Drunken Hearted Pt. 5: I Am Here, 3:30 a.m.

>It’s Wednesday afternoon; about 1:00.
>You slept very well and feel rejuvenated, considering your new sleeping habits.
>Last night was just…
>Everything you’ve wanted; everything you’ve needed for such a long time.
>Being with Minuette made you feel so alive and important…something you’ve yearned for in the past months.
>You stretch your arms and take it a deep breath of silent air.
>You look at the telephone beside you, remembering your late night relationship kindle with Rarity.
>It’s hard to make out, but it felt like she was trying to connect more with you….maybe you were just too hung up on Minuette at the time to tell, and maybe you still are.
>The fabric samples still sit atop the mangled cardboard box on the small table nearby.
>You rise to your feet and head to the shower.
>The prickly water stings your back until your skin gets used to the heat.
>After taking a handful of water in your cupped hands, you slowly lower your face into the humanized bowl.
>Staring at the back of your eyelids, you ponder more about Rarity.
>The guy she was talking to that night was the very same who insulted your casual attire; you’re sure of it now.
>Pierre.
>You thrust your face from the fading pool of water in your hands.
>The steam on the shower door greets your eyes.
>You place your hand on it before swiping it and clearing the haze away.
>In the glazed view, you remember…
>The first time you and Rarity were intimate together.
>In a mad rush coming to her home one day, you ran into the bathroom to clean up for an upcoming dinner that you were going to surprise her with that same night.
>In your panic you failed to realize that Rarity was already home, nearly feet from you in the already running shower.
>Half undressed you thrust the curtain on her shower open only to be greeted with a yelp by the dripping white mare.
>”Anonymous, please! I’m not decent!”
>You jumped back a few inches.
Oh…Rarity! I’m t-terribly s-sorry…
>You shielded your eyes and headed for the door as Rarity poked her head beyond the curtain.
I-I’ll j-just be leaving, I’m very sorry for this…
>”Anonymous wait.”
>You turned around on the ball of your heel, but shielded your eyes like you were staring into the beating July sun that was just beyond the houses walls.
Rarity…I swear, I didn’t know…
>She beckons you to come near her.
>You slowly inched toward her dripping, soapy pony and leaned your head down to her level.
Yes…?
>With your sight blocked Rarity easily planted the deepest, most passionate, and not to mention unexpected, kiss onto your nervous lips which you gladly returned.
>A quick unbuckle of your pants and removal of your socks and you were pulled into the water with Rarity as she slowly retreated in the steam of the shower…still connected to your lips.
>4 months together; 1 missed dinner reservation booked weeks beforehand. The two of you spent the night together at home instead.
>In the present you wish the tables had been turned. You wish you could find Rarity standing there beyond the shower, but there’s just the empty space on the floor as the steam slowly returns to the glass.
>But she won’t be home until tomorrow…hopefully.
>Sometimes it fees that things will never return to what they were… a hard fact to accept.
>You dry off and get dressed.
>What is there to do today? This entire city…all these ponys and no one to talk to.
>There’s Minuette, and then there’s Rarity.
>Two completely different people…two completely different feelings:
>Newfound infatuation, and tried-and-true love.
>You rub your chin and cheeks.
>A little rough, but no one will pay much attention.
>You grab your jacket and head to the elevator.
>You press the “lobby” button and watch the numbers descend.
>At the last second you reach for the floor on which Minuette is staying.
>If anyone were with you, surely they’d think you were a little too eager to go to that floor.
>Maybe you are.
>The doors open and you walk towards Minuette’s room.
>A brisk tap onto the wood, a few seconds, and she stares up at you.
>”Hey. Come on in.”
Thanks.
>The layout of her room comes back to you. You didn’t really pay attention to it the night before.
>It’s different; smaller, but still plenty big for a single unicorn staying here on her own.
>Minuette fidgets in her bag for something.
>”So what’s up?”
>You watch Good Morning Equestria on the television.
Nothing really. Just didn’t want to sit alone in my room.
>You look over to her and then to the window.
I’m higher up than you. If I wanted to just out of my window for fun I’d probably die. I figure from this height, I have the perfect ratio of thrill and self-harm.
>Minuette laughs at your dry joke.
>You slightly peek over the edge of the window.
>You’d die at this height as well.
>With a grunt, Minuette thrusts her bag over her head.
>”Come on, let’s go.”
>Without waiting to hear your answer she heads toward the door.
>You flick the lights and TV off. She knew you’d go anyways.
>The two of you make the small journey to the elevator and head outside.
>The sun is actually rather warm for this early. The concrete sidewalks are bathed in the gentle yellow glow from above that warms them and locks in the heat.
