Immediately she thought of her roommate, who had been out all night and could possibly be having drunken trouble getting her key to work. Slightly annoyed, she got up out of bed and made her way to the front door. Being cautious she called out her roommates name in question. No response. Once again she called. For a second she worried, until she heard a man's voice respond. "It's Charlie" a voice called out. She stood in question, this was the last person she had expected.
It was her ex-boyfriend of two years who had just recently broken it off and broken her heart. She hesitated to answer, she was now in a new relationship and was suspicious of what Charlie could possibly want from her. Finally, she opened the door and faced him. He stood still, looking cold as the winter night grew older. In his hand was an envelope that he immediately handed her. "Hello?!", she said. "Hi", he responded. She invited him in still questioning his purpose for being there. As he entered the apartment he gave no answer to her questions but urged her to read the long note that now sat in the envelope in her hands. She sat down on the couch and opened the envelope, pulling out a typed, five page letter. Slowly, she opened it up and began to read. The note spoke of what he could not put into spoken words. He missed her, and knew he had made a mistake. He knew she was in a new relationship but begged her to take him back anyway. As she read, a steady stream of tears began, making it more difficult for her to continue on as she wiped them from her face. She was confused as she read the last sentence, "don't make any decisions until you see the video". "Video?", she thought. She looked to him, once again in question (this night was full of question). Right then, he pulled a dvd from his pocket and handed it to her.
She stood, wiping what she knew would not be the last of her tears from her face. She inserted the dvd then positioned herself back on the couch next to him. The dvd was filled with old pictures of them together and even contained a poem he had written for her. Any girl outside this circumstance would have given in right then, but she knew, especially with Charlie, she should take everything with a grain of salt. As she looked on, more tears streamed down her face. "What next?" she wondered. As the last slide appeared on the screen her heart stopped. It was a picture of a ring, a beautiful one at that. She turned to him as he pulled out the exact ring explaining it's purpose. A promise ring. (that cost far too much may I add) He pleaded her to take it, to take him back, to forgive him for his mistakes. He wanted to be a better man, he explained. She was flattered that he had gone to such lengths to win her back but at the same time she knew him... He probably got lonely and then learned of her new boyfriend and got jealous and felt more lonely, then lost. After all, a lot of his friends were getting married or were at least in serious relationships by now and he was feeling the pressure. They spoke for hours, about their past, what he thought could be the possible future and what she undoubtedly knew was their end, before she finally built up the courage to send him home, ring in hand, heart empty and a few hours drive back home ahead of him.
As she turned from the door, finally on her way back to her bed for a now shorter night's sleep than she had originally hoped for, she prided herself in her strength and reassured herself that she had made the right choice. Slipping back under her covers, she easily drifted off to sleep, physically and emotionally drained. She needed some sleep, the weekend fast approached and she had plans with that new boyfriend who she hoped was someone worth a promise.
