The Pelican

Marvin sat in the restaurant and forced a smile. The nerves he felt were overwhelming. He took a sip of his light beer and wiped his brow. He had practised what he was going to say to Flora, but he knew it was a distinct possibility that it would all go out the window now that she was sitting in front of him. He felt a fool for meeting up with her. It had been years since he had last seen her and even longer since they had dated. When he was at the lowest point of his life, she had dumped him. Given him the flick. Goodbye. Adios. Leave your testicles at the door because you won’t be needing them again.

“Flora,” he began. “When we were dating, I… I was in a bad way, as you later found out.”
“Oh?” asked Flora, looking at him with her big, brown, doe eyes. “Are you referring to the incident at my sister’s engagement party?”
“Hey, that is damn unfair to bring that up!” snapped Marvin, defensively. “I had just been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and, well, I didn’t come here to talk about that.” He paused and gathered his nerve. “Sorry,” he continued, wiping his brow again. “I just needed time to… get fixed.”
“It wasn’t up to me to fix you, Marvin.”
“I know that!” Marvin retorted. “I fixed myself. I fixed myself real good. The incidents, the crying, I was on top of it all. But by then… you had moved on, with Frank.”
“Fritz,” corrected Flora.
“Oh, that’s right,” said Marvin. Lousy kraut, he thought.
“Is there anything else, Marvin?” asked Flora. Marvin looked down at the table. Would he say it? Should he say it?
“I’ll tell you that another time,” he said, exhaling heavily. In his heart, Marvin knew that there wouldn’t be another time.

That evening, Marvin walked alone along the beach. Why didn’t he tell her? She was right there, and he had nothing to lose. He turned to face the horizon and felt the waves gently lapping against his ankles. He dropped to his knees and cried out, “I loved her!”.
“Are you right, mate?” a passing man asked. Marvin glanced over his shoulder, but the man kept on walking. Marvin knelt in the water and began to cry. His body heaved with each sob as the tears rolled down his cheeks. He knew enough about love to know that he may never find it again. As he was weeping, a lone pelican flew down and stood next to him. Marvin turned to look at the bird and thought it was the most graceful, beautiful thing that he had ever seen. Through the tears, Marvin smiled.
“Have you come to help me?” he asked the bird. The pelican flapped it’s wings and turned its head to the side so that it was looking directly at Marvin.
“You have, you’re here to tell me that I will be ok,” said Marvin. He lifted himself up out of the water and cautiously stepped towards the pelican with his hand outstretched. As he reached the bird, he gently touched its head. The pelican didn’t move. Marvin stroked its head and crouched down next to it.
“Thank you, noble pelican,” he whispered. Everything was going to be all right.