The Islandress

4: The Ex

Theodore and Alison walked side by side as they tried to figure out what else they could do aside from having dinner. They both know it’s not really necessary since dinner was the only thing that’s part of the deal. But over their shared meal, it became like an unspoken deal that they would spend time together a bit more—which is not a problem since they both actually enjoyed the time they spent together.

But right now that the moment’s here, Theodore is starting to regret it. Maybe he just got carried away by the moment or maybe Alison just managed to sway him enough to make him want to stay—even when there’s really no reason to.

Still, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s feeling kind of uncomfortable at the moment, not knowing what he should even be doing next. Out of all the dates his mother set him up with, this is the first one that resulted into what it is now. Usually, it would have ended right after dinner, even if the opposite party clearly still wanted to spend some time with him.

Truth be told, Theodore isn’t really all that opposed to that certain idea. The only thing he doesn’t want to deal with is trying to think of things they could do or places they could go to as the night continually drags on.

And right now, that feeling isn’t any different—well, maybe just a little bit.

“Theo?” Alison called out.

“Yeah?” Theodore replied, turning his head to look at her when he felt her stare on the side of her face.

“I’m really glad you agreed to come on this date.” She said. “It’s nice.”

Theodore didn’t know what to say to that but he still managed to give her a smile, which he was sure looked pretty strained. “It is nice.” He finally managed to croak out.

“Was it weird?” Alison asked, slight worry lacing in her tone of voice. “For me to say that?”

“What?” Theodore responded almost immediately. “No! Not at all. I’m just not used to hearing that.”

Alison chuckled. “You don’t go to dates much, do you?”

With a shake of his head, Theodore looked ahead, his eyes scanning the bright lights and the bustling streets. “Dates…” He sighed. “I don’t have time for that.”

“Because of how busy you are?” She questioned. 

“Well, I guess that could be the main factor.” Theodore replied, not quite knowing if telling her that he doesn’t like dates that much as well would be a wise move for him to do. “The hospital just takes up most of my time, especially with the number of patients growing every year.”

“Yeah, I get that. That must really suck.”

Theodore laughed. She’s not exactly wrong when she said that, but he thinks it’s better that way—him not going on dates too often. He still wouldn’t be able to commit to it anyway, no matter how hard he tries. It would probably only start off great at first but as time passes by, he’s sure that he would only end up neglecting his date—much less leave them only a few minutes after meeting each other because he got a call from the hospital.

Quite frankly, that was what happened during most of his dates. His date would always say that they understood and such, and that they should just reschedule, but that never happens. He isn’t really all that bothered by that as well, since he knows that the end result would more or less still be the same. Not to mention that this time around, they would only end up begging him not to go, or at least extend the time he spends with them.

Seriously, how in the world could he do that when there are people needing his assistance? Not to mention that some of those patients are in critical condition?

No, that was just too bothersome. Dealing with all that and his work would be too much. Besides, he’s perfectly happy with how things are.

“Sometimes.” Theodore admitted. “But it’s still nice. I get to have a lot of time for myself.”

Silence enveloped them then. He doesn’t know what to say and by the looks of it, neither did she. That’s perfectly fine with him if he’s being honest, because it gives him time to think about today’s happenings just a little bit more.

Both lost in their train of thoughts, they didn’t notice it when a guy was right in front of them as they continued their night stroll. As a result, Alison ended up bumping on the guy.

“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!” Theodore heard Alison say. He looked at his side and saw Alison just staring at the guy with this bewildered look in her face. As Theodore kept his stare on her, he started to wonder what’s going on inside Alison’s head.

It went on like that for several seconds. Until finally, the guy said, “Alison?”

Ah, so they do know each other, Theodore thought. He took this as a chance to look at the guy. Cropped cut chestnut hair, striking green eyes that could rival the greens in a lushy forest, chiseled jaw and a slightly crooked nose. 

Yeah, he's definitely the type of guy that Alison would either date or befriend. Theodore thinks it’s the former.

“Brent!” A strained smile made its way onto Alison’s lips--a smile that Theodore was quick to take note of. If he wanted his date to have a great time, he should start thinking of ways on how to save her should the situation calls for it. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I didn’t expect to see you here too.” Came Brent’s response.

