A Beautiful Lie
Chapter 10
A few weeks later, Shannon was still getting used to living on his own. He’d apologised profusely to Jared the day after the wedding, but his brother had waved it away, saying he appreciated the honesty. Then he and Tam had gone away on their honeymoon, and wouldn’t be back for another two weeks. Since the wedding, Shannon had been doing his best to keep busy, afraid of having to think about the crash and Penne, so he’d spent a lot of time cleaning, cooking complicated dishes, and working on his photography. Shannon had become passionate about this particular art form over the past few months, and spent every spare moment looking for photo opportunities. As soon as Jared had moved out of the house, Shannon had taken all his photos, letters from when he’d been overseas, and anything else that reminded him of Penne and put it all in a box that he hid away at the top of his bedroom cupboard. It was safer that way, he’d decided.
One day, as Shannon was in the middle of making some fancy biscuits that required a lot of concentration, the phone started ringing. He jumped, the sudden noise startling him. Slightly annoyed at having to leave what he was doing, he picked up the phone, “Shannon speaking.”
“Hi Shannon, it’s Liz, how are you?”
It took Shannon a second to realise who ‘Liz’ was, then remember the fact that he’d been drunk during their first conversation. “Liz, hi! Sorry I never called, I wasn’t entirely sure you’d want to know me after the wedding… so how are you?”
They chatted for a while, Liz talking about the ugly break-up between her and her boyfriend, Ricky. “I just told him it was over, I mean I wasn’t going to be treated like that, he’s such a bastard.” Shannon checked his watch, surprised to find that they had been on the phone for over an hour; the two planned to meet for coffee the next day, and then he was finally able to get back to his biscuits. After he’d put them in the oven to bake, Shannon’s mind wandered back to Liz. She was the kind of girl he could get along with really well, maybe even… he stopped his train of thought abruptly, shocked at what he was thinking. Then a light bulb struck. This was his chance to really show everyone, as well as himself, that he had moved on. Being single had always been a constant reminder of what he’d lost, so if he asked Liz out and she accepted… everything could be just like it was before, like the crash had never even happened. It could be like having Penne back, of course it could.
The next day, Shannon met Liz at a Starbucks café in the city, ordering himself a hot chocolate and Liz a chai latte before sitting with her at one of the small tables. They were getting along like a house on fire, and Shannon loved every minute of it. With each word she spoke he became more convinced that everything would work out. After they had been talking for a while, the subject turned to relationships. “How long since you were last in a relationship?” Liz asked.
Shannon kept a calm appearance as he fought off the alarm bells ringing inside him. “Um, about seven or eight months.” It was actually seven months and fourteen days, but Shannon wasn’t saying that, as it might put Liz off.
“Yea?” Liz replied, “How did it end?”
Why did she have to ask these questions? Shannon thought for a moment, then, “Mutual decision. Wasn’t working out.” He couldn’t tell her the truth. For one thing, he’d been trying to keep his mind off it for months. Plus, he didn’t want Liz to judge him or treat him differently because of it.
“Well, it wasn’t working out with me and Ricky for ages,” Tam continued. “I just didn’t want to accept it. I kept thinking we’d be fine, but I was just lying to myself. Anyway, enough about that…”
After they left the café, Shannon walked Liz back to her car. It was then that he asked if she wanted to go out sometime, just taking it slowly and everything. To his great surprise, she accepted, and it was in high spirits that he waved at her car as it drove away. This was his chance to move on, make everything like it was before. The one thing he had to make sure of, though, was that Liz didn’t find out about Penne. So, as soon as he arrived back home, he called his two best friends, Matt and Tomo, then Jared, to tell them the news and swear them to secrecy. Everything was finally looking good. Penne? What about her? He’d moved on.
One day, as Shannon was in the middle of making some fancy biscuits that required a lot of concentration, the phone started ringing. He jumped, the sudden noise startling him. Slightly annoyed at having to leave what he was doing, he picked up the phone, “Shannon speaking.”
“Hi Shannon, it’s Liz, how are you?”
It took Shannon a second to realise who ‘Liz’ was, then remember the fact that he’d been drunk during their first conversation. “Liz, hi! Sorry I never called, I wasn’t entirely sure you’d want to know me after the wedding… so how are you?”
They chatted for a while, Liz talking about the ugly break-up between her and her boyfriend, Ricky. “I just told him it was over, I mean I wasn’t going to be treated like that, he’s such a bastard.” Shannon checked his watch, surprised to find that they had been on the phone for over an hour; the two planned to meet for coffee the next day, and then he was finally able to get back to his biscuits. After he’d put them in the oven to bake, Shannon’s mind wandered back to Liz. She was the kind of girl he could get along with really well, maybe even… he stopped his train of thought abruptly, shocked at what he was thinking. Then a light bulb struck. This was his chance to really show everyone, as well as himself, that he had moved on. Being single had always been a constant reminder of what he’d lost, so if he asked Liz out and she accepted… everything could be just like it was before, like the crash had never even happened. It could be like having Penne back, of course it could.
The next day, Shannon met Liz at a Starbucks café in the city, ordering himself a hot chocolate and Liz a chai latte before sitting with her at one of the small tables. They were getting along like a house on fire, and Shannon loved every minute of it. With each word she spoke he became more convinced that everything would work out. After they had been talking for a while, the subject turned to relationships. “How long since you were last in a relationship?” Liz asked.
Shannon kept a calm appearance as he fought off the alarm bells ringing inside him. “Um, about seven or eight months.” It was actually seven months and fourteen days, but Shannon wasn’t saying that, as it might put Liz off.
“Yea?” Liz replied, “How did it end?”
Why did she have to ask these questions? Shannon thought for a moment, then, “Mutual decision. Wasn’t working out.” He couldn’t tell her the truth. For one thing, he’d been trying to keep his mind off it for months. Plus, he didn’t want Liz to judge him or treat him differently because of it.
“Well, it wasn’t working out with me and Ricky for ages,” Tam continued. “I just didn’t want to accept it. I kept thinking we’d be fine, but I was just lying to myself. Anyway, enough about that…”
After they left the café, Shannon walked Liz back to her car. It was then that he asked if she wanted to go out sometime, just taking it slowly and everything. To his great surprise, she accepted, and it was in high spirits that he waved at her car as it drove away. This was his chance to move on, make everything like it was before. The one thing he had to make sure of, though, was that Liz didn’t find out about Penne. So, as soon as he arrived back home, he called his two best friends, Matt and Tomo, then Jared, to tell them the news and swear them to secrecy. Everything was finally looking good. Penne? What about her? He’d moved on.