The End of Something (with apologies to Ernest Hemingway)

The End of Something

From the moment she drifted into my room, I knew there was something very special about Elizabeth. A dream girl, with high-boned cheeks, long, flowing silken tresses and the eyes of a doe, she was also a confirmed vegan. “I do not touch dead meat!” she solemnly declared. But there was more to her than that – much more. She manifested an ethereal quality; she was like no one I had ever met. And in no time at all, we found ourselves swept up in a whirlwind affair.
I took her to my favorite haunts where we played with erotic abandon. I learned to eat salads, because she would not permit me to kiss her lips if I had just eaten meat. We laughed together, lightly and long, as we skipped through the streets of the city or raced up the grassy knoll in the park to our favorite romping place.
I never promised her the moon, but I would have if I could have. Instead, whenever I noticed that some trinket had caught her attention, I bought it for her. One day, we paused at a pet store window to delight in the antics of a beautiful puppy. Elizabeth was as enthralled by the puppy’s antics as I was, and so I bought the puppy, and a collar, a leash, a ball and a small package of meaty puppy treats. Elizabeth seemed ecstatic with the puppy, and the three of us scooted merrily up to our favorite spot in the park.
As we sat on the bench, we watched the puppy play. But we soon noticed that the puppy showed a marked preference for returning the ball to me. This was intolerable, but I hit upon an idea that I thought would correct the situation. I opened the package of doggy treats and offered one to the puppy who quickly devoured it and insistently probed for more of the same. “Here, Elizabeth, take this. “ I began, offering her the package. “If you feed the puppy some treats, I’m sure he’ll quickly bond with you.” “Oh, no,” she responded, “I can’t.”
“Please,” I said, “I know it will work.” But still she resisted. With no further thought, I grabbed several treats from the package and tried to place them in Elizabeth’s hand, but the slightest contact with her hand caused her to instantly recoil with a look of shock and betrayal on her face. “How could you?” she asked, incredulously. She turned, in an instant, and walked away from me. “Please, Elizabeth, I’m sorry, come back!” I pleaded. But I knew, from the instant I brushed her hand with that doggy treat that I had betrayed her trust, irrevocably, and I’d lost her, forever.
Abruptly, I found myself sitting up in bed, drenched in perspiration, eyes moist and tearing. I tumbled out of bed, limped to the vanity, and peering into the mirror, I scornfully groaned at the traitor in the mirror, “How could You?”

Leo Toribio