Closure in the Life of the Mac-Attack

So I've been here in Malibu Beach for about a month now, and let me tell you, this place is a true paradise! I love everything about this place: the beach, the girls, the atmosphere, the girls, the humidity, the ocean, the girls.

Did I forget to mention the girls?

In my time that I had spent in Malibu, there was one particular girl that had caught my attention: Laura Silverman. Laura was smart, funny, and insanely beautiful. Not to mention the fact that she was crazy about me. I think that was a plus.

We've been hanging out for a couple weeks, and those couple weeks have been a lot of fun. We've been taking walks, going to dinner, running, talking on the phone, you name it. Laura is so much fun to be around, and lately I seem to be spending more and more time with her.

I've been having a great time with her. I really like her.

"So have you fucked this girl yet?"

My best friend Ben always did have a way with words.

"No, Ben. Not yet."
"So when's it gonna happen?"
"I'm not sure. I want to, and I know she wants to."
"You could do it in the back of the Camaro. Follow in your grandparents' footsteps."

Suddenly, I found it difficult to enjoy my Honey Nut Cheerios.

"I think we're done with this conversation."

Luckily my appetite was restored when I saw Laura knocking on the sliding glass door.

"Hey, you."

I kissed her as she entered the house.

"What's happening, you wanna go for a walk?"
"Yeah, that sounds nice."
"You wanna come, Ben?"
"No, it's okay. I'll just stay here and watch your grandma's Buddy Hacket DVD."

We laughed and then walked along the beach. It was quiet, and that's what I liked about it.

"So, it's the end of June now."
"That's so cute, you looked at your calendar!"

She hit me playfully as we walked along, holding hands and swinging our arms back and forth.

"Planning to stick around for July?"
"Oh, of course. July is the best month here in California."
"I love the fourth. The fireworks are so amazing."
"I know. I was here for the 4th of July a couple years ago. It was incredible."
"It gets better every year."
"I bet this year will be the best you've had."
"Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"Because you'll be watching the fireworks with ME this year."
"Who says I'll wanna hang out with you on the 4th of July?"

She smiled at me.

"Alright, I'll make you a proposition."
"I'm listening."
"I'll race you to the lifeguard shack. If I win, you and I watch the fireworks together on the 4th of July. If you win, you don't have to."
"An interesting proposition."
"Whatta ya say?"
"I say--"

And then she was running. I decided I should probably run after her, afterall, I didn't want to lose the race. Suddenly I caught up to her and she decided to trip me. Luckily I could take her down with me.

There we were, lying in the sand and laughing so hard I figured we'd start crying, when I decided it would be appropriate to give her a soft kiss on the lips. She kissed back, and we just laid there for a while.

"By the way, I think you won the race. I guess I'll just have to tolerate watching the fireworks with you."
"I guess you'll just have to deal with it."

We were smiling and laughing. I can't remember a time where I've been involved with someone so...simple. There was nothing complicated about Laura.

I'll give you an example of a complicated situation I was in not too long ago: my ex-girlfriend, Dara, got together with me right after she dumped her boyfriend who cheated on her. Six weeks into the relationship, he comes back into the picture and she leaves me to get back with him. I know it may be embarassing, but that's the longest relationship I've ever had. For the most part, though, it was the best six weeks of my life.

Uh, I mean, that's all in the past now and I don't think of Dara anymore. Never. In fact, I've never heard of this Dara person!

"What are you thinking about right now?"

The fact that I sorta miss my ex-girlfriend. Uh, I mean...

"Nothing really, except for the fact that I love spending time with you."

Good save, Mac-Attack. Focus on Laura; it's all about Laura.

"I love spending time with you too, Mac. These last couple weeks have been amazing, I don't want it to end."
"Well, you give me a good reason to stick around here for a while. How's the rest of your life sound?"

Okay, I think I may have gone a little overboard there.

"Well, let's think about the rest of the summer first."
"Probably a good idea."

This isn't good. Dara hasn't been on my mind in weeks! Why, all of a sudden, am I thinking about her? It's not like I have feelings for her anymore, I swear I'm over her. She left me, who needs her?

When I got back to my grandma's place a little later, I decided to look to Ben for guidance.

"You started thinking about Dara while you were with Laura?"
"This is terrible. I can't be thinking about Dara. I don't WANT to be thinking about Dara."
"Well, Mac, she was the first girl you ever fell in love with."
"Yeah, I know, but it's over now. It's been over. I thought I got over her pretty quickly."

Ben was silent for a minute as he seemed to be gathering his thoughts. Finally:

"You didn't get any closure."
"What do you mean? We talked on the phone, she dumped me."
"Did you say anything?"

I thought about that phone call for a minute. Honestly, all I said in the entire phone conversation was: "I'm always interested in knowing what you're wearing."

Uh, sorry. That was a different phone conversation.

What I said in this particular instance was: "Dara, you don't have to do this. I love you."

I didn't get a chance to say anything else because she hung up. Wow, it's funny how we can recall certain things sometimes.

"I think you should call her...and do it quickly. I Love Lucy is about to come on!"
"You really should be getting out of this house."

I took out my phone and went into the other room. I dialed Dara's number.

602 555 7279

"Hello?"
"Hi, Dara."
"Mac...how are you?"
"I'm okay. Doing a lot better now actually."
"That's good. I heard you went MIA. Where are you these days?"
"My grandmother has this beach house in Malibu. It's pretty sweet."
"I always wanted to meet your grandmother."
"Well, you didn't."

That seemed sorta unfriendly.

"Sorry."
"It's okay, I kinda deserved that."
"How's Ray?"
"Ray? Oh, he's great. I think he and I can be really happy this time around."
"That's good."
"Are you seeing anyone right now?"
"Yeah, I've been seeing this girl here. She's really great."
"I'm glad."

There was a pause. During that pause, I thought about what Dara had asked me. The moment she asked if I was seeing someone, I immediately thought of Laura. I thought about how much fun Laura and I were having and how much I didn't want it to end.

"When are you coming home?"
"I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know when I'm back though."
"Yeah, definitely."

There was another pause. During this pause, I realized something: I had moved on with my life. I didn't need to call Dara in order to get closure because I had already made my own peace with the fact that her and I were over. I was really okay with it, because I had found someone else who I cared about.

"Well, I really should be getting off the phone now. It was nice talking to you."
"Mac...I'm sorry for how things turned out with us. Ray was my first love, I needed to give him another shot."
"Listen, I completely understand. I'm fine; no hard feelings."

As soon as we got off the phone, I ran over to Laura's house. She opened up the sliding glass door and I immediately kissed her.

"Wow, you missed me already?"
"Yeah, I did. Do you want to do something tonight?"
"Yeah. Maybe we can watch a movie. Be back here around 7? I'll even cook for you."
"Sounds perfect."

The moment our lips touched that afternoon, I remembered what it was about Laura that had caught my attention. I was glad I was able to get closure with Dara, because now I was completely open, and at that moment, I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather open the door for than Laura.

Sincerely,
Mac-Attack