“Um,” Alison turned to look at Theodore. If the silent plea in her eyes isn’t enough to make him think that his suspicion is correct, then the way her body is moving so stiffly definitely is. Right now, he’s just glad that he made the right judgment about starting to think of ways on how they could escape this inevitable meeting. “Brent, this is Theo. Theo, this is Brent.”

Theodore gave Brent a smile and accepted Brent’s hand for a handshake. “Nice to meet you.” Theodore said.

“Nice to meet you too.” As soon as both guys let go of each other’s hands, Brent added, “So, are you guys here on a date?”

A fleeting glance at Alison’s way and Theodore knew that she is currently still processing the whole happening and is having a hard time wrapping her head around it. So with that observation in mind, he racked his brain for all of the multiple approaches he was able to conjure and picked one among them as he replied, “Yeah, we are. We just finished dinner, actually.”

“Ah, that’s good.” Brent replied, a friendly smile plastered on his lips. “I’m assuming this is the first?”

“It is.” Theodore said, returning the same kind of smile that Brent offered, albeit just a bit more stiff than what he’s used to.

Theodore saw understanding pass through Brent’s eyes. “No wonder Ali seems to be nervous.” Brent chuckled. “Just make her feel comfortable and she’ll be fine.”

Theodore doubted that’s the reason why the confident and composed Alison he had dinner with not too long ago seemed to have vanished. She was fine when they were just walking and talking as they continued with their date. She just started acting like this when they bumped into the guy standing in front of them.

“Yeah, I’m working on it.” Theodore chuckled. Sending another fleeting glance at Alison and seeing how greatly uncomfortable she is about the whole situation they found themselves wrapped up in, he added, “Well we better get going. There’s still somewhere I want to take her before the night ends.”

“Oh, of course!” Brent’s smile never wavered from his face. “Sure, no problem at all. I’m sorry I took so much of your time.”

“No, it’s alright. The night is still young; we can make up for it during the last few hours we’ve got together” Theodore responded.

Brent chuckled before he turned his attention to Alison. “You’ve got yourself a nice guy here, Ali.”

At that, Alison seemed to have finally gotten a hold of herself. She finally looked at him fully, eyes no longer glassed over like it did a moment ago. “I know. He’s quite the companion.”

“Well, I’m just glad you’re having fun.” He replied. “It was really nice to meet you again, Ali.” 

Giving him a smile, she said, “Same here. It’s been too long.”

“I know what you mean.” Brent responded with a tone that was enough for Theodore to conclude that whatever past they shared together, it definitely wasn’t a pretty one. “I’ll be in the city for a couple of days. We could catch up, if you want?”

It didn’t pass Theodore’s attention how Brent’s words are laced with a tinge of hopefulness. Whether the woman he’s with right now took notice of that as well, he has no idea. At the moment, he isn’t even quite sure if her noticing that would have a good impact on her or not, but he’s quite slightly positive that it leans a bit closer to the latter.

“Yeah, sure.” Alison said, a tight smile still on her lips. “I still have the same number so you can just reach me through that.”

Brent nodded his head. “Cool.” He said. “Well, I’ll let the both of you get on then. See you around, Ali.”

“See you around.” Alison replied as she gave him a small wave.

After Brent was already a few steps away from the two of them, Alison breathed out heavily. Theodore merely looked at her with mirth, but he still couldn’t quite help the slight concern that he felt towards her.

“You okay?” Theodore asked.

Alison turned to look at him and gave him an apologetic smile. “Yeah. I’m sorry about that. I wasn’t really expecting to see him here.”

“It’s alright.” Theodore chuckled as he crossed his arms, legs moving once again so they could continue their stroll to nowhere in particular. “An ex-boyfriend, I presume?”

Alison followed his actions as she bit her lip, face grimacing slightly. She let her eyes settle on the guy alongside her. “Was it that obvious?”

“Well judging by the way you acted, it was pretty obvious.” They shared a laugh at that. “You should have really said something. I can sense that you were uncomfortable the entire time.”

With a shrug, Alison removed her gaze from him and settled it in front of her instead as she said, “Yeah, well, it was kind of unexpected.”

