|
|
Denial
A young couple sat in two chairs in the waiting area of the city hall's north wing. Hardly more than children, really, the two sat with downcast eyes. The boy brushed a strand of dark hair back from his forehead. It fell promptly back into place as he lifted his head and looked about the room. His brow was furrowed, his eyes troubled. The pretty girl sitting next to him stared down at her hands folded in her lap, and the papers underneath them. The boy now glanced over at her silently.
'That's a pretty dress . . . .' he thought suddenly. Then he frowned, shaking his head. 'You fool! Why am I thinking things like that . . . now of all times!'
The girl looked over at him. 'He looks so miserable . . . I wonder if, maybe . . .' she suddenly shook her head fiercely. 'No, no! We've been over this a hundred times! This is just the best thing!'
Just then, a young clerk walked into the room, holding a stack of paperwork with a coffee mug balanced on top. A pair of spectacles rested on her nose, and her hair was done up in a bun, although loose tendrils of hair fell across her neck. She looked up at the couple in surprise.
"Oh, sorry! Have you been waiting long?"
"No, not long." She stood, not looking at him. They both walked over as the clerk took her position behind the desk. The girl held up a document and slid it across the desk. Her eyes met his briefly, but she looked away again. "We're here to have our marriage annulled."
"Ooh, really?" The clerk looked up with a sad tone in her voice. "That's too bad." She sighed, taking the papers offered her. "This is the part of the job I don't like."
"Well, I don't mean to be rude, but it really isn't any of your business."
"Oh, yes, ma'am, I know that. Well, I should have everything you need done soon. When would you like to come back?"
"Um . . . I don't suppose you could do it now?"
"Right now?" The clerk looked surprised. "Well . . . if you insist. It'll be a few minutes." Since she didn't ask them to take a seat, they didn't and instead, stood waiting for her to finish the job. They didn't look at each other. The clerk opened a large file drawer and began searching through it. "Oh, this drawer is such a disaster. It always takes me ages to find anything in here!" She smiled apologetically. The couple nodded, silently. "By the way, I must say, that's a lovely dress you're wearing Mrs. . . uh . . . Saotome." She glanced down at the papers in her hand, then back up, smiling politely.
He looked at her dress again. Now she did too, unconsciously tugging on her skirt. "Oh, thank you," she said distractedly.
"Aah! Here's the file I need! Now I just need to enter some information on the computer." The clerk sat down and set the papers on the desk next to her keyboard. She typed in a few commands and then swivelled in her chair. "Now, you're Mr. and Mrs. Ranma Saotome?"
"Yes."
"Ages eighteen and eighteen?"
"Yes."
"You're still residing at this address and phone number?"
"Yes."
"How long have you been married?"
The couple looked at each other, a little uncomfortably. "A . . . a-about two months," she said finally.
"Oh, that's all?!" the clerk burst out before she could stop herself. She blushed then, putting a hand over her mouth. "Oh. . . I'm terribly sorry. Please excuse me. I'm new here and I haven't gotten used to doing my job without thinking about it. Oh, I'm so terribly sorry you couldn't work things out, though." She sighed again, going back to her typing, still talking. "I just hate to see two people once in love torn apart." She sighed. "Well, I'll have to go verify the authenticity of your marriage certificate when I'm finished here. Then I can give you your . . . sir?" The clerk blinked at him.
"Two people . . . in love . . ." he murmured, frowning. But she shook her head.
"No . . . it's not like that. It's hard to explain. But it's not like that."
"But what if it is?" She turned to stare at him. He looked back, his face full of pain. "Wait! Stop! I . . . I changed my mind! I don't want to do this!"
The clerk froze, hands in mid keystroke.
His wife gasped, turning her head to stare at him. "What are you doing? I thought we agreed to do it!"
"We did! But . . . I just can't! It isn't right. It's all true!"
"But -"
"You heard what she said! Two people who love each other should be together!"
"R-"
"No, don't." He took her hands tightly. "Please. You know that this is wrong. We're making a big mistake here."
Her eyes were beginning to fill with tears. "Why are you doing this? This is the only way!"
"No, it isn't! Listen to me!" He shook her slightly. "Two people who love each other so much can't be torn apart! We can try whatever we want, but you know as well as I do that it won't make any difference!"
"No. No that's not true. It can't be true."
"You know it is." Her head was bowed. The clerk, completely breathless and forgotten watched this drama unfold, afraid to make a sound.
Now she started to cry. He frowned. "Oh, don't do that. Please. I'm sorry about this. But you know as well as I do that it wouldn't make any difference. And it's wrong."
She took a deep breath and nodded slowly. He squeezed her shoulders before releasing her. She turned back to the clerk. "Um . . . I believe we've changed our minds. May we have our papers back?"
The clerk nodded wordlessly, handing them over the counter. She watched the couple go, open-mouthed. Eventually she shook herself and went about deleting the data she had just entered, a slow smile crossing her face.
Outside, the girl sighed. "I can't believe we went through all that just to back out at the last second."
"Are you angry?"
"Yes. But I guess you're right. We may not like it, but . . . well what choice do we have? This really wasn't a very good idea in the first place. I really doubt that we would have gotten away with anything."
He smiled at her, a little shyly. "Thank you for understanding, Ukyo."
Ukyo sighed, giving him a weak smile. "Well . . . thanks for keeping me from losing a friend, sugar."
Out of the shadows of the city hall building, another couple suddenly appeared. They watched the first couple disappear down the street, then started walking off in the other direction. He sighed, reaching for her hand. She gave it to him, lacing their fingers together and squeezing his hand, looking up into his face and smiling. He smiled back, tiredly.
"I'm so glad that's all over," she said. He sighed deeply.
"Yeah, me too." She shifted closer and laid her head against him.
"And you were worried," she teased.
"I was not! You know I never would have let them get away with it! Especially considering the phony marriage certificate we planted."
"That was a smart idea, even though we didn't need it."
"I just - - Augh! I can't believe they would actually try to impersonate us!"
"Well, I'm just glad they backed out. They would have been in trouble when they got caught." She tugged on his arm. He stopped, smiling as she pulled his arms around her waist. "Anyway, we're safe for today. And I don't think either Ukyo OR Ryoga will be giving us much trouble again, considering what I heard."
"I still oughta give him a good pounding."
"Then you'd have to pound Ukyo, too."
"Never mind, then." He looked down at her, lifting a hand to stroke her cheek. "Ah, everything always has to be so hard, doesn't it."
She closed her eyes, smiling sweetly as she covered his hand with her own. "Isn't it worth it?" She opened her eyes and looked up at him from underneath her eyelashes.
He blushed slightly. "Well, yeah . . . ." Not knowing what else to say, he merely bent his head and kissed her.
"Mmm . . ." She sighed as he pulled away. "Ranma . . . I love you."
"Yeah," he said again, still blushing. "I . . . I love you too, Akane. C'mon, let's go home."
The End