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Chapter 10
Decision

The next day, Virgil decided to lie in bed and think about his recent troubles and possible solutions to them. Since it was Saturday, his father had already left for work and he was home alone, giving Virgil vital quiet time to decide on what to do with his life. Staring at the ceiling, the recent problems arose in his mind: Terrence’s threat, Daniel’s kid, and, most importantly, Daniel himself. As he sorted these problems, he realized that all of these had a connection to his best friend. Daniel, being the outgoing person that he was, had accumulated these problems in less than a year as a result of his gregarious personality. It had been less than four months since Daniel’s party, which resulted in Terrence’s dangerous vow, and less than two when Daniel found out that Maria was pregnant. Virgil sighed as he thought about Daniel’s child. “What a life,” He thought to himself. “A vengeful cousin and a kid on the way? I can only imagine the stress he must be under,” Remembering last night, he made a mental note about the visibility of Daniel’s stress through the tired look he had every time Virgil glanced at him. The boy had seemed much older than he was that night. He seemed to have gone from sixteen to sixty in a few hours. Although he never showed it, Virgil sensed anxiety in his conversation with Daniel. His mind seemed to be somewhere else, somewhere calmer. Determined not to dwell on his friend’s depressing social life any longer, Virgil decided to get up and find something to do. His eyes moved to the digital alarm clock on his nightstand beside his bed. The green glow displayed ten thirty.
“Ten thirty,” Virgil grumbled. “I might as well get up,” He added in a low tone, “I have nothing else better to do,” Quickly dressing in a white T-shirt and blue jeans, he made his way downstairs to find something to keep him busy until his father came home from work. On Saturdays his father worked until five. He had six and a half hours to spend alone. “What to do…” He said to himself as he slowly inspected the lower level of his house. “Read? No. Eat? Not hungry…” His eyes fell upon the television on the other side of the room. “Television…” He mused as he stared at the HDTV’s glossy black screen that, in the light of the room, displayed his reflection. “I guess I can see what’s on today,” Resting on the couch, Virgil turned on the television with the remote. He immediately began flicking through channels. Channel one, channel seven, channel twenty-five: every channel had either re-runs or nothing of interest to him.
“This is hopeless,” He said wistfully. “Nothing to do on a Saturday. Daniel’s gone shopping so I can’t call him over. Maria’s with him so I can’t call her neither,” He sighed and sat up from his reclining position on the couch. “If only there were something to do…” Suddenly, the phone on the stand beside the couch began to ring. The light on the small caller I.D. screen became illuminated and soon after displayed “Unknown Caller”. Hoping that this caller would spice up Virgil’s otherwise dull Saturday, he immediately picked up the phone and began to speak.
“Hello? Who’s this?” he said quickly. In the background he heard talking and what sounded like pots clanging.
“Hello, can I speak to Virgil, please?”
“This is him,” Virgil said.
“Virgil? It’s me, Melissa,”
“Melissa?” Virgil said skeptically. “How did you get my number? I never gave it to you. I mean, its not that I never wanted to it’s because—“
“Daniel gave it to me,” She interrupted. “Look, do you have time to spend with me for about an hour? It’s a little hectic around here at my house and I was wondering can I come over to talk for a bit?” Melissa, too, sounded excited. The clanging stopped and the voices quieted. Virgil assumed that she went into a quieter room. Looking at the clock, it was already eleven o’clock. Figuring how long Melissa intended to stay, he surmised that she should be gone before his father came home.
“Sure,” Virgil said. “I’m bored anyway. It would be nice to—“
“Okay I’ll be there in a minute,” She interrupted again. “Bye,” The phone clicked, signaling that Melissa had hung up. Virgil, standing and staring at the phone in amazement, was surprised at how hastily she called and the strong desire she had to see him. Dismissing the thought from his mind, he put the phone back and made his way to the front door. He leaned against the door and tapped his fingers in anticipation. After a few minutes of nervous tapping, Virgil took his black vest from the hanger near the door and stepped outside into the peaceful, yet gray morning.
