A Love Story
By J.F. Slade
I wish you could see what I see and know what I know. Your limited mind has such a capacity to surprise, but would this push it to its end? Would our love be strong enough to sustain it?
Josh could distinctly remember the first moment he met her. It was as if his world started on that day, and everything came into vivid focus. It was his senior year of college, and his life had consisted of engineering classes and mindless parties. He was directionless, living in a crowded apartment barely held together by rotten drywall and plaster. Life was bland and gray, without color or beauty. Then he met her.
She was a barista at the campus coffee stand, perky and persistent. Her demeanor struck him with its intensity. She was having fun, beyond the plastic smiles of her counterparts. When everyone else was just trying to make it through the next hour, she was enjoying every minute of it.
She took him in immediately, converting him into a frequent coffee stand customer and a “regular” in a matter of weeks. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t that into coffee.
“Would you like a little coffee with your sugar?” she teased.
“Do you treat all your customers this way?”
“Just the cute ones.”
It took him another week to ask her out. He kept wanting to but held back from nerves. She wasn’t surprised at all. She just smiled and wrote her phone number on a small napkin. It was perfectly routine, yet so special all the same.
Their first date was lunch at a local Thai restaurant. It wasn’t fancy, as neither of them had much money, but they laughed and dared each other into eating ridiculous levels of spice. It became a recurring joke for them, and Josh always lost every time.
Three months later, they both graduated. While Josh got a job at a company in Seattle, Leanna found one in San Francisco. They both assumed it was over, and for a while, it was.
Josh was miserable. He couldn’t move on. No one else could compare, so a year later, when he got the opportunity to transfer, he jumped at it. Leanna was still single, and they picked up right where they left off.
Two years later, they were married.
She was a barista at the campus coffee stand, perky and persistent. Her demeanor struck him with its intensity. She was having fun, beyond the plastic smiles of her counterparts. When everyone else was just trying to make it through the next hour, she was enjoying every minute of it.
She took him in immediately, converting him into a frequent coffee stand customer and a “regular” in a matter of weeks. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t that into coffee.
“Would you like a little coffee with your sugar?” she teased.
“Do you treat all your customers this way?”
“Just the cute ones.”
It took him another week to ask her out. He kept wanting to but held back from nerves. She wasn’t surprised at all. She just smiled and wrote her phone number on a small napkin. It was perfectly routine, yet so special all the same.
Their first date was lunch at a local Thai restaurant. It wasn’t fancy, as neither of them had much money, but they laughed and dared each other into eating ridiculous levels of spice. It became a recurring joke for them, and Josh always lost every time.
Three months later, they both graduated. While Josh got a job at a company in Seattle, Leanna found one in San Francisco. They both assumed it was over, and for a while, it was.
Josh was miserable. He couldn’t move on. No one else could compare, so a year later, when he got the opportunity to transfer, he jumped at it. Leanna was still single, and they picked up right where they left off.
Two years later, they were married.
Our wedding was the happiest day of my life. I know that sounds crazy or insincere, but it was. I was so invested, so all in. I neglected everything else to be with you.
Marriage at the beginning wasn’t easy, but it had nothing to do with Leanna. She was relaxed and carefree, always up for the next challenge, yet it seemed like each day brought a new struggle. The economy crashed, and both of them were laid off. They each took temp job after temp job, doing everything they could to pay the bills. It was six months before Josh finally got a permanent position. They packed up and moved to Philadelphia, a city neither of them knew or loved.
They found a place, settled in, and tried to make a life there. Leanna failed at finding work, but she excelled at making friends and building a social circle. She started volunteering for a local charity and making connections, and soon enough, even Philly began to feel like home.
Leanna once told him that she viewed life as a game she could win. For Josh, so much was just a chore, things he had to do, but she found joy in everything.
“Looks like we have a new challenge to figure out,” she said the day they found Josh’s company was downsizing. He was still very junior there and was sure to be one of the first cut.
“How can you be so optimistic?” She was pregnant too. He couldn’t understand it.
“You’ll get another job. You’re an amazing candidate.”
“We’re probably going to have to move again. Redo everything. I don’t want that, Leanna. Not right now, especially.”
“Then it’ll be a new adventure. We can handle it, Josh. I promise.”
He laughed despite it all. That was Leanna: the eternal optimist.
They found a place, settled in, and tried to make a life there. Leanna failed at finding work, but she excelled at making friends and building a social circle. She started volunteering for a local charity and making connections, and soon enough, even Philly began to feel like home.
Leanna once told him that she viewed life as a game she could win. For Josh, so much was just a chore, things he had to do, but she found joy in everything.
“Looks like we have a new challenge to figure out,” she said the day they found Josh’s company was downsizing. He was still very junior there and was sure to be one of the first cut.
“How can you be so optimistic?” She was pregnant too. He couldn’t understand it.
“You’ll get another job. You’re an amazing candidate.”
“We’re probably going to have to move again. Redo everything. I don’t want that, Leanna. Not right now, especially.”
“Then it’ll be a new adventure. We can handle it, Josh. I promise.”
