“Believe me,” a voice behind her said, “You don’t want to get that one.”
Kate turned to see a stranger sitting next to her. She didn’t remember ever seeing before; but he was leaning nonchalantly on the bar beside her, smiling casually as if they were old friends. The bar itself wasn’t incredibly crowded, and Kate was surprised to see someone else at the far end, away from the windows and TV screens. She frankly enjoyed the quiet, occasionally catching snitches about the upcoming London Olympics or the Warrior’s latest game from the small radio tucked between the row of bottles lining the back shelf. She looked the newcomer up and down. “Oh really? And why would that be?”
The man slid onto the stool next to hers. “Bigger commercial breweries will add organic compounds and minerals to their beer, claiming that they function as antioxidants or that they are all filtered out of the final product, but many of them don’t make good on their promises. Better to stick to the smaller home brews.” He waved the bartender over, and ordered two pints of a beer Kate had never heard of. “One for me and one for the lady.”
It had been a while since Kate had been bought a drink. The buyer was young, looking only a few years older than her own twenty-three, and presumably available. He was, she decided, rather nice looking, and was, of course, very friendly and willing to talk to her. The beer didn’t taste special to her. But what the heck. “So, where exactly did you hear about this?” she asked.
“A lot of companies like to make claims about their products, but really, even rudimentary chemical analysis can show you what things actually contain. For instance, did you know that a lot of nondairy creamers and milk-free cheese will actually have more than a trace amount of milk and milk proteins in them?” His eyes lit up behind his glasses as he went on, further describing the chemistry in food science.
Kate laughed. “Let me guess – you’re a chemist. Or a nutritionist, right?”
“No, but I studied it some in school… Oh, look at me go. I’ve completely forgotten my manners.” He stuck out his hand. “You’ll have to excuse me, I get a little carried away sometimes. I’m Darren.”
“Kate.” She shook his hand, still laughing a little to herself.
Later, as she walked to the subway station, Kate felt that, as far as evenings went, there were worse ways to spend an early spring night than talking with friendly stranger and walk away with a dinner date the following weekend.
The knock on the door sent her running, one silver earring dangling from her ear, the other still on her bedside table. “Hi, come in,” she said in a rush as she opened the door, “I’m running a bit late, give me a few minutes.”
Darren stepped in and shut the door behind him. “Don’t worry about it. I’m a few minutes early. Please don’t rush on my account.”
Kate looked around her cluttered hallway. The bench that stood next to the door was covered in the papers and books from work she had abandoned there yesterday evening, with her winter jacket still slung over the back, several weeks overdue from her closet. She drummed her nails against the wall briefly before leading Darren into the kitchen. “Let me find my keys and I’ll be ready to go. Make yourself comfortable.”
The kitchen was not significantly cleaner than the hallway, but Darren was able to find a chair to sit on without disturbing any of the piles of papers stacked around the room or knocking any of the bags clustered next to the table over. He felt something warm brush against his ankle, and started. “Oh! Hello, cat.” A small orange kitten was headbutting him.
Kate popped her head out from the room next door. “Yeah, my sister is out of town for a few weeks, so I said I could take care of Rupert while she’s gone. Don’t tell my super, though. I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to have cats, no matter how small. You’re not allergic, are you?”
“Not at all. I’m quite fond of cats.” Darren bent down, his large hand dwarfing the small kitten as he stroked the soft orange fur.
“Oh, good.” Kate came back into the kitchen. A pair of keys was dangling out of the pocket of a knee-length knit jacket, and she was wearing both earrings now. Her long black hair was pulled back, with only several loose tendrils hanging down to frame her oval face. She brushed an imaginary wrinkle out of the skirts of her dark pink dress and smoothed her jacket, the only outward signs of her inner feelings of excitement and nervousness, before smiling down at the cat and the man playing at her kitchen table. “I think he likes you.”
“A cat’s favor is a good thing to have.” Darren released the kitten and stood up. “The ancient Egyptians thought them to be gods, treating and worshiping them as such. I frankly think that cats are some of the smartest creatures on this Earth. Possibly even smarter than humans. It’s said that cats are able to form psychic connections, and that’s why witches kept them as their familiars.” He looked down at the small kitten now playing with his shoelace and then back up at Kate, and smiled
Kate laughed. “If you say so. I just wish that this guy would learn to stop making such a huge mess of his food when he ate. Maybe then he might be able to earn some worship around here.”
“Aaaah, but who can really look into the mind of a higher being? Perhaps he is trying to leave you a sign or an omen.” Darren was smiling even broader now, his green eyes laughing.
