Falling for Sociopathy
The Other Side of Charm
An excerpt from the first chapter of H.G. Beverly’s The Other Side of Charm: Your Memoir:
You will fall in love. Your love will come to you from the southeast in some kind of subtle-sparkle-smoke fog coming in through the cracks around your door sweeping across the room to you there where you’ll be reading on your sofa he’ll be reaching his hands down around your waist filling your eyes with his glow so intense that you will not keep yourself from looking over and away. Lids half closed to shield your eyes. Your love will not be able to stay away will come to you in the morning and in the afternoon and in the evening and in the middle of the night your love will wake you from a dream with strong coffee will relax your rigid bones with a glass of wine will make you wonder why you’ve been working so hard all this time you’ll watch him coming toward you and his smoke will serenade your heart so this is passion. Your love will take you on a night walk stroll behind you pushed up against you stride for stride and the rhythm will tell him you’re a perfect fit look at us walking. We’re a perfect fit. He will be fascinated. With your plans and dreams they’re so much in line with mine if only he hadn’t been traveling through the south these last years you could’ve been building a life together ever since college or high school or maybe even junior high your fit is just that marvelous your feet will sweep across the earth like matchsticks lighting a fire. Every step another spark. Will fly to the sky I can’t believe I didn’t see this in you before should’ve known when I first saw you as a child but I’ve never known love like this in my life let’s spend every moment making up for lost time. Let’s start with a dance. Yes, right here. Right now. You’ll swing around the living room you’ll swing across your lawn you’ll spin sideways down the sidewalk you’ll follow his lead with your eyes you’ll talk freely about the future so this is love. Your love will teach you all about love you will say I didn’t know it could be like this your last relationship will have been with someone more regular no smoke that last one will have cooked chili too late and his nose will have run and dripped while he stirred and you’ll have watched him wipe it with the side of his hand while cutting hot peppers but no smoke. You won’t have known what it could be what might happen in your heart when the sparks start flying to the sky when the light show creates a fog and you won’t have known what love could feel like to be lost what the smoke might do to your heart all engulfed in that glittering, hazy mist no time to come up for air you won’t even bother trying. You won’t have known what it could be until it finds its way in through the cracks and then you’ll know that nothing was like this before so this is the one there’s no way of saying no when God sends you the smoke you don’t question your destiny.
You won’t question your destiny.