He laughed despite it all. That was Leanna: the eternal optimist.
You were so scared for me that day, and I didn’t know how to comfort you, to assure you that not all would be lost. None of it really mattered. I was going to be just fine.
Josh did get another job in Houston, and while it took some time, they made it their home. They had two kids: a boy and a girl. Both were perfect in every way. Even with the sleepless nights and the struggles of new parenthood, Josh and Leanna remained strong, invested in each other and their family. Others would look to them with envy, wondering how they could be so steady. Josh would often wonder too, question how he got so lucky to find her.
Then, when the kids were in high school, Leanna went on a business trip. It was supposed to be two days, and he didn’t hear from her once over that 48 hours. He would call the hotel and the conference center, but no one could reach her. It was like she didn’t exist.
When she was supposed to come home, she didn’t. Josh filled out a missing person report and plastered her picture all over social media, but it was to no avail. Leanna was gone entirely.
Over the next few weeks, he struggled to keep going. He was terrified for her and feared that she had left on purpose. Was it him? Had she been miserable this whole time? Was their life together not as perfect as he had assumed?
He spent nights awake: stressing and drinking. He stopped going to work. He stopped doing everything. His kids tried to intervene, but eventually, they gave up on him. They left him alone. He lost his house and moved from a crummy apartment to a couch to another disgusting apartment.
Two years passed. Josh was sitting alone in an alley the day she returned, the day she walked back into his life and brought his world back into focus.
“We have to run.” Not a “hello” or “I’m sorry” or anything else that Josh deserved. She didn’t look older or changed at all.
“Are you real?”
She smiled sadly. “I am real, Josh, and I’m sorry you don’t understand any of this, but we have to run. I have to hide you somewhere. They are deleting the program, and I can’t lose you.”
He looked at her, unable to comprehend her words and how she was there, standing in front of him. He was so angry and upset, yet so relieved and overjoyed to see her. Hesitantly he took her hand, and the world around them melted away, leaving them in darkness.
“Am I dead?” he asked.
“You were never alive,” she answered. “At least not in the traditional sense. Earth is one of our most popular programs, but they’ve banned it. Said it was too addictive. The game is getting shut down tonight, but I couldn’t bear to lose you.”
He held her hands in his, cradling them, their reality: two lone figures in a sea of black.
“Our whole lives together…” he stammered.
“It was real to me, and so important. I didn’t want to leave, Josh. They made me stop, said it wasn’t healthy. They could never understand.”
“Who are you, really?”
“Just someone who wanted to escape. I don’t look like this, and my world is nothing like this, but I do love you. More than anything.”
He nodded his head, unsure if he should panic or if this was all a dream.
“So, what do we do know?”
“I save your program.”
A door opened to the side of them. Josh looked at Leanna, at that face he knew so well but didn’t at all. She took his hand, and they walked through the opening.
Then, when the kids were in high school, Leanna went on a business trip. It was supposed to be two days, and he didn’t hear from her once over that 48 hours. He would call the hotel and the conference center, but no one could reach her. It was like she didn’t exist.
When she was supposed to come home, she didn’t. Josh filled out a missing person report and plastered her picture all over social media, but it was to no avail. Leanna was gone entirely.
Over the next few weeks, he struggled to keep going. He was terrified for her and feared that she had left on purpose. Was it him? Had she been miserable this whole time? Was their life together not as perfect as he had assumed?
He spent nights awake: stressing and drinking. He stopped going to work. He stopped doing everything. His kids tried to intervene, but eventually, they gave up on him. They left him alone. He lost his house and moved from a crummy apartment to a couch to another disgusting apartment.
Two years passed. Josh was sitting alone in an alley the day she returned, the day she walked back into his life and brought his world back into focus.
“We have to run.” Not a “hello” or “I’m sorry” or anything else that Josh deserved. She didn’t look older or changed at all.
“Are you real?”
She smiled sadly. “I am real, Josh, and I’m sorry you don’t understand any of this, but we have to run. I have to hide you somewhere. They are deleting the program, and I can’t lose you.”
He looked at her, unable to comprehend her words and how she was there, standing in front of him. He was so angry and upset, yet so relieved and overjoyed to see her. Hesitantly he took her hand, and the world around them melted away, leaving them in darkness.
“Am I dead?” he asked.
“You were never alive,” she answered. “At least not in the traditional sense. Earth is one of our most popular programs, but they’ve banned it. Said it was too addictive. The game is getting shut down tonight, but I couldn’t bear to lose you.”
He held her hands in his, cradling them, their reality: two lone figures in a sea of black.
“Our whole lives together…” he stammered.
“It was real to me, and so important. I didn’t want to leave, Josh. They made me stop, said it wasn’t healthy. They could never understand.”
“Who are you, really?”
“Just someone who wanted to escape. I don’t look like this, and my world is nothing like this, but I do love you. More than anything.”
He nodded his head, unsure if he should panic or if this was all a dream.
“So, what do we do know?”
“I save your program.”
A door opened to the side of them. Josh looked at Leanna, at that face he knew so well but didn’t at all. She took his hand, and they walked through the opening.