As usual, the silence on his street was deafening during the winter. The cold, ice, and snow had driven its summertime noisemakers into their homes and huddled them close to their blazing fires, leaving the streets deserted and emotionless. No children played outside during the winter. No hopscotch, jump rope, bike riding, or any other typical childhood summertime activity was present on this cold Saturday morning. Wary mothers, fearing that their children would become sick from being exposed to winter’s frigid air, advised their children to stay inside. Fortunately for Virgil, he had no such mother and he already knew that a prolonged time outside could result in becoming sick. Virgil stepped from the front patio and stood examining his surroundings. The former fiery trees of autumn that lined the sides of the street that he and Daniel used to pass on their way home had lost their flaming leaves long ago, had become black, bony skeletons of their former selves in the face of winter. As the wind blew, these trees failed to move as if in protest of winter’s harshness. Last night’s snow storm had brought snow and ice, which decorated the trees in a white glistening splendor. Although beautiful to gaze at, weighty snow on every branch made the trees droop in a sickly way, creating a depressing mood about them. To an artistic passerby, one would believe that the trees drooped because they were in mourning. Winter’s harsh conditions had stolen their beautiful leaves and replaced them with icy needles and mounds of snow, making each tree somewhat depressed.
Noticing winter’s depressing entirety, Virgil did not realize that Melissa stood behind him. She tapped him on the shoulder to gain his attention. Turning around, a blonde haired, blue-eyed girl wearing a tan jacket and matching boots stood before him.
“Hey Virgil,” She said smiling. “It’s good to know that I have someone to talk to today. I’ve been super bored lying around my house. My mom’s cooking dinner tonight because my relatives are coming over,” Whispering, the girl added through a quiet chuckle, “they like to eat,”
Virgil smiled. “Wow. That must be a large family,”
“No,” Melissa replied. “Only my aunt, uncle, and two cousins,”
“Oh,” he quietly uttered. “You want to go inside? It’s a little chilly out here. I don’t think we can carry on much of a conversation outside in this cold,”
“Sure,” Melissa said as she closely followed Virgil to the door.
Quickly stepping inside, they took off their jackets and hung them on the rack beside the door. Melissa took off her boots and began examining the interior of Virgil’s house.
“Make yourself at home, Melissa,” Virgil politely said. He entered the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “Can I get you anything? Water? Milk?” He chuckled a little. It was funny to him that he was offering cold drinks on an even colder day.
“No thanks,” Melissa called back from the living room. “I’ll just sit here on the couch until you come back,” Virgil, feeling a little thirsty himself, poured a glass of water and made his way into the living room. When he arrived, Melissa was sitting on the far-left side of the couch. She sat with her legs crossed and was staring outside through the window. Near the edge of the couch. When he entered into the room, she turned to him and gave him a weak smile. The light from the window made her seem delicate and attractive to Virgil. He golden hair seemed to glow with beauty, and her face seemed like a doll’s. He took a sip of water to calm down and sat beside her.
Setting the glass down on the carpet, he looked her in the eye and said, “What’s up?” It was an almost spontaneous thing for him to say. He already knew what was up, but he said it again to initiate the conversation.
“Daniel’s up,” She said as she rested her arm on the couch’s armrest. “He called me last night,” She added, looking down at the carpet beneath her. “He had…some unusual things to say,”
“Like what?” Virgil asked as he grabbed the glass of water and took a gulp. The cool water helped him calm his nerves. Lately whenever somebody mentioned Daniel’s name, it had to be bad. Just the mention of Daniel’s name made him nervous now. Putting the empty glass beside him on the couch, he waited for Melissa’s answer. She continued to look at the floor as if she were trying to place her thoughts in a more presentable order. Her hair fell before her, and she pulled some of it behind her ear. Biting her lower lip, she said, “He’s going to finish this thing that he and Terrence have been doing,”
Virgil remained silent as he slowly took in what she was saying. In his heart he knew that this was going to happen. He remembered the day before when Daniel picked up Terrence’s gun and hid it in his pants. He finally realized that Daniel was out for revenge. It all seemed like a typical thing for his friend to do. Virgil was always, as Daniel once put it, the ‘rational’ one. Inversely, Virgil considered Daniel the ‘irrational’ one.
