“Sweet, let’s do it,” responded John, standing up. “I’m going to go get ready.”

After we got ready, I called Jack, who decided to join us on the condition that Dustin could come as well. It had been over a month since the incident and I had all but let it go, so it was not a problem for me that he came. I would hang out with him, but that did not mean that I trusted him. Maybe it was just me, but I felt that I had a good reason to be wary.

When Jack and Dustin arrived, we headed down to, where else, but Stratler’s before we went downtown. I still had not heard from Katie, who, apparently, was still mad. Brian, Lauren, and Tiffany met us at Stratler’s. Stacy had called, but her and Ron decided to meet us out, so, minus Katie, the entire crew would be accounted for.

As the night wore on, the seven friends eventually left Stratler’s for downtown Charlotte. Once downtown, they met up with Stacy and Ron, but did not stay in any one bar for more than an hour or so, before leaving for a new one. In that particular part of town, there were as many as ten bars in a half mile area, resulting in the urge to visit each one in the same night.

Joel seemed distant as he was obviously preoccupied with the previous night’s events. He had surrendered his cell phone to John so that he would not call Katie after he had been drinking. At the fourth bar they visited on that night, Joel began to want to call Katie.

“Give me my phone,” said Joel.

“Nope,” responded John.

“Come on, John,” pleaded Joel. “I just want to check my messages. I won’t call her.”

“Yes you will.”

“Just give me my phone,” demanded Joel.

“Nope.”

The exchange went on for a while before Joel finally stopped pestering John for his phone. That was not the end of it, however, as Joel started up a while later after having a few more drinks. John finally relinquished Joel’s cell phone, after ten minutes of Joel harassing him.

Joel immediately exited the bar and paced up and down the sidewalk as he attempted to call Katie. After no answer, Joel declined to leave a message and returned to his friends.

“Did you talk to her?” asked Jack, waiting for Joel inside the bar.

“Nope,” answered Joel.

“What set her off last night?” asked Brian.

“I couldn’t tell ya,” replied Joel, shaking his head.

To this day, I still had no clue what had gotten into Katie. I know what I said to her after she got mad was not the best thing to say at the moment, but she was mad in the first place. I continued to mull over the situation until I got a terrible headache. It was tough, but I finally came to a decision.

Joel said his farewells to his friends and exited the bar they were currently at. While hailing a cab he once again attempted to call Katie. This time, Joel finally got through as Katie actually decided to answer the phone.

Sitting in the back of the cab, Joel said, “I am coming over. We need to talk.”