>Minuette continues to lead on in silence. You follow without objection.
>A few left turns and a right one and the two of you end up at a small café with a purple sign emblazoned with the eatery’s name.
>”Orange”
>Interesting.
>In the foreground of the café, there are a coupe shaded tables.
>Minuette levitates her bag’s strap around the back of the metal chair and sits down.
>You retract a chair and grimace at the uneasy sound of the metal scraping against the sidewalk before taking a seat yourself.
>The waiter comes up to the two of you.
>Minuette looks at you.
>”Coffee?”
Coffee.
>”Two coffees please.”
>She produces a planner from her bag and begins scribbling something in the margins and flipping pages.
>You twiddle your thumbs and try not to see what she has planned.
So…come here often?
>She looks up from her book.
>”Hmm? Oh, no…I just heard from Charley that this was a nice place.”
>You trace your palm on the side of the cold, pitted metal of the chair.
Yeah…seems pretty nice.
>Minuette looks frustrated as she looks at her schedule for today.
>The drinks arrive. She brings hers to her lips without losing eye contact with her pen marks on the paper.
>”Well…today’s the day.”
>She sips. She has the same distraught look as the night you sent the drink to her at the lounge.
What’s today?
>She releases a small pleasant smile as the caffeine enters her bloodstream before looking up to me.
>”It’s the play, the one I had to report on.”
Oh.
>You take a sip after her glass returns to the table. The coffee is actually quite good…not burnt like some other places.
>Minuette plants her head into her hooves and releases a sigh.
>”I knew I couldn’t avoid it.”
I don’t understand, what’s so bad about it?
>She ponders for a moment.
>”Nothing really. It’s just being obligated to keep doing something you don’t want to do anymore.”
>Her words speak what you feel inside, but she has no way of knowing that.
>”It’s like, have you ever felt like you’ve been forced into doing something because you don’t know anything else? Like it’s just a lazy, unwanted routine?”
>You bring the cup to your mouth and hold it there, taking in the aroma with your shallow breaths.
>You gaze the ponys and buildings on the adjacent street.
>”I guess not…”
>You look back to her, still struck in your strange pose.
I guess we are a lot alike, we just didn’t know it.
>You finally take your sip.
>Minuette is still a little confused, but accepts your wisdom without question.
>The both of you finish your drinks in silence and return to the hotel.
>As you walk Minuette to her room she turns to you.
>”I have an extra pass if you’d like to go with me tonight.”
>Plays aren’t really your thing.
Plays aren’t really my thing.
>She huffs.
>”You either?”
>The two of you smile.
No, you go. I don’t want to interrupt you while you’re working.
>The same words you’ve told Rarity an innumerable amount of times.
>Minuette nods. She doesn’t want you to feel obliged to go along.
>She enters the room.
>”Okay. I’ll be back around 9 or so.”
Alright. See you then.
>You walk away and return to your room.
>Why did you turn down her offer? She was visibly upset, but not at your declination…more about the fact that she’d have no one to make fun of the play with.
>You’ll see her later anyways.
>You turn on the television and watch some strange black and white pony movie.
>Now you realize why.
>You look beside the bed at the phone.
>Rarity might call again.
>It’d be better to give her a proper phone conversation this time.
>So you wait.
>And continue to wait into the night.
>No phone call. No fax. No deliveries.
>Just a bag of chips and a small bottle of whisky purchased from a nearby convenience store.
>There’s a bottle of wine, but you were saving that for when she would inevitably return to you.
>Strawberry wine; Rarity’s favorite. It’s sure to be a pleasant surprise for her return.
>You look at the clock. It’s nearly 11:00.
>Time really flew by. You look around the room. It’s really dark.
>After turning on a couple of lights you see a piece of paper on the floor in front of the door.
>Excitedly you grab it and unfold it.
>To your slight dismay, you see it’s from Minuette.
>”I’m back.”
>You toss the note aside and walk to the elevator and to her room.
>Standing outside her door you think to yourself.
>You know you can’t keep this going much longer.
>Soon your lives will return to normal.
>You knock.
>”Yeah?”
>You are silent for a few moments.
>”Hello?”
I am here.
>Minuette opens the door to see your blank face staring back at hers.
>”So you are. Come in.”
>Minuette has a towel wrapped around her mane. She retreats to the bathroom to remove it as you sit on the bed.
>She joins you in a moment as the two of you watch late night TV.
>Minuette stretches on the bed and plops her face onto the fluffy standardized hotel pillow.
>You barely give her a second glance.
So…how was it?
>She groans comically.
