Free Ashleigh's Dilemma by J. D. Reid

during the movie, or even after?”
    “Any time is good.”
    “Now?”
    “Now is good.”
    “During the movie, then?”
    “Sure.”
    She moved to get the food out of the warming oven.
    “Okay, you sit and I'll bring all this out.”
    “No, I'll help; let me help.”
    She gave him a stern look and he took the hint.
     
    She had finally called and said, “I'm sorry.” She hadn't even said her name, or why she was calling; all she had said was, “I'm sorry,” but he had known who was calling and what it was about right away. He didn't hesitate and said before she could get another word in, “For God’s sake, I was falling in love with you, Ashleigh!” Everything she thought she might have said dropped out of her mind then; she couldn't think of anything to say, he shocked her so. She remembered closing her eyes and gripping the receiver until she thought her fingers might break. “Do you still feel that way?” she’d finally asked. “Yes… I often wish it was not true, but yes.” He finally broke the following silence during which she had to find a chair and sit by adding, “It’s a mystery; I have no idea why and we shouldn’t ask why.” She had silently laughed as she wiped away the sudden welling of tears that threatened to spill over. Her heart soared and ached at the same time. She felt joy as well as fear and didn't know why, or how, she could feel both at the same time. Okay… she reasoned at the time; no one had said that to her before; definitely a first; and if it didn't work out she'd just tell him to go, and that would be that. It would be simple. No heartache. 
     
    Patrick set his unfinished beer aside and stood beside her, accepting the trays from the oven and setting them on the counter and prying back the tops to expose the food. Their hands touched and fell away. Their shoulders grazed past one another and then returned. Ashleigh glanced at him and smiled – she couldn't help her smile and immediately tried to remove it from her face by shrugging, canting her head, lifting her shoulders and letting them fall in a shrug of indifference. Patrick touched the small of her back, gently and unnecessarily steadying her as she leaned out over the counter. Standing close to him again, he let his hand fall away. She didn't mind it so much now.
    They sat side by side on the couch, their plates filled and the television off. They began to eat talking with their mouths full. “This good!” Ashleigh managed with a drop of Moo-Goo Gai Pan trickling down her chin but then quickly caught up with a napkin. Patrick nodded enthusiastically and motioned toward the television that stared back at them. “Oh! Yes!” Ashleigh set her plate aside and reached for the controller. She carefully aimed it, pressed a button - and when nothing happened, carefully studied it with a puzzled frown as if this was the first time she’d seen it; “Got it now...” and she carefully re-aimed it and pressed. The television snapped to life and the screen filled with color and the room with sound.
    “It's a French -Canadian movie. I got it because you're Canadian. You should understand it without translation.”
    Patrick carefully swallowed. “I was raised in Rhodesia. I lived on the West Coast of Canada. I can't speak a word of French,” and then realized Ashleigh had been teasing him. It was a first. His smile widened; “I hope you can translate,” he said.
    “There are subtitles.”
    He laughed.
    The movie told the story of a woman struggling to interact with her family, primarily her sister, after spending a number of years in prison. The antagonist, Juliette, had been confined for so long she felt dehumanized and found it difficult to relate to others.
    As the credits rolled up they found Ashleigh and Patrick close together, holding hands, their bodies touching, shoulder to hip, and along the length of the legs that were stretched out off the edge of the couch. In the early moments of the movie, Patrick had