Soulmates

Kristine Atterbury, Contributor

It is the sound of a car engine starting outside that wakes me up. I sit up slowly, reaching my arms out for a luxurious stretch, feeling a happy glow of contentment settle over me. When I stand up to peer through the bedroom window, Kenneth is standing by his sleek, red Impreza, reading the note I left on his windshield last night. I like leaving him little surprises, sometimes a note to let him know how much I appreciate him, or something a little naughtier. I stifle a giggle as I think about what his reaction will be when he comes back home.

Kenneth and I have a rare kind of relationship. There's no mistaking the envy in my friends' voices whenever his name comes up. We never argue and we hardly ever go a day without seeing each other. The kind of love we share is not easy to find and I know I was lucky to find him.

We met on the day he moved into my apartment complex. I had just got home from work to see a large moving truck in the parking lot. He was standing in the doorway of the unit right next to mine, tall and deliciously sexy in a white linen shirt and khakis. His head was completely shaved and his eyes were soft, chocolate-brown orbs that sat under a heavy brow. He looked at me with a smile and I smiled back, happy that I had picked that day to wear my slinky, black, pencil skirt and pearl-white blouse that didn't quite button all the way to the top. We both fell hard for each other.

I am heading to the shower, humming an Alicia Keys love song, when my cell rings. It's Mesha, one of my co-workers.

"Don't forget we have an eight o' clock meeting this morning," she says.

I groan loudly. "Lawd, I nearly forgot. Kenneth wore me out last night."

"Mm-hmm," is Mesha's only reply. Her love life isn't much to speak of lately, so I know she doesn't want to hear about anyone else's happiness. I quickly change the subject.

"I have all the presentation material here so I'll bring them with me."

After she hangs up, I banish Kenneth from my mind for the time being and dash through the motions of getting ready for work. As I'm heading to the door I see one of his shirts thrown across the couch. I pick it up and hold it close to my face, inhaling the mixed scent of cologne and cigarettes. Then I quickly run out the door to catch a taxi to work.

On the way there my mother calls my phone three times and I ignore each call. I don't have time to deal with her drama today.

It's not until after the meeting that I remember I had arranged to have lunch with Kenneth today. I call his cell from my desk, trying to think of where we should go. He loves Chinese food but he got sick the last time he had some. Maybe pizza? His phone rings six or seven times with no answer. He must be in a meeting.

When I hang up, Mesha and another co-worker, Jan, are standing next to my desk. I smile at them.

"What's up, guys? I can't have lunch with you today, I'm meeting up with Ken."

They exchange a look between them and I suddenly feel suspicious.

"Sheena, listen," Mesha begins. "We're a little concerned about you."

I stare at them blankly. Jan is nodding, her expression a strange mixture of sympathy and wry amusement.

"This relationship or whatever you want to call it," Mesha says, speaking slowly as if I were a three-year-old, "we don't think it's healthy."

I sigh and shake my head at them. Here comes the envy I mentioned earlier.

"I don't have time for this," I say sharply and reach under the table for my handbag.

"But when was the last time you two went out together?" Jan asks, her eyes narrowed.

I stare at them with exasperation. "What you talking about?"

My phone goes off and I snap it shut as soon as I see my mother's name on the screen. I feel a headache starting to loom. Without waiting for a reply I stomp out of the office.

I am strangely close to tears as I walk down the street. This is what happens when you find someone special, everyone tries to ruin it! I stop a taxi and give the driver directions to Kenneth's office. I know just seeing him and hearing his voice will make me feel better.

When the taxi pulls up to his building, I get out slowly. My headache has got worse and every jolt the taxi made over a pothole seemed to aggravate it.

My heart lifts when I see Kenneth coming out of the building. "How did you know I was coming?" I shout to him, reaching my arms out. My man gives the best hugs. I wait for him to come closer but he stops when he catches sight of me. His face looks grim. I'm about to ask him what's wrong when I see a woman come through the doors behind him. She takes his hand and he lets her.

For a moment, the three of us simply stand there, staring at each other. My head is pounding again and it is almost unbearable. "Ken," I say, my voice breaking a little. "Who is she? What's going on?"

His face is hard, his eyes bright.

"Didn't I tell you not to come back here?" he says. His voice is loud and my head pounds even harder.

I step towards him, almost stumbling in my heels. "I don't understand."

He cuts me off. "You don't understand? After weeks of me telling you the same thing over and over? Stop calling me, stop leaving letters on my car, stop coming to my workplace. You lucky I don't call the police on you yet!"

The woman he is with starts murmuring in his ear and tugging on his arm. She looks vaguely familiar but I can't think with this headache. They walk down the steps making a wide berth around me. I squint against the sun and sit down hard on the steps. My phone rings again and I ignore it, knowing it is my mother yet again. I don't want to talk to her, to hear her stupid lectures about taking medication, about going back to the doctor.

"Everything is fine," I say out loud. "Everything is fine." A sudden laugh escaped my lips and I clap a hand over my mouth. A man walking nearby gives me a strange look.

I rub my face and smooth back my hair. I think I'll call in sick and go home and sleep off this headache. By the time I wake up, everything will be okay again. Kenneth and I will have a talk and work this out. He loves me, I know he does.

I call another taxi to pick me up. I laugh out loud again, feeling better suddenly. I will go home and wait for him.

Kenneth and I have a rare kind of relationship ... The kind of love we share is not easy to find and I know I was lucky to find him.