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A first for me...not even sure what category to put it under. I normally deal in prose and poetry, but am delving into the world of chapter/short-stories. This has turned into something much more than I expected and would love feedback on it.

James’s two bedroom apartment was decorated by her. As he rolled over in the bed covered in blue cotton sheets, he could see the small wooden figurine of a couple lovingly holding each other strategically placed next to the wedding picture. Staring back at him from the picture were two people he barely recognized, smiling oblivious smiles. His wedding day with Nicole was over 5 years ago and this picture was such a feeble attempt at reminding James of that.

He rolled his eyes and threw his feet over the side of the bed. Already he felt the chill in the air of the room and he searched for his soft green slippers on the cold wooden floor. His toes tickled the floor lightly so as not to fully submerse them in the frigid, high gloss, shine.

He rubbed his eyes with his rough fingers and he walked past the dresser on the left. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and stopped short. His hair stood tousled on his head, curls and wisps going in every direction. Running his hands through his hair he thought to himself that he should probably go see Frances down at the barber shop, his hair was becoming an issue.

As he looked to his left, he saw her perfume bottles and brushes and lotions placed in order from smallest to tallest on top of the shiny oak colored dresser. Irritated, he pursed his lips and scratched his neck. She is always so neat, so organized with the smallest details. Another picture sat at the corner of the dresser, staring back at him, mocking him.

As he walked out of the bedroom, a chill covered his arms and he folded them across his chest in an effort to sustain some warmth.

"Jesus f*****g Christ, its cold in here," he muttered to himself in disgust. Why did he ever agree to move to Alaska?

Staring at the thermometer hanging by the control he noticed with alarm that it was currently 65 degrees in his apartment, but outside it was -3.

Shuffling his feet, he walked towards the stereo sitting on the bookcase, filled with books he knows he would love, but hasn't quite gotten around to. All of his favorite CDs sat in front of him, waiting for him to pick them up, peruse their titles and choose which one to worship today. The Beatles, Wilco, Neko Case, The Boards of Canada, The Stones; my god man, the f*****g Stones, all stare back at him. He needed some desert tones so he picked up Calexico's "Hot Rail" and pushed the thin shiny disc into the player and it began.

Within seconds, the first few delicious chords are played through the speakers. A carefully placed ‘Dm’ reached his ears, slid past his ear drums, traveled past his heart and settled squarely, heavily in his stomach. Inadvertently he closed his eyes and he got a vision of driving across the Arizona desert. The top of his convertible was down and he could feel the tires gliding easily across sun-soaked pavement. To his right she sat, smiling back at him. The hot, dry air picked at the wisps of her hair and danced it around her head. He stared a little longer then he should have at the sunlight bronzing her shoulders and her long tan legs that rested on the dashboard as they drove.

He was jolted out of his daydream as he heard his phone ringing. He turned to pick it up and for a split second he thought to himself that it might be her. His heart began to race.

“Hey, what’s up?” Andrew said cheerfully.

“Eh, things are just fine, I guess,” James retorted. He didn’t mean to sound so rude, but he had other things on his mind. What could his brother possibly want?

“What’s wrong?”

“Just anxious about the trip I guess,” James lied. He didn’t ever lie to his brother, but recently this had become more and more common place.

“No worries. I just wanted to let you know that Sandy and I are getting off work at about noon our time. What time do you think you will be getting into Omaha?”

“Our plane should get in at about two o’clock.”

“Ok, I will see you tomorrow. Hang in there, dude.”

“Thanks. See you tomorrow,” James said with a sigh. He hated that he had been so morose with his brother but there was so much more on his mind right now.

James kicked it into high gear and finished getting ready. He rushed through a hot shower, not allowing himself the brief amount of time he usually allotted every morning for relieving himself. This was something that seemed to calm him during his work day and now he wouldn’t even be getting that joy today. It was hard for him to not be mad at his brother for interrupting his day dream earlier. Why was it that he was still thinking so much about her? What did that mean?

 

 

Amelia delicately balanced her work bag, office keys, cell phones, and her much needed Starbucks coffee in her arms. As she rushed into her office, she realized that she would be late again. She was late for everything recently. She dropped her things onto her desk and sighed deeply. Her long blonde hair was falling in her face and she stopped for a second to push it off of her forehead. Anxiously, she sat down and arranged her things around her within easy reach so she could get to work. Before starting work, she checked her email. She always got butterflies in her stomach when she checked her email. Maybe today would be the day that he would decide to write. He would be in town the next day.

She typed her email and password in carefully and held her breath as the screen loaded.  Nothing. She breathed out slowly and resolved that James had not forgotten about her, but he had not had time to write yet. Even though her email had said that she needed a break for a while, she thought for sure that he would have contacted her by now. She wrote the email in January and it had long since turned into spring. Remembering back to January and how things had ended Amelia lost herself for a moment.

It had all started so innocently. Two people who needed affection reaching for each other in search of friendship. Amelia could remember divulging everything to James. She talked about work and her ambitions of wanting to move up in the company. She talked with James about her marriage and how things were falling apart. Amelia could remember late night conversations about how they both wanted to escape. Whether this was just venting or making plans to be together, she couldn’t remember now. The sharing of music and the banter about politics was always so interesting to her and she would find herself day dreaming about James and their conversations they had the night before almost everyday.

Eventually the conversations turned romantic.

“What happens if we start to fall for each other?” Amelia asked James one night with butterflies in her stomach.

“I guess we will deal with it, why do you ask?”

“I don’t know,” Amelia lied.

“Yes you do, just talk to me, Amelia,” James said.

“I just...I don’t know…we are so close, and I feel very comfortable with you. Probably more comfortable then I have ever been with anyone,” Amelia stammered.

“Just say what you’re thinking,”

“I feel like I’m falling in love with you,” Amelia blurted out.

“I feel the same way,” James said honestly.

Amelia could feel her body begin to shake violently. Her emotions and excitement seemed to be pouring out of her.

“What do we do now?” Amelia asked. She constantly needed a plan for her life and this in no way fit into any kind of plan that she had possibly conceived. James didn’t have an answer.

James would continue to not have any answers for Amelia. This went on for months without any resolve and they would fight and make up and fight and resolve to wait and then fight some more. Amelia couldn’t handle “living in the moment” as James would call it.

“I just don’t understand why we have to continuously go over and over what we will do. I don’t have an answer for you right now. What do you expect of me?” James would always say to her. Amelia could never quite figure out what exactly she expected from James, but this wasn’t enough. After pulling and pushing back and forth with James for months, Amelia asked James for a break. Not a break up, as she would describe to him later, but a break none the less.

           They had even planned a trip together where they would meet and see each other and spend time together in a neutral location. This had fallen through when Amelia asked for the break. Amelia could remember February and March passing by without hearing anything from James. She knew that at some point in time, James had gone to New York as they had planned for a business trip. She knew this already and didn’t go. Surprisingly, she had actually toyed with the idea of going anyway to surprise him, but never quite got the courage up to go.