“With half eaten kitten chow? I’m afraid he’ll need a better prophet than me if he really wants his message spread.”
“That he might.” With that, Darren made a huge, elaborate bow in the direction of the kitten.
“And now, Master Rupert, I must beg leave, to escort your fine mistress to dine with me.” He turned back to Kate and made another, even more ridiculous bow before holding out his arm. “To dinner, my lady?”
Their relationship progressed smoothly. It had been quite some time since Kate had gone out with anyone she liked.
It was a clear, sunny day at the end of summer. The air was dry. They were sitting across a small mesh table in the shade of a bright red umbrella at a sidewalk café on a quiet street lined with boutiques, right off the street near Kate’s apartment. Kate loved basking in the sun, and was leaning backwards out of the shade, all the while teasing Darren about how pink he already was from sunburn.
“Really, Darr, why don’t you ever wear a hat if you burn so badly? Think of your poor skin!”
Darren stared at the table, tracing patterns slowly with the tip of his finger. A slight frown wrinkled his forehead.
“Darren? What’s wrong?” Kate asked. She put her hand on top of his, stilling his fingers.
Darren looked up at Kate, with eyes that seemed to be from a million miles away. “I’m sorry, it’s just…” He tugged at his blue plaid shirt, worn open over a white t shirt, and sighed. “I’m just thinking about the future, is all.” He picked up his sunglasses, began to put them on, then stopped.
Kate placed her other hand around his, cupping it slightly. “What’s up?”
“I’m,” he closed his eyes tightly, “I’m just worried about what’s coming next.”
“Darr…” Kate’s voice was soft with worry and attempted reassurance, “if you think we are moving too fast…”
He opened his eyes and shook his head slowly, blond hair flopping across his brow as he did. “No, it’s not that. I guess I’m just worried about what is going to happen, in general.” He started to speak, before breaking himself off and looking down. Several minutes of silence passed. Finally, he looked at Kate, eyes more focused and sharp than they had been before. “How much have you heard about the Mayan end of an era prophecy?”
Kate didn’t quite see where this had come from. “I’ve heard about it. The ancient Mayan calendar was said to end on December 20th, 2012, yes? And people think that that will bring about the apocalypse.” She spoke slowly, half out of remembrance and half out of confusion.
“Of a sort. People think that there will be an end of an era. Whether that means the world will end, or some kind of new world order will replace the current one, I don’t know. But if you stop and think about it, all the signs point to something changing, something big. The way the economy has been fluctuating, the uprisings in Europe… I can’t help but feel like the Mayans were on to something.”
Kate lifted her hand to touch Darren’s face, smoothing the lines that had been forming as he spoke. He was obviously distressed; for all that she thought he was overreacting. “So this is what you are worried about? That some huge catastrophe is just right around the corner?”
He looked at her silently before taking her hands in his. “If you put it that way, then yes.” The silence between them grew heavy and thick, Darren just looking at her, and Kate sitting there, growing more and more uneasy. Just as Kate was resolving to say something, anything, to clear the air between them, Darren spoke again. “Will you marry me?”
She sat forward in her chair, all thoughts of lounging in the sun gone and dropping both hands dully onto the table. Whatever she was about to say had completely fled her mind, and all she could feel was confusion. “Wh-what?”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. In it was a simple diamond ring. It sparked in the afternoon sun. Darren said softy, “I’m sorry, I always meant to do this in a more traditional manner. I hope you don’t mind.”
He was serious, that much was clear, Kate thought to herself as she tried to clear her mind. She lifted her head up to stare into his eyes. They were so green and so steady, just looking at her without saying a word. “Darren… I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, I would hope that ‘yes’ would be an obvious choice.” When she didn’t say anything, Darren scooped her hands again, and squeezed them gently. “Kate, just think about it. We’ve been happy together, haven’t we? Is it so much for me to ask to spend the rest of my time with you?”
She shook her head, more of an effort to bring in some sense than to disagree with what he said. The shock of his proposal blurred her thoughts. While, yes, they had been dating steadily since spring, and yes, their relationship had progressing quickly, but Kate had just written that off as new-relationship enthusiasm and compatibility between the two of them. She would have never imagined that they were close to engagement. “No, it’s not that. It’s… it’s just so sudden, so soon. We’ve been together for what? A few months? Half a year at the most? How do you know we won’t be making each other miserable in another half a year?”
“Kate. Will you think about it, please? For me?”
All the wind went out of her sails when she saw how earnestly he was looking at her. “Alright, I will.”
