Chapter Two - The Beginning

This is the place. James knew it as soon as she laid eyes on it. Whereas her old apartment was sunny and open and inviting, this house was secluded, closed off nad moody. The ancient stonework and the low slung profile were perfect for the new phase of her life James that felt she was entering.

The cobbled, winding driveway up the steep hill was almost impossible to navigate, whether by car or on foot. At night, the trek through the wrought iron gates to the house bordered on deadly. Just the way she wanted it.

She didn’t quibble on the asking price, even though she knew she was paying too much. She didn’t care. Her money had been sitting dormant for so long, now it was time to put it to work.

She sensed her friends before their heavy breathing gave them away. She noticed that, lately, she seemed to know things – when someone was about to call, the presence of her friends before they arrived, and the dreams and visions. Those were the most unnerving things, the dreams and visions. The other stuff she could write off as knowing her friends well and that connection friends have. The dreams and visions, she could not discount nor understand.

“There’s gotta be an easier way to get up here.” Serena. James heard Guy just grunt.

Finally, the trio cleared the final turn and stopped to catch their breath. James watched from the porch, knowing they probably couldn’t see her yet. She studied each of them as if she’d never seen them before.

Serena, one of her oldest and dearest friend, always the first one to find a logical explanation for anything, was thoroughly confused by this new James she had become. With Serena, everything took time, took thought, took contemplation. She was not one to leap into anything with days and weeks of consideration, a trait that amused and frustrated James alternately.

Maggie was the epitome of earth mother. Nurturing and mothering, Maggie had just recently come into James’ life and James was still trying to figure out how she fit. James almost couldn’t remember how she met Maggie, she just seemed to have appeared in her life one day and that was it. Maggie was always ready with a quote from some spiritual book she had just read or a piece of a poem that seemed perfect for the occasion. James wasn’t sure if that was good or annoying.

Guy, on the other hand, had known James the longest. They had worked together a half a life ago at a name tag job, bonded over being surreptitiously insubordinate and had been friends ever since. As with most men and women, their friendship was occasionally complicated by a confusion of signals and emotions, sometimes feeling like more than a friendship but not quite a relationship, sometimes being simply a kiss away from something more. Neither of them ever took that one step that would change their friendship forever.

James finally stood when she felt that they had recovered enough.

“Welcome.”

The trio put on their best faces and met her on the porch.

“Canceling your gym membership is in order, that much I can say,” Serena quipped as she perched on the stone wall surrounding the porch. “I know where I can go if I ever want to train for a trek up Kilimanjaro.”

“I’m getting used to it,” James said, putting her feet up beside Serena as the others settled in. “Look at it this way, no Jehovah’s Witnesses will be found knocking on my door.”

“Yeah, you’ll find their skeletons years from now after a winter thaw and wonder how they got there.”

They were quiet as they all searched for something positive to say to the woman they all loved but who had changed so drastically recently.

“What’s left in the apartment?” Guy was always the practical one.

“Not much. Got most of the furniture last week with you guys and I’ve been bringing boxes over every day.”

“Are you writing at all?” James met Guy’s gaze without flinching. She hadn’t written a word.

“I’m on hiatus.”

“For how long?”

“However long it takes.”

The old friends held each other’s look, each wanting to say something more but not sure what or how. Instead, Maggie broke the uncomfortable silence.

“Well, it’s… unique.”

James stood up. “Let’s eat.”

********************
Once inside, with food in their bellies (take-out Thai) and wine in their hearts, the talk finally loosened up and James felt a tiny bit like her old self again – the part of her old self she wanted to hang on to. Maggie was treating them to tales of her journeys far and wide. A travel writer with a spiritual bent, Maggie’s stories were always fascinating. Although tonight, James found herself barely listening, just absorbing more than anything. It was like she could read their feelings moreso than their thoughts, but yet she felt as if she knew what each of them carried deeply, secretly within their hearts. That deep, shared intimacy that only very good, very close friends can have.

Guy followed her into the kitchen, despite her protests. They left Maggie and Serena arguing over some obscure philosophy Maggie encountered on her travels and left the door open so they could hear the discourse in the background.

“Trash is over by the door.” Guy dumped out the leftovers as James filled the sink. She liked the fact that the two of them didn’t necessarily have to talk all the time. Guy seemed to understand her without words. They had such a shorthand with each other that they often confused people around them, finishing each other’s sentences and barely having to speak at all. That felt so good, even now, maybe especially now.

Guy joined her at the sink and tossed his dishes in with hers. Not one to pull punches, he finally asked the question they’d all wanted to ask.

“So, has he called?”

James just shook her head, suddenly unable to speak.

“Does he know at all?”

Again with the head shake.

“Does he know…”

“I don’t want to talk about him.”

“Fine.” Guy had so many questions he wanted to ask, so many things he wanted to say but he wouldn’t. They worked in silence, the drone of Maggie and Serena filling the quiet. Finally, Guy shifted his weight and let his hip bump gently against hers.

“Glad you’re still here.”

James caught the emotion in her throat. “Me, too.”

His green eyes peered deep into her and said everything he wanted to say. She leaned over and gently kissed his cheek. He leaned into her kiss, not wanting to break the moment. They stood there, cheek to cheek, in a silent dance, overcome. Serena’s footsteps forced them apart, although she hesitated in the doorway.

“Am I interrupting something?”

James sloshed around in the sink. “Not at all. Anything left out there?”

Maggie joined them and the laughter and conversation began again, although underneath it, James kept catching Guy watching her, for once unable to read those intriguing eyes of his.

The rest of the evening was joyful and uneventful as the friends tried to settle back into their old routines with their renewed friend. By the time the clock was well past midnight, the trio finally made their way to the front door to bid their hostess good night.

James grabbed a couple of flashlights and made her way down the crooked hill with them to ensure their safety. She was much amused at Serena and Maggie cringing from the critters that rustled in the bushes in the darkness. The wine seemed to make them both even more girly, sending the pair into fits of giggles, which slowed the progress greatly. By the time they reached the wrought iron gates, Guy was pretty much done with them and focused back on James.

“You need anything, you call me.”

“Of course.”

Maggie gave her a big hug. “I’ve left some lavender in the kitchen for you. Fill the house with that wonderful scent.”

Serena was next with the hugs, a little more hesitant than Maggie to let her friend go. “Is this really what you want?” James just nodded. “Okay, I’ll see if I can find a fitting housewarming gift to fit your décor. Early Flintstones ought to do it.” They laughed and hugged again.

Guy hovered as the two girls made their way to their cars. He didn’t want to leave but didn’t know how to stay. If only he could know that James was having the same thoughts – I don’t want you to go but I don’t know how to ask you to stay.

He finally reached out and drew her into his embrace, holding her longer than he meant to.

James was suddenly filled with images – the two of them curled up on her new couch, warm and cozy; them side by side, sleeping, his hand on her; his sea green eyes filled with hurt and incomprehension; him walking away from her, not turning around.

She squeezed him closer before letting him go, hoping it would trigger more, something clearer, but nothing came. Guy just stood back, gave her a quick peck on the lips then waved as he walked to his car. James stood between the gates, watching him get in his car. She couldn’t bring herself to walk away until his taillights disappeared around the corner. Even then, she waited, thinking he might turn around, he might come back. But he never did.

She closed the gates.