Immediately after that, Theodore didn’t even need to ask what she’s feeling at the moment. He recognizes that far away look on Alison’s face almost immediately With a small chuckle, he offered, “Do you want to talk about it over a cup of coffee?”

Alison stared at him for the longest time before a smile finally appeared on her lips. “Yeah sure.”

— • — • —

After ordering their own choices of coffee, the two companions enjoying each other’s presence sat down on an available space near the window. As the wisps of smoke coming from the coffee sat on the table billowed into the air, Theodore kept his gaze on his date.

Alison kept her gaze outside the window, her eyes shining with distinct sadness dancing in them. Theodore c****d his head to the side to get a better look at her, and to get to observe her better.

He understood what she’s feeling right now. It must have been a real shock for her to see her ex again, especially since she got to meet him whilst she was on a date with another guy. Theodore personally didn’t mind, but he had a feeling that his date did. He doesn’t know how long it’s been, but he’s guessing it’s been too long. As much as he wanted Alison to get her emotions straight and think about it some more, he doesn’t want her to wallow on it all night.

“Alison?” Theodore finally called out.

That certainly got her attention. It took a moment for her to keep her gaze on him, but when she did, she gave him a smile--the same strained smile that he has been getting for far too long. “Sorry, I was out of it for awhile.”

Theodore smiled. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” He replied. “So, what happened?”

“Well, I met my ex again after three years.” She said, voice undeniably melancholic as she released a sigh.

“That long?” He queried. Looks like his theory earlier was right after all. He doesn’t know just how significant that meeting was for her, but obviously, it was very significant. Maybe they have some unresolved issues that they never got to work out?

Alison nodded her head as she wrapped her hands around her cup. “We decided it was probably a good idea not to see each other again.”

“Guess fate seems to have other plans.” Theodore commented, lifting his cup from the saucer so he could take a sip before putting it back down.

“Yeah which kind of sucks.” Alison told him, another sigh escaping her lips.

Theodore remained silent after that, observing his date who sat across from him. As he continued to look at her, it wasn’t really all that hard for him to get the gist of things. After all, her reaction and actions were quite blatantly on display for him to see. He just doesn't know if he’s meant to see that. Still, he took his chance as he asked, “You still love him, huh?”

At that, Alison looked at him in surprise, eyes observing every inch of his face for something, before she finally replied in a weak voice, “Am I really that transparent?”

“In a way.” Theodore was quick to reply. “But it’s alright. You just have to learn how to keep your emotions in check once in a while.”

He’s well-aware that his responses are hardly helpful, but if she’s going to face those raging emotions of hers, this is the only way he knows how to help. This very gesture of his might not even be welcomed by her, but he wants her to see that there’s something she could do about whatever it is she’s going through.

She looked at him again, to the point where Theodore felt slightly unnerved by it, but he didn’t let it deter him. After a while, she let out a chuckle. “You’re awfully blunt, you know that?”

Theodore let out a nervous chuckle as he leaned back on his seat. “When the situation calls for it.”

Alison shook her head in amusement. “Well, to recognize your efforts, I know that what you said a moment ago was true, but it’s just so hard to do sometimes.”

Hearing all of these, Theodore wondered what happened between the two of them. He was never one to pry on people’s personal lives, but he’s so curious at this point, that he just wanted to try and ask. So instead of just wondering about it all night, he asked, “So what happened between you two?”

It took Alison a moment to answer, but when she did, she leaned back on her seat and said, “It’s going to take a while, you know. It’s quite a long story.”

“It’s alright.” Theodore replied, a small smirk appearing on his lips. “I have time.”

Alison chuckled. “Well, I guess I’ll just give you the short version. I’m already sorry I spent our remaining time being all depressed.” 

“I really don’t mind but if that’s what you prefer, then no problem.” He said with a shrug.

Theodore may not know a lot about women, but he knows when not to push his luck. He knows that Alison isn’t exactly ready to share everything to him and he understands because they did just meet. The time they spent together wasn’t all that bad, but he respects Alison’s space and decision--just like how she respects his.

“You really want to hear it, huh?” Alison queried, laughing when Theodore nodded his head almost immediately. He felt embarrassment quickly crawl up his spine after that, but his date merely waved him off, silently telling him that it’s alright. He was able to relax just a tad, but he still wasn’t able to shake off the feeling that he’s being completely shameless about everything. “Alright, well, Brent and I were great when it all started.”

