A Very Fickle Romance | Teen Ink

A Very Fickle Romance

May 24, 2012
By JackieH PLATINUM, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
JackieH PLATINUM, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
36 articles 0 photos 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
Don't break character, you've got a lot of heart. ~ The Killers


When my sister-in-law smiled her sparkling white smile, her lips curling at the ends to reveal the pearls she called teeth, there was no way I could say no. It was simple. She wanted her and my brothers triumphant love story recorded and she though I was the woman for the job. Challenge accepted. It wasn't that difficult. My work was cut out for me, considering how often I tell their story. There may be some exadurations or innaccuracies but this is how I see their relationship. What do you expect, I'm that cliche teenage girl turning everything into a remarkable love story.

I figured I'd start from the beginning at Charlie's Pizza. I pictured my brother, the dark, brooding, handsome boy with the gauges go up to the wholesome, tanned, seventeen year old girl. Both of them thinking it was just a normal work day. Greg, my brother, would say,
"You look familiar, have we met before?" and Audrey, the wholesome young-lady, would bite her lip as her eyes lifted questioningly. She'd wonder if it was just his flirting tactic or if it was a serious question. Then she'd realize he DID have a certain quality she remembered but couldn't quite place.
"You know what, I think we HAVE met before! You don't, by any chance know a John Doe, do you?"
Greg's smile would widen as realization seeped in. They remembered. Fate had brought them back together again.
Then they'd make eyes at eachother from across the room until Greg made some corny joke that got Audrey to laugh her personal, light, yet throaty laugh and it would strike Greg as an invitation. So he'd lean in with his head to the side and Audrey's heart would feel like it did when her mom looked at her with the same endearing eyes. Audrey would go along with it. She'd kissed before but something about this was different. It had a hint of significance.

That night Greg would pull her up to the side of his dad's car and wait till he rolled the window down to introduce Audrey. He'd say 'friend' even though his mind yelled out to call her his girlfriend, he'd waited all month! Audrey peeked into the backseat and saw the most beautiful, amazing, hilarious, miracle of a human being sitting there in her care-bear pajamas with a worn out stuffed animal on her lap. Greg's five year old sister. Behold another unbreakable bond.

Greg and Audrey would have their ups and downs like every couple. Somehow they made it through and ended up in front of two families, slipping wedding bands onto eachothers fingers. Greg and Audrey moved into an apartment around the corner from Greg's family. Audrey still had contact with her mother and father as well as her three brothers. Greg had no problem coming home to laugh at his sister's Jonas Brothers posters or slide pizza sauce on his brothers face while his mother shouted 'WATCH THE FISH TANK!'

Then something happened between the two of them. Their smiles stopped reaching their eyes and the arguments made the happy times a little less happy. Something had layered over their eyes so they couldn't look through them into the people they once fell in love with. So Greg left and Audrey convinced herself she'd get through it. She'd find Ryan Gosling and he'd buy her all the AVON she wanted. While Greg gave up on trying to find that happiness chosing to embrace the sadness by joining the ARMY. Audrey would try to date other people but her mind would wonder back to Greg's scratched up calloused hands and his dark brown thick hair. Greg found himself yearning for the comfortable home he had with Audrey, deciding to propose to Brittany.

His family tried to support his relationship as much as they could. Smiling though he simply couldn't and telling his soon-to-be mother-in-law that the invitations looked swell. Audrey had gotten wind of his terrible mistake and simply wouldn't allow it. Just after Greg had admitted to his family that he didn't want to marry Brittany and they had gone through the awkward meeting of telling her parents that they had, in fact, wasted thousands of dollars on a wedding that wouldn't happened Audrey showed up at their doorstep in a bright blue beat up Camaro.

After catching up Greg and Audrey realized that whatever it was keeping them from connecting was gone, for good. Within days they were back in front of two families slipping wedding bands on eachother's fingers, again. Greg still had loose ends to tie up with the ARMY so Audrey followed him to El Paso where they argued about everything from their habits to the gender of their dog. Eventually, they got to move back home to Philadelphia where Greg got a job as a mechanic and Audrey got a job as a server at the local Olive Garden.

Today, you'll find Greg, Audrey and their son Bradley living around the corner from Greg's family (still), Greg cursing at the TV for not transmitting the Phillies game, Audrey cursing at Greg for using bad language around the baby and the two of them fixing all of their issues by quoting a few comedies. I'm sure there's tons ahead for the three of them, like perhaps brothers and sisters for Bradley (because that five year old little sister needs more nieces and nephews). There's one thing I'm sure of and that's that if Greg and Audrey can be seperated three times and reunited the same, there isn't going to be a fourth.



Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 1 comment.


on Jun. 28 2012 at 3:32 pm
AbigailElizabeth SILVER, Medina, Minnesota
8 articles 0 photos 79 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Scars are souvenirs you never lose" - Goo Goo Dolls

Love this! It is so real and well written! Great short story.