Leprechauns, Hedgehogs and Semicircles...Have Absolutely Nothing To Do With This Story

Dread. That is what Albert was feeling when he pulled his car up at the front of the block of flats where his girlfriend, Kayla, lived. Coincidently, or not, it was the very same block of flats in which Douglas resided with his younger sister, Laura.

Albert pulled his keys out of the ignition and got out of the car. Locking it, he took a deep breath and exhaled. Dread. He was still feeling it. And it wasn’t because he didn’t want to see his girlfriend. No, it wasn’t that at all. He had, in fact, enjoyed all of the five years he had spent with Kayla. What he was dreading was Kayla opening her front door to him and the anger which would then follow.

Upon reaching the front of the building he pocketed his keys and pressed the buzzer to Kayla’s flat. A couple of seconds later Kayla’s voice echoed through the crackly speaker, “Yeah?”

“It’s me, Albie. Can I come up?”

No reply followed, but the front door to the building clicked open. Albert quickly shuffled inside and closed the door behind him. Glancing at his watch, he groaned. He was two hours late. There was no way Kayla was going to forgive him for this.

He glanced around the dimly lit foyer. A couple of pot plants stood in the corner, a tattered old lounge chair next to them. Paint was starting to peel off the walls. The light flickered. Albert often wondered why Kayla had refused his offer of moving into his flat which was near new. He then figured it was probably because she didn’t want to change her whole life around for some fool who was always late.

Albert sighed and trudged up the five flights of stairs to the very top level of the building, all the way thinking of what to say when Kayla opened her front door. He couldn’t think of anything. He didn’t even bring a box of chocolates or flowers. Damn. He really was in trouble.

Reaching the landing he sidled past Douglas’ front door softly. Douglas’ sister, Laura, always had a way of catching him and engaging in a lengthy conversation as he walked past, even if the door was closed as he walked past it. And the time it would take to have a conversation with her was time he just didn’t have right now. So he walked softly.

“Hello, Albie,”

Albert cringed. He had been spotted. Taking a deep breath he slowly turned around. Laura was standing next to the opening of the fifth floors’ balcony. She was in her early twenties and looked remarkably similar to Douglas; you could tell they were siblings. Her hair was a tangle of brown curls tied up in a messy bun. Her clothing style was, for lack of a better word, eccentric.

“Hey, Laura...” Albert forced out.

“You’re going to be in trouble,” Laura said in a sing song voice, twirling her hair with her fingers.

“Yeah, I know...”

“If she kicks you out you can always come and talk to me. I could never get angry with you...”

“Yeah, well...” Albert scratched the back of his head, “how’s your boyfriend?”

“We broke up,” Laura’s expression changed to serious, “We had differing opinions on certain things...”

“That’s too ba-“ Albert started.

“He didn’t believe in UFO’s.” Laura interrupted, “I just can’t be with somebody like that. Could you be with someone who doesn’t believe?”

“Look, I really should go see Kayla...”

“O.K,” she said in that sing song voice again.

Albert turned around quickly and hurried down the hall to Kayla’s door.

“Albie! Albie!” Laura called after him. He turned around.

“Bye!” she giggled.

“Bye...” Albert mumbled, watching Laura walk down the hall to her flat.

He stood on Kayla’s doorstep and took a deep breath. He knocked. He could hear the television on inside, and footsteps getting louder as they were coming towards the door. The door opened to reveal a short blonde haired woman, about twenty-five years of age – four years younger than Albert. Her hair was down, with a nice curl to it. She wore a flowing summer dress. And, if looks could kill, the expression on her face would have definitely put Albert in a deep coma for a few weeks.

“So you finally decided to show up...” she said in a monotone, staring directly into Albert’s eyes. He smiled a small guilty sort of smile and gave a small shrug. Maybe she’s not terribly angry, he thought.

“What the hell, Albie?!” Kayla suddenly screamed, “What part of six o’clock don’t you understand?!”

He thought wrong. “Kayla, I – “

“We’ve been together for what – 5 years?! And I don’t know how many times you’ve done this to me. You either show up late, or not at all. It’s not fair on me.”

A television blared out in the background.

“I know –“ he started.

“No! You don’t know!” She took a deep breath, tears starting to well up in her eyes, “I’ve been in the kitchen making dinner for you since three. And you show up two hours later than you’re meant to and ruin the whole thing. I swear, if I didn’t love you so much I’d...”

She trailed off, shaking her head.

“Please don’t cry.” Albert said softly after a few moments of silence.

Kayla continued to shake her head. “Tell me where you were.”

“The park,” Albert swallowed, “The park with Doug. It’s Thursday. We – “

“Why lie to me now, Albie?” Kayla chuckled.

“What do you mean? I’m not lying.” He furrowed his brow. The sound of laughter could be heard in the background of Kayla’s flat. Must be the television, Albert thought, “It’s Thursday. You know we go straight after work to look for UFOs on Thursdays.”

“I can’t believe you...” Kayla brushed her hair out of her eyes.

“What are you talking about? It’s the truth. Wh –“

“It’s the truth!” a mocking voice came from Kayla’s flat. Then laughter.

Albert gave a confused look to Kayla. She bit her bottom lip.

“Is there somebody else here?” Albert pointed inside, taking a step forward.

“No, Albie. It’s just the T.V.” She put her hand on his chest to stop him from going any further.

Muffled laughter flowed out of the room. Albert brushed Kayla aside and made his way down the hallway.

“Albie, stop!” she followed him down the hallway, “Look, I only invited him over because I didn’t want my dinner to go to waste.”

Albert stopped, turning his head to face Kayla, “Him?” He continued on into the lounge room.

“Ahoy there, Liar!”