DAYS LIKE THESE (Part 1)

The Challenge?

By: Anthony Mayfield

It’s not always what you discover about your love interest that devastates you; sometimes, it’s how you find out, where you find out, and who delivers the news. My news came as a result of a bet: an innocent wager among friends that was supposed to be more of a joke than an eye opener.

We were at the ‘Come Again’, a local bar that had become our favorite watering hole, when I stood up and announced that I was getting married.

Jock: (tapping on a beer bottle) “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, those who are gettin’ it and those who want to get it, may I have your attention please. I’d like you all to be the first to know that I will be gettin’ it quite often, as I have decided to buy the cow? And, in so doing, I will break countless hearts everywhere as I take myself off of the meat market.”

Raymond: “What the hell are you talking about, Jock?

Jock: “I’m talking about, as it happened on yesterday, around 6pm, I got down on my knees…”

Brea: “Sounds good so far.” (They all laugh)

Jock: “Yeah, Baby. For real, though, yesterday I proposed to Brenda. She accepted, and we’re getting married in June.”

Raymond: “Here, here. Let’s toast the walking dead. (They laugh and hoist their beer bottles) May you sleep peacefully in her bosom every night, may your days be filled with sunshine, and may her joyous laughter always ring fresh in your ears. To Jock and Brenda.”

Group: “To Jock and Brenda.”

Coolac: “Jock, man, I can’t believe that you’re buying into this marriage thing. I mean, Brenda is tight and all that, but marriage?

Matt: “Come on Coolac, don’t start with your philosophical bullshit. We don’t need any rain for this parade, okay?”

Coolac: “What in hell are you talking about, Matt, what philosophical bullshit? Are you trying to tell me that I can’t express my opinion?”

Matt: “Man, nobody wants to hear your doom and death relationship spiel tonight, okay? Just once, be happy for someone who has found true love. Can you do that?”

Jock: “No, it’s okay. He can’t say anything to move my groove. Let’s hear from the great philosopher.”

Coolac: “Dude, I’m just wondering if you really believe in unconditional, everlasting love?”

Jock: “Yeah. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be getting married, ya know? (Coolac laughs) What, did I say something funny?”

Coolac: “Just forget that I ever said anything.”

Raymond: “Finally, he says something that we can drink to.” (They laugh)

Jock: “No, what’s so funny, Coolac? I want to laugh too.”

Coolac: “It’s funny that you believe unconditional love exists among lovers. I could see it if it were one of these other chumps, but you? I just never pegged you for a sucker.”

Brea: “Alright, I’ll bite. Just what do you mean among lovers? If unconditional love doesn’t exist among lovers, then where?”

Coolac: “In our time, if unconditional love exists at all, it exists from God to us. We, as people, have discovered to many reasons to not love unconditionally. We either don’t know how to love unconditionally or we choose not to. Therefore, due to the known, or unknown condition that we place on love, marriages will not last till death do part, less lone forever.”

Jock: “Aw, man, that’s bullshit. Pure and utter bullshit.”

Brea: “Yeah, Coolac, true, unconditional love still exists.”

Coolac: (laughing) “Man, y’all truly amaze me. You really do.”

Raymond: “Yeah, why is that?”

Coolac: “Because you still believe in the pipe dream. You are so caught up into the fantasy of love that you fail to realize the reality of what we have made love to be. You may as well believe in the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause.”

Jock: “Listen Coolac, I suppose that you are trying to make a point. Make it so that we can move on to something else.”

Coolac: “Damn, I guess that in addition to being blind, you’re deaf too, huh? I’ve already made the point, but let me see if I can make it a bit clearer for you boys and girls. My point is this: today, right now, and probably to the end of the world, there is no such thing as unconditional love among lovers. Today’s version of love is built on conditions and circumstances. We go into relationships seeking to have some condition met. It could be based on security, looks, money, or any number of things. And if you remove that condition, the so-called love disappears. Furthermore, I’m saying that either you or Brenda or both of you have some known or unknown conditions that this ‘forever love’ is built on and when that condition ceases to exist, bye, bye love. Is that clear enough?”

Jock: “Man, I’ve heard it all now. What, from hell, are they putting in your suds, Dude?”

Coolac “Oh, so you think I’m wrong?”

Jock: “Hell yes, you’re wrong. Brenda and I totally accept and love each other unconditionally.”

Coolac: “Acceptance. You hit the ‘G’ spot with that.”

Jock: “Huh?”

Coolac: “The reason that there’s no such thing as unconditional love among us homosapien lovers is because we don’t accept each other. We always want to change something in our mate. Women are especially guilty of this.”

Brea: “What? At first you say that unconditional love is a myth because it is based on conditions and now you’re saying that it’s due to a lack of acceptance and that women are the main culprits in not accepting their mates.”

Coolac: “I’m not making contradictory statements, one thing leads to the other. When we fail to accept each other for who and what we are, we set up conditions to compensate. And Brea, you can’t sit there and tell me that women don’t try to change men.”

Brea: “Even if we do, what’s that got to do with unconditional love?”

Coolac: “Duh? If you feel that you need to change something in a person’s character, then, you also feel that there’s a flaw in their character and if something or someone is flawed we set conditions in order to deal with the flaw. Therefore, when the condition is violated, we have no more need for person or thing. Can you handle that?”

Jock: “Dude, I’d love to stick around to see how this turns out, really I would, but I’ve gotta do something better with this time, like, sleep. So, if you’ve nothing more to say, I’m outta here.”

Coolac: ”Just one more thing, since all of you are so cock sure, lets make a bet. I’ll bet you whatever your budget can stand that Jock and Brenda’s love is based on a condition.”

Jock: “Hold it, before we place any bets, let’s do this tomorrow. Tomorrow is Friday, I can bring Brenda with me and we can all have a good laugh and make some money off of dough boy if he still wants to go through with it, cool?”

Raymond: “Sounds like a plan to me.”

Matt: “So we’ll meet here tomorrow same time same bat channel, right?”

Coolac: “All righty then.”

See, it was innocent enough how this all got started, right? Since then, I’ve learned that it’s not important how a thing starts, but rather, the way it ends because the ending can make the difference between happily ever after and…well, you’ll see.

Continued...