SUNBEAMS:...A Short Story Of Some Sort Of Crazy Love...But Not All Is Ever As It Seems In Wheelhouse Romance...You Can Go All-In On Romance...Happy Endings Were Back In Vogue...

 

By PATRICK ALCATRAZ/ Fiction Editor

BROWNSVILLE, Texas |...Funky Jake Ramirez had tolerated what he called Emilia's crap for long months. The relationship had been up and down and around the world, as they said in police reports across the grass-whorled country. Here, however, it had died, was just about over.

Emilia was a keeper by all measures of womanhood.

She had the brains, and she had the ass, is what Jake would tell friends.

"What she doesn't have is a Life under control," he'd go on. "The woman has 20 freakin' credit cards and they are all maxed-out!" That, and a few other personality peccadillos, like that she still wore bellbottoms and tie-dyed halter tops, as if a refugee from the bygone Summer of Love.

So when Jake decided to cut the cord with her, he told Emilia as much in a brief sermon that went to his dislike of her ways to the fact - as he put it, fact - that he hoped she would find what she was looking for.

Emilia coughed out a mini-surprise emotion and then said, "Cool."

In a jiffy sandwich, Jake felt out of her grasp. He kissed her on the cheek and said his goodbye; she moved her face toward his for the last peck and nodded in full agreement.

Sometimes, it's okay to go your own way, to get off the mare and live abroad, as they say in Texas.

Jake went on to date Emilia's socially aware sister Petula and Emilia started seeing an old Hippie who ran a motorcycle repair shop in town.

There was big trouble all across the map, but Happy Endings were back in vogue...

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