“What relationship isn’t?” Theodore chorused.

“That’s true. It’s always good when it’s new.” Alison said wistfully. “But when it gets longer, it’s just… things change. Suddenly, you aren’t as happy as you are.”

Theodore doesn’t exactly like where this is going because he’s bad at dealing with women and their emotions, but he knows that he asked for this and he can’t just leave her hanging like that. Besides, he’s sure that she needs someone to talk to after what happened. He might not be the best person for it, but he can always try.

“But that’s normal in a relationship, isn’t it? Things don't always stay the same.” Theodore replied as he picked up his cup once again so he could take a sip of his drink.

“Yeah, but it was changing too much. We both noticed it, but we just let it be. We wanted to try and make things work.” Alison told him, her grip on the cup tightening every so slightly.

“But it didn't.” He supplied, saying the words that she was unable to.

Alison let out a sigh. “No. It was wishful thinking that it would but we wanted so desperately to try.”

Theodore tried to think what would be the best thing to say. But right now, he knows there’s no best thing to say. Instead, he just asked, “All those times the both of you were trying… did it backfire?”

“It did.” His date gave him a sad smile. “Everything became cold and we were distant more than ever.”

“So you decided it would be a good idea to break up?” Theodore asked as he put his cup back on the saucer.

Alison’s eyes followed Theodore’s movements for a moment, before she looked back at him and replied grimly, “At that time, it seemed like the only logical way to get the both of us out of our misery.” 

“I’m not good with relationships, but I do know that when it comes to that, it’s not all about the feeling. It’s about choosing to love that person everyday.”

It was only in that moment that Theodore realized what he said. Alison looked at him with an amused grin, but he merely gave her a bored look, silently telling her not to say more than she has to--which at this point, he’s pretty sure is something that’s going to make him the receiving end of her teasing. The look he gave her only seemed to have amused her even further because she gave him a laugh.

“Alright, keep laughing.” Theodore said.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t expect you’d say that.” Alison grinned. “But on a serious note, what you said is true. We were just too miserable to remember that.”

“Misery does bring out the worst in us.” He replied as he nodded his head in agreement.

Alison chuckled. “You really are one of a kind, Theo. But yeah, we decided to break up and everything just went to hell after that. We decided not to see each other again and by the time we realized that we made the wrong decision, being back together is not just possible anymore.”

That made Theodore think really hard. “Why not?”

Alison gave him a sad smile, looking down on her coffee in the process. “He had a new girlfriend. I didn’t want to ruin that.”

“But doesn’t he still love you? I mean that's what I got from your interaction earlier and from your story.” Theodore pointed out, his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

God, this is why he doesn’t want a relationship to begin with. Aside from it’s equally demanding of his time just as much as his job, it’s also way too complicated for him to handle; too much hassle and all those other things.

“Yeah, but I was too stubborn to listen to anything he said. We actually got to see each other a few months after our breakup and he tried to talk to me but I refused.” Alison sighed.

“What? Why?”

“Because I was stupid.” Alison grumbled.

“At least you realize that.” Theodore said almost immediately.

Alison rolled her eyes. “Thanks for that, Theo. I feel absolutely better.”

Theodore laughed. “Come on, Alison. You have to at least try now. He’s here. Go talk to him.”

Alison was silent for a moment and Theodore thought that maybe he said a bad thing, or that his suggestion might have been the stupidest one yet. But when she gave him a small smile, he knew that his words weren’t exactly all that horrible. 

“I was thinking about that. This may be my only chance to talk to him again.” Alison told him, the smile she gave Theodore still etched on her lips.

“That’s good. Besides, it’s been three years. You never know, him and his girlfriend might have already broken up.” Theodore replied, trying his best to be as encouraging as he possibly can.

Alison chuckled. “Thanks, Theo. I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Theodore smiled, thinking how this whole thing is new for him. “No problem. When you and him work it out and this time you end up together, I want an invite to the wedding.”

That left Alison laughing for a lot longer. “Alright, sure. You’ve got yourself a deal.”

“I’ll be waiting for that.” Theodore grinned.