Bound By Love pt.12 FINAL

By the time they'd turned back and made it to the station of their original departure, the sun had begun to set and the couple made a collective decision to hail a taxi.

Neither Sid nor Nell knew precisely what to say. There seemed decidedly little left to say. The taxi rolled on into the darkening evening, blasting the muted tunes of 'Mellow Magic 105.4' from its static radio. Sid knew he had to say something, but what words to choose was too difficult a question to dwell on at that moment. Nell's eyes alternated their gaze between the remaining wisps of hair on the back of the driver's head and the world that flew by beyond the glass windshield. An all-too familiar GP office passed instantaneously; the local Somerfield's, where their latest bi-weekly food shop had been a less than pleasant experience; a restaurant in which the couple had shared an awkward meal; and, their apartment. Why had neither of them told the car to stop? One thought connected both Sid and Nell that taxi: their destination.

They told the taxi to stop, paid their fee in a mass of loose change and stepped out into an almost deserted street. For the first time in what both sensed had been too long a time, the couple smiled at one another. As the taxi driver pulled out and away, ashtray rattling annoyingly with the addition of his fee, Sid closed the gap between him and the woman- with corkscrew curly hair and too many freckles- who bore than now dwindling title of 'his wife'. He linked his arm through hers and together they strode up the street, allowing silence to shed a light on the situation without cause for words.

As they scaled the pavement, something large, ugly and industrial-looking came into sight. A bus shelter. As he had all those months ago, Sid scaled the side, this time needing a hand from Nell. One seated on top, more affected by the climb than a healthy person might be, he offered Nell his hand. He hauled Nell up, trying to mask the difficulty he had in taking her weight (for the sake of her self-consciousness mostly), and together they sat, clutching the sloped roof's edges for some much needed support.

'I was thinking' Sid's voice was rough from lack of recent use, but he cleared it and continued, 'We no longer have any reason to-'

'Live together, stay together, spend our days together, I know' Nell cut in impatiently. She looked up at him, unsure of how to phrase the words that both of them had seen coming since the taxi stopped.

'So I guess this is goodbye, then' she began softly.

'I guess it is' he echoed her words. He watched her slide down from the roof, unmoving. He watched her turn back, smile fondly and walk away. He remained perfectly still, watching intently as she sank from his view down the street. It was only when she turned corner out of sight Sid looked away.  

What now? Was the first question the particularly annoying voice inside his head prompted. You should have stopped her; told her not to leave. You might not say it out loud but there's no fooling your own head, Sidney Krickstein. You didn't want her to leave.

'We don't have to stay together anymore, though. We both have separate lives to lead! She has her friends, her family, her career; and I have those line dancing classes you I was going to sign up for before this whole mess, remember?!' a few passers-by turned in confusion to see who the man on top of the bus shelter was conversing with.

So preoccupied was Sid in an external debate with his brain that he didn't hear the sound of soft footsteps steadily become louder and more acute. He only turned to look downhill, at the noise's source, when she was standing within arm's reach. At first Sid made no acknowledgement of her presence, wondering how much of his dual-monologue she'd actually heard. He was in luck, as Nell chose to ignore the surreal scene her eyes had been graced with and instead broke the long silence.

'See, I don't know about you but I'm not sure I can afford rent for an apartment all of my own' she began hesitantly. She chose to forget her more than comfortable earnings when making the statement.

'Same- I don't have nearly enough income to pay rent single-handedly' he agreed eagerly, choosing to forget his years of saving for just this reason.

'Well, on that note I suppose for the sake of our income-'

'Yes, for the sake of our income we couldn't possibly-'

'Move out just yet' she smiled at him knowingly and, turning towards the direction of their residence, asked 'shall we then?'

Tentatively, Sid linked his hand in hers in response.