The 7 Days

Day 6

For a twenty five year old girl, Lisa’s studio apartment was incredibly bare and clinically clean. In the living area, there was a two seater fabric sofa and a no-nonsense square coffee table. An out-of-date copy of the Financial Times and a beat up laptop sat on the table. Propped on the wooden tv cabinet was a solitary 32 inch plasma. The ‘bedroom’ was separated by a sandblasted glass partition. In there, a queen sized bed resided next to a makeshift side table. On it was an unfashionable radio clock. There were no posters adorning the naked walls. Only a two tier bookshelf housing a number of Dickens’s classics gave the room some much needed contrast.
Lisa was busy in the kitchen. Both she and Tyler had agreed to have dinner together but when Tyler suggested a cosy Spanish restaurant in town, she had insisted on cooking for him.
‘You need any help?’ Tyler asked politely.
‘Nope. Just make yourself at home. Oh, there’s beer in the fridge,’ she replied from the kitchen.
The bottle of Heineken was scarcely chilled. She must’ve bought it not too long ago he thought to himself.
He went into the kitchen asked her ‘You seem to be a huge Dickens’s fan huh?’ By now, the entire apartment was blanketed with a delicious smell of chicken broth.
She was chopping up some leafy vegetables when she stopped and answered ‘Not really. Dylan was. I just made it a point to read his entire collection. I figured that way, I could still remain some sort of connection with him. I finished the last one two days ago.’ She then resumed her cooking and Tyler felt as if it was his heart on the chopping board.
When dinner was served, Tyler’s jaw dropped. On the table, lay a magnificent feast. There was steamed fish in soy sauce, stir fried beef with spring onions, chinese ‘pak choy’ in oyster sauce, fried wan tons and herbal chicken soup.
‘Wow,’ he said, truly admiring the result of her efforts.
‘I bet you didn’t think I could cook,’ she teased.
‘Well, to be honest, no. My humblest apologies Ms. Stewart,’ he replied.
‘Apology accepted. Now dig in and tell me what you think,’ she said as she spooned the soup into his bowl.
By the time they were done with the meal, both of them were stuffed to the brim.
‘That was by far the best meal I’ve had ever since coming here. In fact, it was the best meal I’ve had in a long time,’ Tyler complimented Lisa.
‘I don’t believe you. You’re just teasing me,’ said Lisa but she was blushing a little at the same time.
‘It’s true. Now why would I lie to you. Here, let me help you with the dishes,’ he said and they both started clearing the table.
Standing side by side at the sink, she washed and he did the drying. When it was finished, she asked ‘Wine?’
‘Sounds good,’ he said.
He uncorked the bottle of white, poured them both a glass and sat in the balcony.
‘It’s good,’ he commented after taking a sip.
‘Really? I don’t know anything about wine, so I just asked for an expensive bottle,’ she admitted.
‘It’s beautiful isn’t it,’ Tyler said looking at the full moon.
No answer.
He looked over at Lisa and she was crying. ‘Stay longer … please,’ she said looking at him through her streaming tears.
It shattered his heart to see her this way. ‘I’m no good for you Lisa,’ he said, almost a whisper.
Lisa gulped down her wine and refilled her glass to the brim. She then drained its content down her throat and let out an audacious burp.
Tyler couldn’t help but to chuckle. Next thing he knew, Lisa was straddling him trying to lock her lips onto his with much aggression. He held her back and she tried to push forward. Exhausted from the struggle she screamed ‘WHY???!!!’ and then broke down into an uncontrollable sob.
Tyler held her tight, one arm holding her back and the other stroking her hair. His shoulder was soaked wet with tears and after what seemed like forever, Lisa fell asleep. He gently laid her on the bed, wrote a note, placed it on the side table and left the apartment.