Rearview Mirror

by B L Clark

  “What?” he exclaimed. “I thought she was going to the hotel.”

  “Nope, Nicole decided that Amber was going to stay with her.”

  “Great.” Erik shook his head.

  The two had been walking and found themselves at the bridge near Old Miller’s Pond.

  “When did life get so complicated?” Erik asked.

  “About the time we all became responsible adults,” Jill said as they walked to the middle of the bridge and leaned on the railing, watching the water flowing underneath.

  “We had a lot of good times growing up out here, didn’t we?” Erik looked around the area.

  “Yeah, we did. Look, Erik, I know you’re concerned about Nicole, but this is something we can’t interfere in. Nicole loves Amber and will do anything to help her. Even if it means she gets hurt in the process. For what it’s worth, I believe Amber honestly loves Nicole still.”

  “I know they love each other. That was never an issue. My issue is I don’t want to see my best friend’s life pulled out from under her again. She won’t survive that.”

  “Maybe you should try talking to Nicole. She’s going to be the one to best allay your fears.”

  “Do you think Nicole would honestly listen and be objective?” Erik asked.

  “You’ll never know until you talk to her about it.”

  “You’re right. Do you think you could keep Amber company while I talk to Nicole? We both know she isn’t going to let Amber be unsupervised.”

  “Yeah, sure. Call Nicole, set up a time, and just let me know.”

  “Thanks, Jill,” Erik said as they headed back toward town.

  Nicole walked into the room with a perplexed look on her face. Amber glanced up and immediately felt her breathing falter with the look on Nicole’s face.

  “Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Amber patted a spot on the bed next to her for Nicole to sit on.

  “Erik called. He said he wants to talk to me privately tomorrow, but he knows I don’t want to leave you alone, so he’s bringing Jill and lunch with him.”

  “Did he say why he wants to talk to you?”

  “No, that’s the weird part. When I asked him, he just said he didn’t want to get into it over the phone but not to stress on it. How the frilly hell does he expect me not to stress when he doesn’t give me a single clue what it’s about?”

  Amber feigned a smile and wrapped her good arm around Nicole and pulled her closer.

  “I don’t know, sweetie, but you’ll know soon enough.”

  “What if it’s bad news?”

  “Then we’ll deal with it together.” Amber kissed the side of Nicole’s head.

  “Amber, can we talk tomorrow about what’s going on here? What we’re doing?”

  “I think that might be a great idea, provided all goes well with Erik.”

  Nicole leaned over, kissed Amber, and then pulled back and laid her head on Amber’s good shoulder, as they lay there cuddled together but both lost deep in their own thoughts.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Addressing Concerns

  Nicole had gotten up early. She was nervous about what Erik wanted to discuss with her and about her impending talk with Amber about the status of their relationship and where they go from here.

  Nicole had cleaned the entire living room, dusted, vacuumed, and even reorganized the magazines by date. She then moved to the kitchen. She had cleaned out and scrubbed the refrigerator, including the drawers. She was now working on cleaning the stove and oven when Amber came downstairs and stood in the doorway of the kitchen.

  “Whatcha doing?” Amber asked.

  “What? Ouch! Shit!” Nicole yelped as she tried to raise her head while it was still in the oven and managed to hit her head on the upper element and on the interior of the oven. Amber winced.

  “Careful. I’m sorry I startled you.” Amber quickly made her way over to the oven.

  “I hope I didn’t wake you.” Nicole rubbed the back of her head.

  “Stand up,” Amber said softly. Nicole stood, and Amber felt the back of her head to make sure there wasn’t a cut. “You didn’t wake me. I rolled over and tried to snuggle, but I could only find pillows.”

  “Sorry. I needed to keep myself busy. I decided to clean since I’m not working at the moment.”

  “Why aren’t you working? What do you do anyway? I just realized we’ve never discussed that.”

  “How about we grab some coffee and go sit on the lanai?”

