Stopwatch

First, I will point out the obvious- that the "every two weeks" idea didn't really work out. I'm going to abandon the timeframe issue and use this more as a place to post short stories at whatever interval they come. I will continue the "selected word" theme though. I like that as inspiration.

That said, the word was "stopwatch" this time around and I think I took a weird turn with it, but this is what I came up with.

Stopwatch
by
Don Macavoy

My hand was stuck inside my jeans pocket trying to pull out my keys as I trotted up the stairs to my apartment. The jeans were way too tight anyway but Renee picked them out because she thinks they look good on me. This is the power girls have over me; I wear uncomfortable jeans with no pocket space (girls just don’t understand that guys need pocket space) just because she likes them.
I trip on the last step with my right hand still in my pocket. I was never very good at doing two things at once. Grabbing the wall with my free hand, I balanced myself and popped the keys out of their holding cell. I turned the corner and stopped in front of the white door with a “3” nailed next to a faded outline of a “5.” I wiggled the key in and slid the door open.
I dropped my tennis bag on the chair just inside the door as I instinctively head for the fridge. I open it up and grab a bottled water, perusing the meager contents for some leftovers or anything edible to snack on. As I cracked open the bottle I scanned the small one bedroom apartment for my girlfriend. The place seemed unusually empty.
I went into the bedroom, expecting to see her sleeping on top of the covers, the way she likes to nap in the middle of the day. She wasn’t there. Something else was wrong though. It’s a strange feeling when you know something is wrong but you can’t quite put your finger on it. I stood staring for what seemed like a while before it finally hit me that the lamp Renee got the week before at a yard sale (and insisted on putting on the night table even though there wasn’t room, leaving the alarm clock on the extreme edge, ready to fall) was gone.
I bit my lip and wrinkled my brow, tilting my head to the side like a confused dog. I wondered why she would have moved the lamp. I was only joking when I told her it was ugly. Okay, it was a horrible eyesore, but I really didn’t mind it being there.
It was then that I finally moved my head from the confused tilt and noticed that the closet was open. I looked inside and noticed that all of Renee’s clothes were gone. I started realizing that all kinds of things of hers were missing. I walked into the bathroom. No toothbrush or robe. I walked back to the living room and my eyes fell upon the void in the DVDs where her small collection once rested.
She’s gone. She was asleep when I left for work in the morning and eight hours later everything she owns has disappeared along with her. Everything seemed to be going fine. We went to a movie the night before and fell asleep after laughing about our first date a few years ago. It was a perfect night. So why did she go?
I went from confused to sad then to mad. How could she just leave while I’m at work and not even talk to me about it? After I dwelled on that thought for a while, I just got numb. I had a few beers that hit me pretty quickly because I hadn’t eaten since lunch and there was no food in the house. I sat on the couch watching a string of sitcom reruns until I passed out.
I woke up on the couch with a headache. There was a woman on television cleaning her ceiling with a mop. An infomercial. I turned it off and got up off the couch. The clock on the microwave told me it was just past two. I still had a few hours before I had to be up for work so I could get some real sleep in my bed. So I got some water that would hopefully help my headache and headed to the bedroom.
The bed was made because Renee made it every morning. I never understood making a bed that you would just be getting into later anyway. But I took in the sight for a moment since this was likely the last time I’d see it this way for quite a while.
I pulled back the covers on my side out of habit, laughing at myself that I still felt like I needed to stay to one side of the bed. I decided to stretch out to her side just because I could. I pulled down the cover and heard something hit the bed. I felt around and picked up something cold and metallic with a chain attached. I went to turn on the light and realized it wasn’t there anymore, so I got up and flipped the switch for the overhead fan light.
When I saw what I was holding I sat down at the end of the bed, stunned. It was a silver pocket watch that I had given Renee for our first anniversary. She always carried it with her but now she had taken everything that belonged to her except this one thing that I always thought meant so much.

I bought the pocket watch a month and a half before our anniversary when I saw it at a jewelry shop in the city. It was partly a joke but partly because of something she had told me. She was very close with her grandfather when she was young. She spent most of her childhood with him, taking walks and learning the constellations. He even taught her to tell time with the pocket watch he always carried with him.
When he died, Renee was very upset and wanted to keep the watch so he could always be with her in some way. Her father insisted that the watch be buried with him because that’s what he would have wanted. Renee knew that her grandfather would have wanted the watch to stay with her, but it was no use arguing.
I went looking for a gift for her since I had gotten my first paycheck as Assistant Manager at the supermarket. I had recently dropped out of college to make more money for rent. Ironic right? Renee and I wanted to move in together and I needed the extra cash right then, not a few years down the road when I would graduate. I was in the market for a necklace or a ring when I stumbled upon the watch. I remembered the story she told me and thought she might like it, even though it wouldn’t be the same. She was also always late for everything so I figured I could joke with her about her needing something to keep her on time. I always like going for meaning over a big price tag anyway.
A little over a month later, I presented her with the watch at dinner. She loved it. She cried a little and hugged me for a long time. After that she kept it in her pocket all the time, clipped to her belt loop just like her grandfather always did. She laughed at my joke about her always being late and actually started to show up on time from then on, smiling wide and holding up the watch.
Since I started dating Renee, she had been late to almost every date we had. I had adjusted my schedule to account for her lateness, so if we were supposed to meet at seven, I would be there by seven-thirty just in time to see her arrive. It was hard to get used to the change when she started showing up on time.
Whenever I would show up she would say “You’re 4 and half minutes late, mister!” Each time she would tell me the exact amount of time I was late. I started calling her “Stopwatch.” She thought it was great so she started timing things just to screw with me. It was funny most of the time except the one time she timed us during sex. I digress.

I sat on the edge of the bed, turning the watch around in my hand for hours. I thought about all the times she pulled it out happily when someone asked what time it was and how many times she gave me hell for being late. She did it in a hilariously cute way though. I started wondering again how she could have gone without saying anything at all.
Suddenly, I noticed it wasn’t so hard to see things across the room anymore. The sun was coming up. I knew that meant that I would have to go to work very shortly. I popped open the watch to see what time it was. I thought my eyes were still adjusting to the light, but even after I rubbed them the hands still weren’t moving. I couldn’t believe Renee let the batteries die. She was always on top of that and had extras in her purse in case it happened while we were out.
I knew I wouldn’t be getting any sleep and decided I would go out to get some breakfast since I was up early enough. First I wanted to fix the watch though. I went to the kitchen and got the little screwdriver from the drawer. I pried the silver textured back off of the watch and dropped the screwdriver back in the drawer. I went to pull out the battery and saw a small piece of paper in the battery slot.
I pulled the paper out and unfolded it. It was Renee’s handwriting. It said:

I’m sorry I had to go, but I did it for you. The past three years have been amazing and I love you, which is why I can’t be the reason you don’t succeed. For a long time I let myself believe it was okay that you dropped out of school for me, so we could have more money and live together. But since then I’ve seen you stay the same and not strive for better. You were content in just being together. While that is romantic in a somewhat outdated sense, you have so much potential that I can’t be the reason you never use it. I will always love you. Keep this watch with you always like I did and remember, time is the worst thing you can waste and best thing you can never get back.

-R

I guess I really never was good at doing two things at once. Before I went to work that day, instead of breakfast, I went to the community college and signed up for three courses that started the next month.
It’s been a little over a year since that day and I just graduated with my Associate’s degree. I’m going to continue on to get my B.A. but this is a good start. Over time I came to realize that Renee leaving me was the best thing she could have done for me. I still miss her but I can never thank her enough for being that selfless.
According to my watch, I’m going to be right on time for my new job.