Rhythm of Love

[Monologue #1]

Sometimes good things happens to bad people. Sometimes bad things happens to good people. For some reason the bad things always occured to me. Was I the bad person that I have been running away from for so long? I have yet to find out who I really am.

"Rydell," She sniffles quietly. "Your dad, he's in the hospital he's been diagnosed with lung cancer." I heard my mother say. The silent sobs rung through the phone. My grip tensed to the telephone before letting it drop. My world was spinning. It was all too much to take in all at once. A curve ball thrown at me, this is what it felt like.

My father, my best friend; was sick. I knew going to California was a terrible idea. I should have just stayed back in Kelowna. Sometimes I was just so foolish.

I had my headphones in. I stared out into the distance. Kelowna in May was gorgeous. I regretted not coming back as often as before. I noticed a couple more houses added around the area. Some were of more rich and fancy descent. This whole place has changed. It used to be so country like, now it was full of rich people.

The old familiar house where I had grown up was where the cab was stationed in front of. The outskirts of upper Kelowna is where my family had resided. Never once have we thought about leaving. This was where my life was, down in the Okanagan Valley.

"Do you need help with your luggage?" The man who was driving asked. I just nodded no and handed him the money I owed. I barely said a word to him since hailing him.

Grabbing my bags and walking towards the house was different. A very good different. It was not like hectic New York City. The way the trees surrounded the house so mercilessly. Fresh green grass beamed off of the ground. The pick up truck was in the drive way, along with my mother's car. My old ATV's were off on the side, unused.

As soon as I got to the porch I hesitated before opening the door. My hand was about to turn the nob, before retreating. After creating the couradge to turn the nob; I walked in to find my mother embracing me in a tight hug. She looked so beaten down and saddened. Why wouldn't she be? I felt the same way. To hear one of my main supporters sound so sad over the phone was killing me inside. It was killing all of us inside.

"I missed you." She said into the crook of my neck. She was a small, petite woman. Her grey mixed brown hair was ruffled around, coming down to her chest.

"I've missed you too, mom." I said, very content.

"You're dad-- we can visit him tomorrow the doctors said. He's doing a lot of sleeping right now." She explained as she grabbed my bags. I was looking around the house. It looked the same, but felt yet so different.

I followed her up the stairs. The stairs no longer creaked. My dad must have went through with his renovations. "And what about Jesse? When should he be back?" I asked. It's been so long since seeing Jesse. We had abandoned our parents to try and achieve our goals. I was guilty, but Jesse, no he wasn't guilty. He couldn't wait to leave this place. He disliked it. He had grown up here, but I always believed that he was made out to be apart of the city folk.

Walking down the old hallways full of paintings bought from auctions and photos taken from trips was astonishing, realizing how long it's been. There were four different rooms branching off. The nice wood floors look newly stained. The walls were painted a different color brown. Dad must have been busily at work when getting the news.

"Jesse said that he will be flying in from Chicago this evening around 7PM." We reached my old room. Nothing was really different. It still had my same pictures, bedding and furniture. The purple colored sheets matched the curtains hanging down by the window. The window's view was nothing spectacular. It faced towards the neighbors house, which was hidden beneath the pine trees. The house was fairly visible. It wasn't much of a classic cabin house. It was very fancy and had a lot of richness to it.

"Who's living next door now?" I asked looking back at my mother who stood in my doorway.

She pursed her lips. "This boy, he's maybe twenty-five." She paused. "--Oh! his name is Carey. He comes here in the summer's only. Has his friends, sometimes family around. Very sweet, boy." She said happily. "You know Zeus is actually in the back yard and he misses you. Come on go out and walk him. It'll get your mind off of things!" She happily encouraged. It has been a while since seeing my longtime Rottweiler.

"Yeah, I think I'll do that. I'm going to be down by the trails!" I hollered as I was off on my way. I needed to get away, just for a little bit.

Racing downstairs and through the house was always fun as a kid, so why not do it now? I went in the back and seen Zeus flip out over me. I grinned and decided to open the gate. He wasn't much of a leash-user. He was a very well trained dog, for the most part. By well trained I mean he didn't run away, often.

"Hey buddy, how have you been?" I cooed talking like a baby. Zeus wagged his tail from left to right and soon found his way to jumping up on me.

I pushed him down to go grab the leash that was hanging off the house. I held onto the leash as I opened the gate to let Zeus run free. He ran a little farther ahead. I trusted him enough to just let him go.

