Crumbling Clouds

Regret. He is regretful. At this moment, I regret. He wiped away the tears and leaned close to me. His breath stung my lips as we both sat there waiting for something to happen. “Dylan. I. . .” Before I could do anything more, his lips were softly pressing against mine.

My heart felt half fire, half ice as I kissed him back. He tasted like black tea. His hands slid up my sides like snakes swimming over a pond. My sister's voice popped in my head, "I'm going to marry that man." She'd said that to me after introducing him to me. I pushed him away.

"Why'd you push me away? That kiss was great!" he said, attempting to caress my face with his warm palm. I pushed his hand away. "We shouldn't be doing this. You're going to marry my sister, aren't you? Even if we both liked the kiss--" He stood up. "You're right. Bye." He left.

He turned back and said, "Yes, I am supposed to marry your sister, because you said No, even after our many sexual encounters, you still said No. So I will marry your sister even though I will always love you, but" ..."I'm pregnant", she blurted...

His expression changed, and he took on a blank open-mouthed stare. Then his eyebrows rotated into a sharp V and he finally spoke: “So now you come to me for comfort and support when all that you have done in the past is turn me away? How do I even know it is mine?!” he hissed.

"How do I know?" she asked in disbelief. "Look at his eyes—they're yours." She raised her phone to his face. "And if that's not proof enough, there other ways to resolve this." She put down the phone icily. If there was one thing she'd learned from him it was how to be cruel.

He also snort-laughs, just like you. He pulls his ear while thinking, just like you. He LOVES sardines, just like you. He’s just like you, except 3 feet tall and no receding hairline. This kid is definitely your son!

How could these be? I mean, HOW!? I breathed out, trying to stay calm. "How sure are you?" I asked, my eyes tearing up. "I don't know if I can even. . .I'm. I'm sorry. I'm just so confused." I awkwardly laughed.

So, that's how he and I started our chinchilla business. My sister? She's allergic to chinchillas. We had about 1200 breeding females at one point in time. "Breeding," Dylan would say with a knowing wink. I pretended to be disgusted when he said that, but it secretly made me hot.

Dylan and I continued to sell chinchillas while making secret dirty jokes with each other until we ran out of chincillas to sell. Then we had to fold our chinchilla business. Just as we were closing up shop, my sister arrived. Ah. She had previously stayed away cuz she's allergic

Knowing that the business was closing, she showed up this time with suitcases. For a moment I was scared thinking she was leaving me, but the smile on her face made me wonder. "I have a surprise." she said as she got closer, Bora Bora, her eyes and smile widened...

And so without further adieu, we were magically whisked away to one of the most beautiful places on earth. Every step of the way feeling as though I was falling even more in love with her. We explored the clear shallow waters all day, and watched the sun as it began to set ...but

… something wasn’t quite right. I thought back to the wisdom of my son. “Stay here,” he said. “This isn’t real. He’s not your family he doesn’t know what’s best for you.” The placid water no longer seemed safe. I stepped back onto dry sand. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

“I am not a Merman. I’m German. Someone misheard me when I first moved here, and by the time I understood the mistake it was too late. I don’t have gills or webbed feet, and while I enjoy my aquarium I can’t actually read the fishes’ minds. I’m sorry.”