“I would have figured,” He said mechanically. He wasn’t surprised and showed no emotions as he, too, sat staring at the carpet. He expected all of Daniel’s actions. “But the more pressing question is,” He picked up the glass beside him to drink the last drops from the bottom. “When,” He said.
Melissa gave a slight shrug as she continued to look down. “I don’t know. He never said,” She turned to Virgil. Her eyes, once a beautiful passionate blue, seemed to turn to a dull gray in the light. “He did say, however, that if something bad happens, you were to be the godfather of his child. It was an important thing to him,”
“What?” Virgil said in amazement. “Why? I’m too young to take care of a kid, let alone a baby,” He buried his face in his hands. “Why me?”
“You mean a lot to him,” The girl said in a soothing voice. “He loves you a lot. Much more than you think,” Pulling another stray bang from her forehead, she added, “I know sometimes he seems cold, but it’s because of the life he has now. He’s going to be a father, which is a big leap from childhood for him. He’s trying to balance his social life with his family life,”
Melissa scooted closer to Virgil and gave him a hug. He returned the hug, but with less vigor and more reluctance. His mind continued to stay on one depressing fact. “Daniel’s going to die. It’s an inevitability. Daniel knows it. I know it.” Unfortunately, his mind had sorted out and provided enough evidence to show that his best friend’s demise would come. Terrence, Daniel’s target, had the weapon know-how and a group of friends to back him up. In Daniel’s corner, he had no weapon skills and no one back him up. “No one.” He thought to himself. The two words in combination made him shudder. They meant isolation and indifference. This bothered Virgil because of the promise he made to Daniel that moonlit night. “That promise.” He thought. “Why did I go along with it? It has become a burden. I wish I could…”
“Virgil?” Melissa said in a curious voice. “Are you ok?” Virgil, awaking from his deep thought, found himself staring back at the carpet beneath them. Melissa was beside him, giving him a worried look.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” He said. “I was…thinking about Daniel and Maria’s relationship. It’ll be strained even further if Daniel pursues this idea,”
The girl nodded. “Yeah,” She replied, her voice fading as she finished. “I guess he knows that. Daniel’s not all irrational. He realizes the risks and dangers involved, trust me. When I was talking to him, he voiced his own thoughts about if he died. It was depressing to listen to but, as his friend, I had to,” She paused again to relax herself. Virgil realized that he wasn’t the only one who was going to be affected by Daniel’s decision. Whatever Daniel said to Melissa had put tremendous stress on her. Recalling the conversation only added to her distress.
“He said,” She started slowly, her voice cracking a little. “He said he wanted…to be buried with everyone in a happy mood,” She gave a slight smile. “I think everyone can do that for him,”
“How does he know he’s going to die?” Virgil said. Inside he was grasping for any semblance of a lie. He wanted to believe that Daniel was sure that he knew what he was doing. Virgil wanted to believe that Terrence was the one to die. Unfortunately, he had already realized that Daniel knew his fate.
“I don’t know,” The girl said softly. “I don’t know,” She leaned her head against Virgil’s shoulder and closed her eyes. As she rested there on his shoulder, her face relaxed and after a few minutes, she gazed up at Virgil. He face was bright and her eyes revealed the kindness beneath them.
“You know, Virgil,” She said. “Changing the subject to a lighter mood, I never realized how caring you were towards Daniel,” Melissa chuckled slightly. “I’m surprised you don’t have a girlfriend,” Raising an eyebrow, she asked, “Do you?”
Virgil slowly shook his head. “No,” He said looking out the window. The question that Melissa asked made him wince a little. He was gazing out the window to mask his own self-pity. “No. It would be nice though,” He turned back to her, smiled, and emitted a small laugh. “Daniel gets all the girls. His funny personality gets him almost any girl he wants. I, on the other hand, seem to be a little boring,” His smile faded as he gazed into Melissa’s eyes. She had been staring at him the whole time and it became a little uncomfortable for Virgil.