Stepping foot onto the drive way was just like old times. Getting out onto the road where the hot Kelowna rays would beam down on your skin and tan you tremendously was refreshing. Taking a deep breath before heading down the road. It was an old road, but recently they paved it. It must have been because all of the new residents. I would always miss the dirt road.

I let Zeus do his own thing and lead the way. He was playing curious. On the roads Zeus was sniffing the trees and going into the ditches. I just smiled happily. I decided to think about my life; my father.

Zeus was right beside me. "Hey bud, do you think dad is going to be alright?" I asked him, knowing I wouldn't be getting an answer any time soon. I just let out a sigh before seeing a Labrador run by the both of us. Knowing Zeus he ran and followed the dog. Then a man with black hair came sprinting by after the Labrador and Zeus. "Sorry, don't mind my dog!" He yelled. I had to run after all of them. Zeus why did you have to follow? I mentally groaned.

I was running on the cement roads. The scalding sun was shining down. The trees didn't seem to provide much shade.

Soon enough I caught up to my dog, his dog and himself. He was bent over, panting. He was putting his dog on a leash. Zeus was panting as well, but just standing there now that his little buddy was caught.

"I'm sorry. I'm going to assume that that's your Rottweiler." He pointed to Zeus who trotted around proudly.

I held back a laugh. "Yeah, he is. It's perfectly fine. I remember first getting my dog, it was such a pain in the ass." I said and he chuckled.

The man who had been talking to me was quite tall. He had nice black hair that was sticking out of his baseball cap. His skin was a little tan. He was wearing a black basketball mesh shorts and a white Nike shirt. He seemed to be ready to go off for a jog. Jogging was always fun to do here in the summers when I was in highschool.

"I'm Carey." He said holding out a hand. Standing on the side of the dead road was nice. It was quiet, except for the fact that my dog was sitting next to me. I decided that I should put Zeus on a leash, just in case.

I shook it. "Rydell. Are you from around here?" I asked.

He smiled. "I come during the summers or mid spring sometimes. It really just depends.. I'm in Montreal mostly throughout the year." He explained as we were now walking along the road together with our dogs. The two dogs took the lead and we just kept looking over at each other, sharing a conversation.

I nodded. "You're the one my mother was telling me about. I'm your neighbor's daughter." I decided to tell him a little more about myself.

He looked over at me. "Yeah, I met your mom a couple of times, briefly."

There was silence between us for a little while. "So Carey, are you a dog person?" I asked interested in his choice of picking a dog as a companion. It didn't seem that his Lab was a very obdient dog, or he just didn't have that much will.

He laughed. "It was an experiment!"

"Not a great one." I happily joked. Why do I always pretend? Looking over at him I noticed his tattoo he had on the back of his hand. I couldn't really make out what it said, but it was lettering.

He shrugged. "It was my girlfriends decision. She thought a dog would be good for us." A girlfriend, how could I not have expected him to say that. He was handsome and friendly. I was all right, but I had problems. I was living in a state of depression. I was alone, especially in a time like this.

"So what do you do for a living?" I asked a little intrigued by the guy.

"I'm a hockey player." He casually said I just looked at him. My eyes were squinting a little due to the sun shining in my face. The sun looked beautiful coming off his face. He had perfect skin that a ton of people strived for; I being one of those people.

"A hockey player..." I said trailing off. "I'm not necessarily sure what to say to that." Should I even believe him? I mean guys do tend to lie to get girls sometimes. Never did I really experience it myself though.

"Yeah, and you-- what do you do for a living?" He asked.

"I'm doing nothing. I'm trying to find work as a musician or dancer. It's been alright for now." I told him as we ended up at the junction. Growing up we would call it the Main Road, but when we grew up it was then the junction. You could go to the way towards the ice cream parlor, gas station, local bar, the beach area, or keep walking to more residential areas. It didn't seem like much to do here, but there was an underground world that came to life at night. Ocassionally on the weekends too, as a kid.

"That's awesome." He spoke as he came to a stop. "Well this is me. I was going for some ice cream." He explained. A truck passed by in front of us.

"Alright. It was nice talking to you, Carey. Maybe I'll see you around again sometime." I smiled at him and he waved as his dog led him off into another direction. I looked at him struggling to teach his dog some manners. I smiled to myself before taking Zeus down to the beach.

Notes