The next days and weeks passed in a blur for her. While she never wore the ring he gave her, she kept it with her, occasionally taking it out and looking at it for several moments before putting it away again. An unspoken tension had formed between the two of them. Kate tried to act as if life was moving on as normal, but Darren had lost his carefree and happy attitude, instead having taken to sitting silently, lost in his own thoughts. They were stuck in a rut, neither willing to clear their demons, but both wanting to move forward. Almost a month passed before Kate finally had enough.
“Darren.” At the sound of her voice, Darren looked up to see Kate standing in the door frame.
“We need to talk.” She was holding the small jeweler’s box, unconsciously flipping it over and over in her hands. When she say that she had his attention, she crossed the room and sat next to him on the couch
“I know that you would have liked an answer long before this, but I needed time to think.” With that, she broke off and looked down. It was several moments before she could speak again. “And I’ve been thinking about it a lot, really. And… and I’m sorry, Darren, but I can’t. I can’t marry you right now.” Without looking at him, she slowly put the small box in his hands.
“I see.” He gripped the box tightly. “I guess this is the end, then.”
At that, Kate looked up at him. “That doesn’t mean I don’t care for you, though. And I certainly like the idea of marriage, and look forward to it in the future. It’s just something that I think shouldn’t be taken lightly. But really, I’m only twenty-three. I’ve been out of school and living on my own for just over a year, at this point, and I’m just getting settled into my job. I’m, I’m even thinking of going back to school to get my MBA. I still don’t know where I’m going to be in one year, two, or even five.” She looked up at him, smiling shakily. “I know you believe that something is going to happen soon, but I just can’t risk what could be years of happiness. Not now. Maybe in a while, but marriage is just too much right now.”
“Shhh…” Darren lifted a hand and ran it over Kate’s black hair. “It’s okay. I’m just sorry this is the end.”
“Darren, it doesn’t have to be. I just can’t get married right now.”
At that, he sighed and stood up, beginning to pace in front of the couch. Kate watched him silently, unsure as to what was going to happen next. “I know you don’t feel like I do, Kate, but I know that something big is going to happen, in only a few months. Is it so wrong for me to have some happiness before then? That’s all that most people want from life, and, as you said, marriage is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. But if you don’t feel like you can get married now…” He paused and shrugged. “I guess I will just have to look for my one chance at happiness elsewhere.”
Out of everything that she was expecting, this certainly was not it. Kate blinked several times, before starting to speak, lips heavy and numb. “Are you seriously breaking up with me because I won’t marry you? Because I don’t think that the world is going to end in December? Darren, we may not be at engagement level, but I’d like to think that we’ve been pretty serious about each other. There are other things that we can do besides getting married if you think you want to take our relationship to the next level. I mean, you could move in here if you would like…” She broke herself off when she saw his expression. His face was stony and resolute, with no sign of accepting her suggestions. She blinked and started shaking her head. “No. No, no, no, you’re really breaking up with me because you think the world is going to end.”
He wouldn’t look at her. “That’s a rather harsh way of thinking about it.”
“I can’t believe it.” She felt frozen to the couch, unable to look anywhere but him. It was like watching a car crash – everything moved in slow motion, and she couldn’t help but stare at the horror that was unfolding before her. “Darren, did you ever care for me? Or was I just a convenient means to your end? A last ditch effort?” Her voice grew louder and higher as she grew angrier. “All I mean to you is just some way to fulfill a, a, a fantasy? Checking off some item on your bucket list?”
He slowly put the box in his pocket, and turned away from her. “Obviously, this is something that we will not be able to reconcile. I wish you the best of luck in the time you have, Kate.” Without looking back at her, he strode quickly out of the room, and left.
She sat at the kitchen table, cupping a mug of tea in her hands, alone. Despite her best efforts, her eyes kept flicking to the slowly moving clock. It was late – very late, in fact, almost midnight, on what was whispered to be the last night of all time. The cold and dark winter night was quiet and still. She sipped her tea and put it back down almost immediately, making a face and wondering if she should be drinking something stronger. There were bills and paperwork in front of her, and she had brought her favorite book out into the kitchen with her, but she somehow could not find the motivation to do anything but sit there. Idly, thoughts drifted through her mind – did she really make the right choice? What was he doing, at the moment? – but they never stayed long, quickly replaced by the sense of cold numbness that seemed to have filled her.
As the clock ticked onwards, she sat there, staring into her cup and occasionally shivering at the midwinter cold – not from the sense of foreboding that kept threatening to permeate her entire body, no. She did nothing but wait.
Only time would tell what would happen, anyway.
