A Negative Place

A Negative Place

My husband Andrew was an orphan. He had no family members and very few friends. I was convinced, that I was his only family and friend. So imagine my eagerness when he said "we were going to meet an old friend he grew up with named Shell". I would finally have a chance to talk to someone who knew Andrew, someone who could speak of his character when he was younger and the things that made him tick. I admit, there was a lot I didn't know about my husband. At the time, I believed I knew all that needed to know about Andrew was that I loved him and trusted him.

Shell lived in Queens, a part of New York City that was unfamiliar to me, but I enjoyed it's quiet streets. We arrived at Shell's house around three o'clock in the afternoon. Shell lived in a high rise complex; in a one bedroom apartment. The place was very neat, spacious and sparsely furnished. We sat around the floor on pillows, listening to music and talking. Shell prepared some drinks for the three of us, serving them with fruits and ladyfinger sandwiches. I thought this was very elegant.

We sat around on the floor, smiling and making small talk about popular music, not at all the kind of talk what I was expecting. I thought the conversation would be about Andrew and Shell, their years of growing up together. This was my first clue that things weren't quite right with these two men. Then Shell and Andrew excused themselves and went into the bedroom to talk. This made me wonder, what could they be saying that they couldn't be said in front of me? A few minutes later when they returned, Shell said he had to meet his girlfriend downstairs. This information pleased me a little, because I really wasn't very comfortable sitting alone with two men in an apartment; although,one was my husband.

While Shell was out of the apartment, Andrew refilled my glass and put on some more music. He said, "I have to tell you something, Shell likes you". I told him that I thought Shell was alright, but surprised that he didn't talk much about the two of them growing up together.