  “That sounds great.” Amber leaned forward and kissed Nicole. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning,” Nicole said, pulling back from the kiss.

  They both gathered their coffee, and Amber followed Nicole to the lanai. It was a very tranquil area. Amber hadn’t even noticed that the hallway leading to it existed. There was a tasteful wicker table and chair set, a plush-looking swing that looked like someone had taken a Papasan sofa and hung it up. There was a waterfall feature that Nicole turned on, and with the touch of another button, the sounds of a distant thunderstorm surrounded them in the room.

  “Nicole, this is incredible,” Amber said as she looked around.

  “Thanks. I wanted an area to escape the world. Erik helped me build most of it, but, well, you’re the only person to have ever seen the fully completed room.”

  “You mean Jill, Heather, and Erik haven’t seen this?” Amber asked as they put their coffee on the end table and curled up together in the swing.

  “Nope. Are you comfortable?” Nicole asked.

  “Yes.” Amber moved a little closer to Nicole. “If you haven’t shown this to anyone else…why me?”

  “Because you and I have a different connection, and well, I wanted us to have a room or a place that was only for us. I built a lot of this with you in mind.”

  “Really? This is incredible.”

  “The thunderstorms you hear surrounding us…I actually recorded it one night so I could have something authentic sounding. I remembered how much you enjoyed listening to the rain.”

  “I still do,” Amber interrupted quietly.

  “The bamboo has always been a look that I associate with Zen architecture.”

  “I think this is amazing. There’s a place in my apartment that I can sit and listen to the rain hitting the rooftops and leaves…every once in a while, there’s a ting of it hitting a car or one of the few streetlamps nearby.”

  “That sounds nice.”

  “It is. How long have you had this house?”

  “I bought it about two years after you left. It was a complete fixer-upper, but with Erik, Jill, Heather, and your mother, we got it done. The landscaping outside and the lush fake plants in here are your mother’s touch.”

  “I recognized her work,” Amber said with a hint of amusement in her voice. “Tell me about your life after I left. What did you do? Where did you go to school? What do you do for a living? I really know nothing about your life now.”

  “Maybe we should get some breakfast and take care of your bandage before we get into a long discussion like that. I want to know all that stuff about you, too.”

  “Okay, but can we come back in here?”

  “Yep!”

  Nicole and Amber went upstairs to take care of the bandage.

  “Hey, Erik,” Jill said as she entered the diner near the firehouse.

  “Hey,” Erik said, still wearing his EMT uniform.

  “So, what time are we meeting Nicole?”

  “Um, I told her we’d be there around noon and we’d bring lunch.”

  “So, why are we here at the ass crack of dawn?” Jill asked.

  “Because you agreed to meet me after I got off work. It isn’t my fault you didn’t ask what time I got done.” Erik laughed.

  “You better hope they bring me coffee soon,” Jill said, glaring at him.

  Erik raised his hand to get the waitress’s attention and pointed to Jill. The waitress got the message and grabbed a cup and the carafe of coffee. She came over and poured J
ill her cup and refilled Erik’s, as well. Erik then ordered the bacon, eggs, and pancakes. Jill ordered a veggie omelet, pancakes, and extra bacon.

  “Jill, why do you order the veggie omelet and then get extra bacon?”

  “Because you know it’s the only way I’m going to eat those damn veggies. The bacon just masks their nasty taste. Stop laughing and judging me, Harrison,” Jill said as Erik laughed and shook his head.

  “That’s hilarious.”

  “Shut up.” Jill scoffed. “So, have you thought about what you’re going to say to Nicole?”

  “Yeah, I think so.” Erik paused to take a sip of his coffee. “I’m going to tell her that I want to bring the concerns out into the open so she isn’t blindsided and that I don’t want to interfere, but because I care for her, I felt I should say something.”

  “Yeah, that’s going to go over well with her,” Jill said.

  “What would you say?”