Melissa sat up. “I’m surprised,” She said as she guided strands of hair behind her ear. “You seem like a great catch,” She smiled as she said this. She leaned forward a little, showing some interest. “Are you looking for a girlfriend?”
Virgil shrugged. “I don’t know. I sorta want one and I sorta don’t. You see, I’m not totally interested at girls at the moment. I’m more interested in,” He paused, trying to find another word for what he wanted to say. “other things,” he finished. “Besides, I think Daniel dated all the good girls anyway. It seems weird to me to date girls my friends have already been with. It’s like using somebody’s underwear,” He laughed a little at his poor analogy. Melissa smiled. “Sorry for the bad analogy,” He apologized. “It was the first one that came to mind,”
“Oh, I understand,” She said. “It would seem weird to have Daniel around his possible ex-girlfriend,”
“Exactly,” Virgil replied.
“Well then,” She said with a sly smile. She moved closer to Virgil again. She bit her lip again and, through the same smile, said, “I know somebody who likes you and hasn’t dated Daniel yet,” Leaning in close to Virgil, she gently kissed him on the lips. “Me,” she whispered in his ear. She chuckled and sat watching Virgil’s reaction. Virgil sat in silence as he gazed at Melissa. In his mind, he didn’t know how to react. His body felt warm and he tugged nervously at the couch. His heart raced and his mind raced faster. “Return the kiss or not?” He quickly asked himself. He knew he didn’t have much time to think. Melissa looked at him as if she were expecting a response. She pulled more hair behind her ear as she waited. “If you don’t, you may be lost forever. If you do, you’ll be dating Daniel’s friend. Just like…” When he realized what he was doing, he felt sure that kissing Melissa back was the best thing to do. Although he knew it was wrong, he felt that it was the best way to get back at Daniel for dating his friend and old crush Maria. Spite had taken over him, and he enjoyed the feeling.
“I…” He started to say. Before he could say more, she pressed her lips against his again. This time, Virgil did not hesitate. He felt the passion that he had always wanted. He felt loved and he loved back. His mind was at ease, yet his heart was in turmoil. It held its own battle. He felt that he was betraying his friend but, on the other hand, he did the same to him. In his heart it was a matter of loyalty.
As he kissed her back, Melissa pulled him down on top of her. Virgil knew what she intended, and he already had the mindset that he was not going to go that far. “I don’t want to end up like Daniel,” He thought as he temporarily gained rationality through the raging seas of passion within him. Just as the ocean swallows up small boats in a raging storm, his inner ocean of passion, too, swallowed his rationality again. His heart, no longer in the battle over loyalty versus carnal desires, had succumbed to the latter and now his mind and heart were at peace. Now he was relying on instinct. He had no cares in his mind when he was with Melissa.
“I love you, Virgil,” Melissa said as she stared up at him. She smiled and pulled him closer. She kissed him again and Virgil felt warm.
“I love you, too, Melissa,” He said with a smile. In the back of his mind he wondered how could she love him. Virgil and Melissa only knew each other through Daniel and the rarely talked to begin with. This must have been what she wanted. He thought. She wanted to be with me. That would explain her eagerness to talk to me.
“Virgil?” Melissa said. “I gotta go now,” Virgil sat up in reluctance. He wanted to be with her more. He wanted to go further with her. He wanted to be hers.
“Fine, ok,” Virgil said after a pause. He was really reluctant to let her go. She stood up from the couch and made her way to the door. As she put on her boots, Virgil handed her coat to her and smiled. Kissing him on the lips one last time, she cutely said, “Bye, Virgil,” and closed the door behind her. For a few minutes Virgil remained at the door, thinking on what he was going to say to Daniel. For some reason, he actually intended to tell Daniel about his time with Melissa. He knew it was out of spite, and he had a deep desire to see Daniel’s expression when Virgil would tell him the news. He smiled at the thought of Daniel’s surprised look.
“Well, Daniel,” He said slowly under his breath, “I can say now that I’m not the rational one,” Smiling to himself as he walked up the stairs to take a short nap, Virgil added, “You can say that I’m the lucky one,”