A Grateful Dragon. Karla Schuurs

knew it was a him.

      Mira moved her head around, trying to see him, but the fog was too thick. He turned around and she felt he might of smiled…

      Mira gasped!

      “Where are you going?” David said catching her ‘round the shoulders.

      Mira's mind raced, clutching for a logical lie.

      “Oh, to. the. ladies,” Mira stuttered out in broken English.

      “K, see you back at the table,” David chuckled.

      Mira nodded to the floor.

       How embarrassing.

      For the rest of the evening Mira kept an even lower profile than usual, just nodding and smiling at all the right moments to David’s chatter.

      But her soul was distracted.

      She couldn’t shake the feeling from her vision.

      It had felt compelling, and right.

       Uhhhhhh…

      Gawdy, she had to get out of her own head.

      David continued to talk amiably as he walked Mira to her car, and she continued to half-listen as her mind raced with possibilities for a painting of a child-bride in a misty winter wood.

      As Mira blipped her key at her car in auto-pilot, David reached over. He took her forearms in his hands gently and kissed her forehead with tenderness.

      It stung her subconscious back to reality.

      “Oh! What was that for?” Mira blurted out.

      Geez, he’s your boyfriend for fucc’s sake girl. Mira chastised herself inside.

      “I just can’t wait ‘till we get some real time together. I know I’ve been super busy, and you’ve had a hell of a time.”

      As David spoke to her, Mira brushed a fly-away lock out of her eyes. Her hair wasn’t bothering her, she just couldn’t look at that intense stare in his eyes a moment longer, feeling like it was pulling on something in her that wasn’t there.

      “I know the timing for us getting together is shit-house Mira, but I’m just so damn grateful you’re mine.”

      Mira’s guts flinched and she tried not to wince.

      “I’ll never forgive myself for not being braver earlier. I can’t help but think if we had of already been together, that you would never have been in that situation with your cunt of a boss. It wouldn’t of happened. It’s my fault and I could have saved you. I’m sorry, you’ll never know how much…”

      “Hey,” Mira cut David off, “It’s not your fault.”

      Mira took his downcast head in her hands and lifted his golden-brown eyes up to hers “It’s not your fault.”

      David lent in and kissed Mira, and she let him.

      But truth be told his touch didn’t penetrate past her skin; didn’t touch her mind, her heart, her soul, not like… well that was over so no point comparing.

      Mira slammed her mind shut.

      Stop it! Stop comparing them, she hissed at herself inside.

      David’s lips softly released Mira’s and she blurted out “I’m sorry too.”

      “What for?” David looked questioningly down at her, still holding her gently but firmly around the shoulders.

      “For not being a very good girlfriend.”

      David smiled. It was a bright, grateful smile; and it reached all the way to his sparkling, mocha eyes.

      It was the first time Mira had felt something passed the surface for David. That smile gripped her inside somewhere for a moment, and held her attention.

      “I get it. You’ve had a hell of a year and then some, and I wish I had of been there, been closer… I could have protected you,” Mira started shaking her head, but David went on, “But I’m here now and I’ll be damned if I let anything ever hurt you again. I promise you Mira, I’ll make sure this year ends better for you than it began - it’ll be the best end to the most fucced up year.”

      Mira blurted out a spurt of laughter and David chuckled too.

      “Ok,” Mira smiled, nodding between giggles, “Lets start with Saturday night then eh?”

      “I love it! Flying Phoenix is seriously awesome. Can’t believe I never thought to take you before.”

      “It’s ok,” Mira brushed a sweeping, dismissive hand as David leant over and opened the car door for her.

      “There’s only three things on the menu…” Davide began.

      “But they’re all amazing,” Mira finished his sentence, and that bright spark to her heart had morphed to a sick thud in her guts, remembering Rex telling her the same thing.

      “Yeah,” David replied, a bit startled.

      Mira nodded, retreating in on herself again, for protection from those painful…

      On Gawwwwd, motha-fuccin’ beautiful memories of that night with Rex.

      “I’ve been there before too,” Mira said to her steering wheel and she ducked under David’s arm into the car. All Mira wanted to do now in blind, irrational desperation was drive far, far away from the conversation; and from herself.

      “There’s a dance floor, well sort of. Maybe I can get you up on your twinkle toes,” David continued to prattle brightly.

      Mira groaned inside.

       Uhhhhh David, you always just push me too far.

      “No way,” Mira said finally, with a charity smile up at him.

      “That’s not exactly a no,” David gave her a wide, cheesy grin.

      “It’s a no and a half,” Mira shot back smiling, but she meant it.

      Even if she was Anna fuccin Pavlova, nobody would ever get her dancing at Flying Phoenix again. Irrational as it was Mira didn’t care.

      Line drawn.

      Nobody.