  “Well, I didn’t say I had anything better. I was just stating that no matter what we say, she isn’t going to be happy hearing it. She’s in dreamland with Amber being back in her life.”

  “I know, but something has to be said. Do you think if I truly piss her off, you can put me in protective custody again?”

  “Yeah, we have the wimpy weasel cell all set for you,” Jill teased.

  Erik was about to respond to her comment when their breakfast arrived. They thanked the waitress as she refilled their coffee and then they ate. Erik told Jill about the oddities that he had seen overnight, and she told him what was going on in her office.

  “Um, do you think before we change the dressing, we could maybe shower?” Amber asked.

  “Sure. It’s probably best that we do it before we change the dressing so the new one doesn’t get wet and we don’t waste the antibiotic cream. I know we can always get more, but we don’t have to go back to the doctor for another few days. I know that if I can avoid that place, I would feel much happier, not that it’s something that you’re looking to—” Nicole’s babble was cut off by Amber’s lips pressed against hers. The kiss started slowly as a stop to the babbling and then as they each moved their lips, the kiss became that of need and passion. They finally broke for air.

  “Wanna explain why you suddenly became nervous?” Amber asked as she pressed her forehead against Nicole’s.

  “Well, I…I have no clue. I guess I’m worked up because of what we’re going to talk about and then my mind is hyperactive in wondering what Erik wants to talk about. I’m sorry.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry about. If you want to put the talk off until after Erik and Jill leave, I’m okay with that. We can just shower and get ready and then go back to the lanai and cuddle. Or if there’s something else you’d rather do…”

  “Now who’s being nervous?” Nicole giggled before leaning forward and kissing Amber.

  “Let’s get the shower over with and then we can figure things out,” Amber said.

  Nicole nodded and started the shower warming while she helped Amber get out of the sling and then carefully helped her unbutton her shirt and slid it off her shoulders and put it in the hamper. Nicole then helped Amber out of her boxers and panties.

  “You realize the self-control it takes getting you undressed and not taking advantage of the proximity,” Nicole said while kneeling in front of Amber.

  “It takes some pretty strong self-control from this point of view, as well.” Amber blushed, seeing Nicole’s eyes widen and then a smirk creep onto her face.

  Nicole stood, undressed, and moved to put the waterproof tape over Amber’s dressing before moving them into the shower. Nicole washed Amber’s hair and helped her wash up. She then washed her own hair and quickly lathered and washed her body. Amber did her best not to interrupt what Nicole was doing, but all she could think about was how gorgeous this woman standing inches away from her was.

  How am I going to leave you when the doctor says I can go home? Would you ever come to visit or stay in New York with me? Amber thought as she watched Nicole rinse her body off.

  “Are you done?” Nicole asked for the second time, finally jarring Amber out of her thoughts.

  “What?”

  “Are you done in the shower?”

  “Oh, yeah, sorry.”

  “Where’d you go?” Nicole asked.

  “I just got lost in thought. We’ll talk about it later. Don’t stress, either.” Amber wrapped her good arm around Nicole and pulled her closer. “It was nothing bad.”

  Amber leaned forward and slowly kissed Nicole. It was a kiss that carried depth and meaning. She was hoping Nicole would understand how much she meant to her, even though Amber wasn’t sure how to explain it all…yet.

  They got out of the shower and dried off. Nicole led Amber into the bedroom and had her lie on the bed while she removed the waterproof tape and carefully cleaned the wound area. Nicole noticed that it was showing signs of healing. She quickly put the medicine and the bandage back on and then they both got dressed and headed to the lanai.

  Nicole and Amber were still on the lanai when they heard the doorbell ring.

  “I guess it’s time to find out what they want,” Nicole said as she and Amber got out of the swing.

  “Do you want Jill and me to go upstairs?” Amber asked as they made their way to the door.

  “We’ll see what they want and go from there.”

