And I never finished it...and don't plan to. So, make up your own ending I guess. I know what happens and I'll just say it's happy.
�Yeah Rachel, we already went over this.�
�Sorry, Ben, I guess sometimes I get forgetful. I�m gonna go. I need to get ready.�
�Bye.� Click.
Ben had seemed completely crabby on the phone. Maybe it was just because I was on the edge of a breakdown. It�s not easy planning to break up with your boyfriend of over a year. But with senior year closing up, and a new life awaiting me at college, I felt like it was necessary. We had grown apart, like many high school sweethearts do, and it was time for us both to move on.
The phone rang as I started walking to the kitchen. I hoped it wasn�t Ben.
�Hello?�
�Hey, Rach. It�s Naomi.� Naomi, my best friend in the entire world, had no idea what I planned to do later that evening. �What are you doing tonight? Do you want to go see a movie?�
�Well, I�d really love to, but Ben and I are going on a date.� I emphasized the word date, feeling weird calling it that.
�Oh, where to?�
�Just out to eat or something. Nothing big.� I paused for a second and took a deep breath. �Nay, can I tell you something important?�
�Of course, Rach. What�s wrong?�
�I�m going to break up with Ben tonight.�
No reply.
�Naomi?�
Still no reply.
�Naomi, come on. Please say something.�
�Oh my goodness, Rachel, I just thought you said you were going to break up with Ben. I must�ve misunderstood. What did you really say?�
�I did say I�m going to break up with Ben.�
�What?! Are you crazy? Why?� That�s the response I was expecting. Naomi was always dramatic about everything.
�We�re growing apart, Nay. There�s just not that same spark between us that was there a year ago. Even a month ago. I know it�s going to hurt, both him and me, but it�s for the better. In the long run, we�ll both be happier.�
�How long have you been planning this?�
�A week or two, I guess.�
�I can�t believe you didn�t say anything to me.�
�I didn�t want anything to spread. Nay, don�t tell anyone. Not even after we�ve broken up. I don�t want this to be one of those silly high school gossip things.�
�I�ll keep it to myself. Good luck tonight, even though I don�t fully understand. Call me later if you want to.�
�Sure, Nay. Bye.�
Six �o� clock sharp Ben pulled his truck into my driveway. We sat at the restaurant in near silence. After the waitress took our order, I wondered when I should break my news. After we eat, before we eat, in the car on the ride home. I even began to lose my nerve thinking well he is really nice and we�ve known each other since we were two. It only makes sense. But I reminded myself that we were growing apart no matter how nice he was.
We talked a little before our food came about school and Ben�s upcoming baseball games. I promised to be at them all, thinking to myself don�t make promises you can�t keep.
Finally our food came, and for the first time ever, Ben and I ate in complete silence. I wondered if he knew what I was planning to do. Why else would he have seemed just as nervous as I felt? About halfway through dinner, I realized that PROM was only two weeks away and Ben hadn�t mentioned it once. Junior year he has asked me in February. That�s when I figured out his quietness. His thoughts were focused on the same thing mine were: breaking up.
When I finished eating I excused myself to the bathroom and cried in the stall. I didn�t want to keep Ben waiting so I went back to the table still red and puffy faced.
�Hey, Rach, what�s wrong? Are you okay?� His face immediately showed concern.
�Yeah, I�m fine.� Ben raised his eyebrows. �Well, I guess I�m not fine. I don�t know how to say this, Ben, but the reason I came out tonight was to break up with you.�
His eyes grew wide as he stared into my own eye, then he averted his gaze and mumbled �Me too.�
�I know.�
He looked back up at me, sadness filling his eyes. �Was I that obvious? I�m sorry if I hurt you, Rach.�
�You weren�t obvious, I just figured it out. And you didn�t hurt me as much as I hurt myself. I�m sorry if I hurt you, Ben.�
He nodded. �I understand. But, we�ll be okay. It�s for the better, right?�
It was as if he needed reassurance, but I couldn�t even reassure myself at that moment. �If it�s for the better, why does it feel so wrong?�
He didn�t answer.
On the way home, we talked the whole time. I think at first we were just trying to make sure we each knew that we were fine, but it ended up being a very heartfelt conversation. We sat in my driveway and talked for over an hour. We talked about everything. Memories, future plans, worries, concerns. If anyone saw or heard us they wouldn�t have believed we�d just broken up. Heck, I had trouble believing it myself. When he left, we agreed to stay friends, the way we had been our entire lives until we �hooked up.