>”How good COULD it be? It was some strange art house musical about trout fishing and watermelons and sugar. Three hours, Anon…”
>She wraps around your arm and playfully bashes her head against the mattress.
>”THREE HOURS!”
>You can’t help but take a little joy in her pretend misery.
>You jokingly mock her.
Well gosh; I’m so sorry I had to miss it.
>She giggles and turns her clinging into an excuse to snuggle up to you.
>With your free arm you place it across your chest and stroke her mane.
>”Nah, it really wasn’t that bad.”
That’s good.
>She’s a little worn out, but not tired…neither of you are.
>David Trotterman is just ending.
>”Okay I’d like to thank our guests. Friday on the program Rarity will be here, you don’t wanna miss it. Have a good night ladies and gentlemen.”
>She decided to do the show anyways. It’s something to talk about tomorrow at least.
>Minuette stirs next to you.
>”So. What have you been doing?”
>You recollect the events of the past few hours, but nothing special comes to mind.
Uh…this.
>The two of your exchange smiles.
>She’s warm against you…you get the sense that she feels at peace with you just as you do with her.
>It’s a mutual feeling that need not be said out loud to be acknowledged.
>You flip the channels aimlessly for the next hour, stopping only to make fun of things with Minuette.
>It seems boring, but the two of you are having a good time being in each others’ company.
>After a while you stop watching television and opt to just stare directly above you.
>Minuette, still attached to you, does the same.
>The light audio from the TV provides a little backing track to feeling lonely, but nothing else.
>After Rarity’s call last night, there seems to be a strange distance between the two of you in the bed.
>Old feelings have returned at the worst time…or maybe the best; it’s hard to tell now.
>She breaks the silence.
>”I just don’t know what I’m supposed to be…you know?”
>Minuette rolls onto her back, but still within your embrace.
>”I hate what I write. It’s not something I want to do.”
Then stop it.
>She scoffs happily.
>”Yeah…”
You’ll figure that out. I’m not worried about you.
>You turn your head to meet the unicorn’s eyes.
>You give her a friendly smile to reassure her which she returns.
Keep writing.
>Minuette rolls onto her side, this time you follow her action.
>”But…I’m so mean.”
>Her sarcasm hasn’t been affected.
>You chuckle.
Mean’s okay.
>You look into her eyes, wanting to ask her for advice and answers with her larger depth of life experience.
>You wait a few moments before taking the plunge.
Does it get easier…?
>Minuette thinks for a moment about what you mean.
>Relationships.
>Regrettably blunt, she answers you.
>”That’s hard.”
>Her expected answer upsets you.
We used to have a lot of fun. I’d go with her when she was in the studio and we’d just laugh about it all and have a good time.
>The nostalgic memories of the past remind you that things seem a little too far-gone.
Now she doesn’t want to leave, she doesn’t…need me to be there. I mean, I miss her…but…I’m fine.
>Minuette looks concerned at your brightening eyes.
>You just sigh and wipe them before clearing your throat.
Where did you grow up?
>”Canterlot. I moved around a lot when I was younger, but there’s just some places that will never be like that. I met my fiancé in Los Pegasus and moved in with him there. It’s so different there…”
>You smile to her.
Yeah I know…not like here at all.
>”I like him, he’s a doctor. I know I’m too old to be thinking about a career change…sometimes I feel like it’s just too late for me.”
>A lot of times you feel like it’s too late for you, too.
>Instinctively, she presses her body into yours as you hold her.
>This is something that cannot be, and never will be again.
>The thought crosses both of your minds through the embrace.
>You whisper to her in the stillness of the room.
You’re not hopeless.
>You pet her mane and kiss the top of her head.
>The two of your fall asleep together in the small bed within Minuette’s room.
>Suddenly in the middle of the night, you wake up to find Minuette curled up next to you watching TV.
>”Sorry, did I wake you?”
>You look over at the clock.
>3:30.
No, it’s okay. I should probably get back to my room.
>”Okay.”
>Minuette walks you to the door.
>You open it and kneel down to her eye level.
Goodnight.
>”Goodnight.”
>You lean in and give her a small peck of her lips.
>It’s not a romantic kiss. More of a kiss that tells her “Thanks for being there. Thanks for listening to me. Thanks for being lost with me. Thanks for being my life raft.”
>After pulling back you look at her.
>A smile forms in the corner of her mouth on her insomnia-stricken face.
>She got the message.
>You close the door and return to your room.
>As you lay in bed you stare at the vacant area next to you.
>Tomorrow it won’t be empty. Tomorrow Rarity will be back.
>Maybe.
>You clutch her blanket in your arms and try to fall asleep to the memories of what once was.