Dear Universe: WTF?

"I'm really gonna need a big KSL hug today when I see you." She texted in a moment of weakness.  It had been a rough few days with almost no communication between the two of them.  She didn't get a text back until much later that day.

"What's going on?"

"I'm ending my marriage and it's hard."

"Oh shit"

"I'm so sorry"

They ran into each other at the theatre downstairs.  He hugged her and she gave him a short rundown of what happened.  "When was this?" He asked her.  "Monday.  I did it on Monday."  She answered.

"Fuck.  That's freaky.  That's when I had my fight."  He held up his hand to show her tons of little puncture wounds along his fist and up his wrist.  There was a bruise forming on his forearm as well.

"Holy shit KSL, what happened?"  She said, alarmed.  "Who did you get into a fight with?"  

"Who do you think?  He said, getting up and walking away from her.  She followed and said "I don't know, your brother?  A relative?  TELL ME."  He stopped and turned around and whispered "The girlfriend.  I punched a wall to keep from punching her.  Got a screw embedded in my knuckle for a minute there, didn't even notice."

"Did you--"

"--nope, still together.  Honestly I don't have anywhere else to go.  That was the only thing stopping me.  Shit, if we had broken up...that would've just been way to convenient, wouldn't it?"

***

After the play they took a walk by the river to talk about their respective situations.  KSL's fight had gotten dirty, and she had dared him to leave.  He had screamed at her that he didn't have the money to leave her, that she had drained him.  It was like a more aggressive version of the fight she'd had with her husband.  The parallels were unreal.  What was the universe trying to tell her?

When she was talking about her marriage ending conversation, he saw that she was struggling to keep her thoughts together.  "Cm'on, lets sit on that bench for a bit."  They sat and she started talking about how she felt like she deserved someone who would care about her, who would want to at the very least go 50/50 through life with her.

"You're right, you absolutely deserve someone like that." He said wholeheartedly, but then got remarkably quiet.  She was about to ask him if he felt like her saying that was a challenge, when they heard what sounded like a gunshot incredibly close by.

They both looked behind them, not moving but on edge...ready to hit the deck at a moments notice.  She couldn't remember that urban legend went, the one that says that gunshots don't echo and fireworks do...or was it the other way around?  After a moment of silence he said "Let's just get out of here." and she rose with him and started a brisk pace towards their cars.

"Listen," he said "I don't regret what I did, but I shouldn't have done it." She realized now they were talking about the birthday kisses.  "You know what, they gave me the push I needed to do what I need to do.  It's fine." She said.  "It's not like we didn't both see the kiss coming, for weeks now." He agreed.  "And it was nice.  It was really gentle.  I didn't expect you to be so gentle."

"I don't know what came over me.  I'm not sure why I did it.  You know they were just friendly kisses.  That's why I didn't use tongue.  When I really kiss it's not that gentle."

She rolled her eyes at him "Okay asshole."

"It just seemed like you needed it!" He exclaimed.

"Oh, well thanks for taking one for the team." She said, trying to make her voice sound more sarcastic than hurt.

"It wasn't like that!"

Really, she thought, then what was it like?