Nicole had to laugh at herself as the slim redhead carried two
bags of books out of the library. 'guess I got a bit carried away,' she
thought.
"Good evening," a warm voice called. Nicole looked up and
smiled, recognizing the man standing there. Simon walked over, his black
hair falling messily into his eyes as he said, "Thank you for taking
care of Sam."
'Ah, the fainting incident,' Nicole thought as she said, "It's
all right."
"It certainly made Sam's day," Simon said cheerfully as they
moved towards her little car. He tucked his hands into his coat pockets
after making an abortive attempt to take one of her bags in a
gentlemanly way.
"Then I'm glad," Nicole said. She unlocked her back door to set
the books inside as she added, "It certainly boosted me to hear I was
her favorite author."
"I.. uhm...," Simon looked vaguely uncomfortable. He smiled
tentatively, "I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight?"
Nicole looked over at him in surprise, fighting back a sudden
urge to giggle. 'He's asking me out,' she thought, 'poor guy.' As
diplomatically as possible she said, "I'm not really up to going out
now, but thanks for asking."
"You're welcome," Simon gave her a shy smile before heading off.
Nicole climbed in the car, starting up the engine and pulling
out of the parking lot. 'Wonder how far out I should be here?' she found
herself wondering as she drove over to the supermarket. Back in
Vancouver it hadn't really been an issue, but here in a small town...
The frozen foods that she wanted were easy to gather together,
pizza, burgers and snacks then she picked up some fresh vegetables and
meat. Once she had enough groceries for a week or so she went up to the
check out counters and paid quickly. The car loaded up fast, she climbed
inside, and then headed out of town.
The car's sudden rattling reminded her of the potholes in her
driveway but it was almost a familiar thing by now. Soon she came around
the turn and saw Journey's End waiting for her, the large house sitting
here not far from the churning sea. As she got out of the car she caught
the faint scent of salt water and the beach not far away and smiled
slightly, the fiery light of sunset touching the whole place with a rosy
glow.
"Home," Nicole murmured, trying to describe the place to
herself. It didn't quite fit yet, somehow, but she got the warm feeling
that it would, someday. She collected her bags, walking to the door only
to have it swing open on it's own.
There was a subtle disturbance in the air, then Laura fully
appeared, the blonde giving her a gentle smile. "Welcome back," she said
simply.
Nicole felt herself smile back even as she felt an odd...
flutter in her chest. 'She really is beautiful,' she thought. Aloud she
said, "Thanks for getting the door."
Laura laughed softly, "You're welcome." She took in the bags of
books that Nicole was carrying and her smile widened, "Are those what I
think they are?"
"Visited the library," Nicole agreed. She tried not to laugh at
Laura's eagerness as she said, "I didn't realize you could read books."
"I learned my letters at a young age," Laura said with some
amusement. Her dress flowed around her, the nearly transparent sundress
hinting at the form beneath, "and even as a spirit I can muster the
strength to turn a page."
"Well that's good," Nicole said, walking through the front hall,
past the living room and then into the dining room and kitchen. The food
was all unpacked and stowed away, but she hesitated at unloading all the
books.
"What's wrong?" Laura asked curiously.
"Some of these books might not suit you," Nicole admitted,
sitting down in front of the table with the bags of unopened books.
Nicole had been more than a bit surprised to find so many books
by several lesbian publishers at the library and had grabbed up most of
them, filling up the two bags. She pulled out books from Alyson and
Naiad, a few new Bellas and a couple of the British publisher Diva. They
made a pretty impressive looking pile, all in all.
"Ahh," Laura smiled, a twinkle to her eye as she said,
"Sapphists, yes?"
Nicole blinked, then smiled slightly. "Yeah, you could say
that," she said. She looked at Laura curiously, "I didn't want to ask,
but...."
"You have read the papers," Laura said softly, "about what
happened."
"Some," Nicole admitted.
"It's such an old story," Laura said softly, "we met when she
came here with her father to open a shop in town. Rose drew my eye with
her scarlet hair and wild manner, but it was her kindness that made me
fall in love with her."
"And you two lived here," Nicole said.
"Yes," Laura nodded, "for many years. Father knew and accepted,
for she made me happy. But then... Rose rode, you see, and even broke
wild horses. She was strong, noble in the saddle, and I never thought
that anything could go wrong."
"But it did," Nicole prompted.
"She was thrown from her horse," Laura's voice had dropped down
to a pain filled whisper and something that looked like tears fell down
her pale cheeks, "and lingered for a few days with her grave injuries
but...."
"I'm so sorry," Nicole reached out automatically, wanting to lay
her hand on Laura's arm. Her hand passed right through the misty form,
feeling only a slight resistance where flesh would have been, but there
was the oddest sensation...
Laura managed a smile, "I remember her, still I remember." She
looked up, as haunted as the house around them as she said, "I could not
continue after, I didn't want to. So when the moon shone above us I
walked to the cliff's edge... and went over."
"Is that why your spirit lingers here?" Nicole asked softly.
"I don't know," Laura seemed to fade, becoming more transparent.
She looked into Nicole's eyes, her own filled with grief and pain, then
she was simply gone.
Nicole sat there a moment, feeling a sympathetic ache as she
considered her own lost lover. 'Not that she'd dead,' Nicole thought
tiredly, 'I just wished she was. Wonder if I should have asked Laura or
just left it alone?'
Nicole got up from her seat, stretching out a moment. Her
shoulders felt tight from tension, her body as tightly wound as a piano
string. She walked from the kitchen, her steps taking her upstairs to
her office where she sat down in front of the computer. She cracked her
knuckles, flexed her fingers then turned the computer on.
Working almost on automatic Nicole's fingers quickly flew across
the keyboard, taking up where she left off on her latest romance novel.
It was strange, how easy the writing came to her here when she had been
blocked for so damn long back in the city. 'Then again,' she thought
wryly, 'that's why I came here, right?'
The sun fully set outside, the sounds of evening then night
coming on softly in the background as she worked to the light of a
powerful artificial light. "Nicole?" the voice asked softly, and she
looked up blinking at Laura standing behind her.
"Eh?" Nicole blinked owlishly, looking up from her screen.
"It's nearly midnight," Laura said worriedly, "are you all
right?"
Nicole peered at the clock then laughed sheepishly. "Guess I
lost track of time," she admitted, saving her file then shutting it
down.
"Have you eaten?" Laura asked with a slight frown.
Nicole's stomach gurgled and she made a face. "Guess that
answers that," she said as they went downstairs to the kitchen. She gave
Laura a smile, "Thanks for getting me away from the computer, by the
way."
"Do you do that very often?" Laura asked her as Nicole pulled
out various items from the fridge to make up a sandwich. Two slices of
baloney, lettuce, and mustard were put on brown bread, then she munched
happily.
"It sometimes happens when I get on a roll," Nicole admitted
between bites. She polished off her food then stretched out, yawning
tiredly. "Oh yeah," she sighed, "time for bed."
"You really do need someone to take care of you," Laura murmured
softly to herself as Nicole stumbled away tiredly.
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