The Story of Dan and April

This is the Story of Dan and April.

There once was a tall man. The tall man had a name and his name was Dan. Dan was very much like every other tall man. He had large shoes and curly brown hair and his demeanor was that of a tall man. Dan was from San Francisco and was dating an average pretty woman from Birmingham, Alabama. Pretty woman also had a name and her name was April. She had long black curly hair and was a head shorter than Dan. I am not sure when Dan and April met, but they have quite a story of how they met and fell and love. I don't know what that story is, but I am sure it is a good one.

Dan and April fell madly in love soon after dating. Dan was so in love with April that he decided to make the big gesture and move to Alabama to be with April all the time and to move the relationship forward. April was so happy and Dan was even happier.

One day Dan and April decided they needed to have a serious talk. A talk so serious that Dan and April were both dreading this conversation, but both were hopeful it would turn out good in the end. April decided they should meet up at Whole Foods market and talk over lunch. This had been a place they went a lot because they were both were really healthy people. They have many stories from this market about all the times they shopped there, but I don't know any of those stories. It was one of their special places. April thought a special place for them to talk might make their conversation turn out better. April thought that maybe it would bring them luck.

Dan arrived early, but he wasn’t hungry for food so he just got some coffee from the café. He got there early so that April wouldn’t be sitting alone waiting on him and so that he could gather his thoughts before April arrived. Dan grabbed a booth at the very end of the store where the least amount of people were around. It was next to another girl’s booth who was eating lunch by herself. She was a young woman, with blonde wavy hair and looked liked she had a lot on her mind so he figured she probably wouldn’t pay attention to his conversation anyways. He sat sipping on his coffee and reading the paper, but he wasn’t really reading the paper because he was nervous about the conversation he was about to have with April.

April soon arrived, and she too was early. Dan stood up when April arrived, but was unsure of how to greet her. He leaned in, embraced her with a hug, and she embraced him back. Neither wore a smile. Dan and April didn’t waste time with small talk and began their serious conversation. Dan and April didn’t know what was going on between them. They thought they had been on the same page since day one of their relationship. Dan was so in love with April, and April was very much in love with Dan. So they were very confused as to why things all the sudden got hard. Dan had given up his life in San Francisco to be with April. April was ready to move life forward with Dan. But April was confused with what she wants. Dan knows what he wants. Dan wants April. April wants him back too, but scared to make a big gesture back. April is scared that if she doesn’t follow her plans then everything will fall apart. She has trouble trusting a future that she hasn’t planned.

Dan has made the big gesture more than once with other women. He has always been willing to risk his life for the one that he loves, but he has been hurt in the past because of this. Very hurt. So bad that he doesn’t think he can continue with his big gesture anymore. Dan is tired of making the big gesture because it never seems to turn out in his favor. So Dan and April hold back. Neither of them say what they really want to say. They are scared to continue to risk for one another. The young woman at the booth behind them who Dan thought was too troubled to listen in on the conversation was now listening, but Dan and April do not know. She is listening with tears streaming down her face because she too unfortunately knows about these conversations. Young woman is really sad for them because she knows what they both want to say, but she doesn’t hear them say it. She thinks this will fix their problems if they just continue to fight for one another. They should say that to each other. She hears their voices and glances over a couple times and even sees it in their faces. They love each other so much, but scared the other person doesn’t want to fight for them. They are fighting and struggling in conversation because they love each other so much. Dan and April want it to work, but not until they know for sure the other will fight to the end for them. So many things sadly go unsaid.

Young woman is so sad for them. She pretends to be on her phone so that they won’t know she is paying attention. Young woman is so confused and troubled by this conversation too. She is wondering why people who really love each other don’t fight to the end. Love has just recently pained her too and this is not helping her. She wonders what it is that makes people just give up sometimes. She knows because she has been there. She knows how much you can really love a person and what it means to feel love like it will last forever.

So Dan, April, and young woman all sit in silence wondering what went wrong. How can love be interrupted if it is real love? They all thought that real love lasts forever because that is what they were always told and how they felt it should be. But what they all end up with is love interrupted.

Young woman checks the time and realizes that she will be late for work. She gathers her things and walks away. She turns back to see if there will be any hope for Dan and April. Because if it can’t work out for her and the fight just wasn’t enough, at least maybe it could be enough for someone else. Young women looks back and Dan and April are still sitting quietly at the table. She thought to herself that April shouldn’t think about luck when it comes to love. Luck will always leave you in the end because it is not a faithful friend. And I walked away knowing I will never get to see the end of Dan and April’s story.