  Nicole opened the door and motioned for Jill and Erik to come in. The group then migrated to the dining room, and Erik pulled the subs and chips out of the bag, and everyone grabbed one. He had gotten two veggie lovers subs, remembering what Nicole and Amber had eaten when they were all younger.

  “I can’t believe you remember what type of sub I liked,” Amber said, surprised.

  “Well, I knew that Nic still loved them, so I took a chance you did, as well.” Erik smiled.

  They ate and had small talk. Erik talked about work, Jill talked about the weather for the week. Nicole was quiet, as was Amber. They held hands under the table, trying to reassure each other.

  After they cleaned up, Jill and Amber went upstairs for Amber to take a pain pill and rest while Erik and Nicole went out on the front porch to talk.

  “All right, Erik. What’s up?” Nicole said.

  “I wanted to talk to you about Amber.” He put his hand up to stop her from cutting him off. “Let me just voice what I have to say before you interrupt.” Seeing Nicole sit back in her seat, he continued. “I’m just worried about you getting hurt when she goes back to New York. I know you’re aware that she’s leaving, she has an apartment, she has a job, and an art show coming up. I just want to make sure you aren’t getting too emotionally attached.”

  “I’m in love with her,” Nicole said.

  “I know you’re in love with her, and I’ve heard her say she’s in love with you. I just want to make sure you two talk about what’s going to happen when she goes back. I love you…you’re my best friend. I know the past ten years have been really hard for you, and I don’t want you to have to go through any more emotional pain than you have already.”

  “I get that, and Amber and I have already discussed the fact that we need to discuss what’s going on with us,” Nicole said.

  “Wait…you discussed the fact that you need to discuss what’s going on? What the hell logic is that?”

  “Shut up. It made sense to us,” Nicole said, hitting his arm.

  “I would hope so.” He laughed.

  “We actually were out on the lanai earlier…”

  “Wait. She got to see the lanai? Nobody has seen the lanai. Did you blindfold her?”

  “No, I built that for her and me if you recall.” Nicole smirked. “As I was saying. We were out on the lanai talking, and she asked what I had been up to over the past ten years, what I did for a living, and we agreed we need to talk about us, as well.”

  “Wow, I’m sorry I didn’t give you two enough credit. I was afraid you were lost in the love and lust of being
together again.”

  “Well, there’s that, too.” Nicole blushed. “I’ll tell you this much, loving her now is easier and more intense than it was before. We aren’t kids anymore. We’ve both changed a lot. I don’t know where this is going or what the future holds, that’s something Amber and I have to discuss.”

  “I’m sorry, Nic.” Erik bowed his head.

  “What are you sorry for?”

  “For not realizing that you’ve both grown up and aren’t blinded by your love.”

  “Thanks. We are blinded by some things, but we’re both realistic on this. When she goes, I know I’m going to be crushed. God, I love falling asleep next to her and waking up next to her. She has a life in New York and a promising career. I won’t do anything to hinder that…even if it breaks my heart.”

  Erik wrapped an arm around Nicole and pulled her against him, putting her head on his shoulder.

  “Well, you know all of us will be here for you. Um, another thing I wanted to talk to you about is, well, Jill, Heather, and I want to go up for Amber’s show. Heather talked to Zach about it and about getting us tickets. I’m sure this is a given, but would you like to go with us?”

  “I-I…um…I want to go, but what if she doesn’t want me to go…I mean, I know she said she wants me to see her art sometime, but this show is huge for her, and I don’t want to disturb her in her element.”

  “All right, where did the logical girl that I was just having a conversation with go? Nic, if she’s going to want anyone there, it’s going to be you. The one she loves.”

  “Sorry, I’m starting to overthink things.”

  “Well, I’ll let it slide this time. Next time, I’m telling Jill,” Erik said as they both laughed.

  “How are you feeling?” Jill asked as she helped Amber into Nicole’s bed.

  “It hurts, but I can definitely tell that it’s getting better.” Amber took a pill out of the bottle next to the bed and then held the water bottle out for Jill to open it for her.