Then We'd Be Happy Read online

  thinking about her.

  I want her to fuck me again.

  I want her to fuck me for the rest of my life.

  Time Passes

  I TURN DOWN THE teaching job, which surprises me as

  much as it does Principal Hughes.

  Then a month goes by in which I never see or hear

  from Nita.

  I have driven out to Ariel’s place in Los Altos several

  times, and I have seen Nita’s car parked in the driveway,

  but I have resisted the urge to knock on the door.

  I don’t want to fight with both of them, especially not

  in front of Kayla, who I miss way more than I ever

  thought I would.

  Time has passed but my feelings haven’t. If I could just

  win them back, then I know we’d be happy.

  But I guess they’re happy without me.

  Finally

  WHEN I CAN’T STAND it any longer, I walk down the street

  and knock on Mrs. Chan’s door.

  I have to knock again and again before she opens up.

  “You were right,” I tell her. “I didn’t know what I was

  getting into.”

  She folds her arms.

  “I know what I want now,” I say. “I know beyond a

  shadow of a doubt. You have to help me.”

  She does not respond, which means this is going about

  as badly as I imagined it would. Still, I have to try.

  “Please,” I say. “I can’t be happy without them.”

  Mrs. Chan looks over her shoulder, steps back, and

  swings the door open. There in the narrow hallway are

  Nita and Kayla.

  We look at each other as the sun goes down and comes

  up again. No one says a word. The only sound comes

  from inside my ribcage, a drumbeat that vibrates the fabric

  of my shirt. I’m waiting for a sign but nobody moves.

  THEN WE’D BE HAPPY

  Finally I realize it’s up to me and I step forward.

  189

  About the Author

  Al Riske has worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine

  editor, copywriter, and ghostwriter. His other books

  include Precarious, a short-story collection featuring the

  Blue Mesa award-winner “Pray for Rain,” Sabrina’s

  Window, and The Possibility of Snow. Born and raised in the

  Pacific Northwest, he now lives in California with his wife,

  Joanne, and their dog, Bodie.

  Document Outline

  Front Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Advance praise for Then We’d Be Happy

  Praise for The Possibility of Snow

  Praise for Sabrina’s Window

  Praise for Precarious

  Half Title

  Mad Enough

  Where We Live

  Wood Work

  Happily?

  Seriously?

  Home Again

  New Jobs

  Almost Half Human

  Chance Meeting

  Happiness Lost

  The Dinner Shift

  Messed Up

  In Awe

  Hearing Things

  Spencer Has Plans

  Bad Boy That I Am

  History of Heartache

  A Little Taste

  Hook Up

  Proud

  Waiting

  Good Fortune

  The Natural

  Forget About It

  The Rest Are for Me

  Bigger Than the Rest

  Heaven on Earth

  Used Car

  Not Funny

  Close Encounter

  Disease-Fighting Neuropeptides

  Life

  Like Water

  Someone Else

  Telling

  The House in Sunnyvale

  Runaround

  Day in the Life

  A Dried White Substance

  Class Warfare

  Missing in Action

  Funny Man

  Secret Recipe

  Garden Party

  Ariel’s Appeal

  Into the Crowd

  All Out

  Sweetness

  Good Thing Gone

  That Mischievous Smile

  A First for Nita

  Wasted

  One for the Spank Bank

  Crash

  Rent

  Mixed Emotions

  The Wind

  Best Thing Ever

  Um, Okay

  Getting to Know Nita

  Together Again

  One of Her Moods

  What Happens Now?

  Strawberry Rhubarb

  Horseshit

  Chump City

  Nita’s Ex

  Whatshisname

  Scorched

  Something Blue

  You Blew It, Buster

  Marty Moves Out

  Fortune

  Interview

  The Other Guy

  Nita Tries Humor

  Big Man

  Blue Station Wagon

  Explains a Lot

  The Other Half

  The Other Guy, Revisited

  Three Surprises

  After

  Ravenous

  Backstory

  Tickle Coaster

  The Fourth Convertible

  Daddy Issues

  Fantastic

  To Me

  Intentions

  Overdose

  Funeral for a Friend

  Downhearted

  Suspect Arrested

  Hello, Stranger

  Farewell, Naomi

  Laid Bare

  Gone

  That Night

  By Accident

  Office Visit

  How It Feels

  Life, Liberty and the Pursuit

  Well and Truly

  Time Passes

  Finally

  About the Author