Rewriting the Ending

by H P Tune

  “Yeah, I have equally seductive flannels with giant cupcakes on them.”

  Juliet laughed. “Can’t wait to see ’em.” Any anxiety Juliet had over Mia’s interpretations dissipated. Mia didn’t seem to be in any rush at all.

  Clapping, Mia stood, holding a hand out. Juliet took it, and Mia gently pulled her to her feet. They both stumbled slightly as they took a gradual curve in their path to the kitchen. Mia hastily shoved half-rinsed plates into the dishwasher and stained wine glasses into the racks as Juliet disappeared towards her room.

  Mia was sitting on her bed when Juliet appeared at the door only a few moments later. Mia grinned. “I do love those pants.”

  Juliet blushed and played with the drawstring, retying it into a bow. “I can come in?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Yes, yes, come in. God, you don’t have to ask. Do you have a side preference?”

  She shrugged. “Nope, I don’t mind.”

  “I’ll take this side, if that’s okay…I often use the bathroom at night. Maybe it won’t wake you if you’re further away.”

  Juliet nodded. “Sure, I don’t mind. I’m sure it won’t.” She closed the door behind her and crossed the room, sliding gingerly under the covers when Mia held them up. “It’s cooler in here.”

  “Yeah, I had the heat up outside. I didn’t want you to get cold.”

  “Nice.” Juliet relaxed into the pillows, lying on her back as Mia settled in next to her. “This is a pretty good way to end an awesome day.”

  “Couldn’t be better,” Mia agreed, leaning up on her elbow and switching off the light.

  “The cupcakes look super tasty too,” Juliet said softly, turning away from Mia to her good side; she couldn’t yet lie on the other. She dragged Mia’s arm with her and wrapped it around her shoulder and chest. “Careful of the ribs,” she murmured.

  “Got it.” Mia snuggled up behind her, sharing Juliet’s pillow, nose pressed into Juliet’s hair. “Good night.”

  Juliet smiled into the dark. “Night, Mia.”

  * * *

  Mia could hear Juliet in the kitchen talking with Janet as she dragged herself in the next morning. She wordlessly accepted the offer of a mug of coffee. The microwave was going, and various bowls and pans were in evidence when Mia stood next to Juliet, whose wet hair lay around her neck. Her face was void of makeup.

  “Good morning.” Juliet pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek.

  Janet did little to hide her wide grin.

  “I can’t handle you as a morning person.” Mia caught her hand and squeezed it before sliding onto a stool.

  “I got a head start.”

  “I see.”

  “Juliet wants to cook,” Janet interrupted cheekily. “I provided some instruction.”

  “I can cook,” Juliet said. “Reasonably well, actually, and breakfast—so my specialty.”

  “Made a few breakfasts for women over the years, huh?” Mia teased.

  “Not at all. I just like breakfast—most important meal of the day and all.”

  “Yeah, yeah, likely excuse.”

  Janet laughed at Mia’s banter. “I might leave you two to it,” she said. “Give me a yell if the kitchen’s on fire. Martin and I are going to clean out the barn today. Wish us luck.”

  “I might take one of the horses for a ride later,” Mia said. “I’ve been a bit lazy, so they haven’t had too many runs with you and Martin away.”

  “Sure, I’ll give ’em a brush-down today too. Maybe have a second coffee first, though. You look like you had a few last night. And by the bottles I collected this morning, that’s an understatement.”

  “I was going to clean up,” Mia insisted, but Janet waved the weak protest away.

  “Not a problem. It was cleaner than I thought it might be.”

  “Thanks, though. You didn’t need to.”

  “Enjoy breakfast,” Janet said as she pulled a thick waterproof jacket on. “Or should I say ‘good luck’?”

  “Hey!” Juliet threw a tea towel across the bench, though it only made it as far as landing on Mia’s shoulder. “Whoops, sorry, Mia. You want some Turkish bread with your eggs? I can toast it.”

  “Sure.” She sipped her coffee. “Hey, I heard your phone ring a couple of times just before I came out of the room.”

  “Oh, probably one of the card companies. Although I thought I had everything. It’s just my US driver’s license I don’t have now.”

  “I can’t believe how quickly you got most stuff. Having the police report seemed to help, right? And your passport, I guess, helped with the ID side of things.”

  “Thanks to you. If I’m remembering those pleasant few pain-filled days correctly, all I did was sign on the line when you shoved something in front of me.”

  “It was easy.”

  “Mmm, I doubt it, somehow. Time-consuming much?”

  Laughing, Mia said, “All right, just a little.”

  “Maybe it’s my turn to take you to lunch later this week now that I actually have money…”

  “Oh, we should go to that B&B that I wrote to you about when you were in Bruges. It’s so nice. I think you would really like it.” She paused. “Hey, there’s your phone again. You hear it?”

  Juliet stilled, spatula held over a thick pan where she had just tossed the bacon in. “Oh yeah, they can just leave a message. I’ll phone them back.”

  She manoeuvred well around the kitchen, Mia noticed, multitasking with speed and skill. She had two thick slices of Turkish bread toasting under the grill and two plates heating in the microwave. Every so often, she subconsciously rubbed at her side, and Mia could just detect the tiny grimaces in her expression.

  “So, more writing today?”

  “Yep, I keep having more ideas and thoughts. It’s weird. When I wrote the first one, I spent half the time drunk and crying, a quarter of the time angry and swearing at the screen, and the other quarter of the time actually writing. Something tells me this one might have a different feel to it. My editor is thrilled.”

  “Sounds intriguing. Will I get to read it?”

  “When it’s finished.”

  “What?”

  “Yep,” Juliet said, but when Mia put on her best shocked and crestfallen expression, she relented. “Oh fine. Maybe I’ll give you little excerpts to read, tasters.”

  Mia observed her quietly for a few minutes, watching Juliet plate their breakfast with a wry smile on her face. “Hey Jules,” she said. “You look really happy right now.”

  Juliet placed Mia’s plate in front of her. She fished out cutlery from the drawer and placed it onto the bench before leaning in to press her lips to Mia’s. She cupped Mia’s cheeks with her hands, and when she pulled back, Mia’s tongue was still tingling.

  “You’re right. I really am,” Juliet said.

  Mia grinned with a hint of pride and waited for Juliet to slide in beside her before taking a bite of scrambled eggs. “There’s your phone again,” she said, her mouth full of food. “Maybe you should check it.”

  “After breakfast.”

  “They’re persistent, whoever they are.”

  “Mmm.” Juliet bit into a large piece of toast topped with bacon and eggs. “I don’t know who would be calling me. No one really does. That’s what e-mail and Facebook are for.”

  “Have I mentioned I hate Facebook?” Mia asked. “I refuse to be on it. I was once, but then it just became a bitch fest. I was quite the topic of discussion.”

  “Yeah, Facebook’s good for stalking. Not so good for keeping your private life private.”

  “Not even remotely. And I can tell you now, I could not give a fuck what my friends from elementary school are doing, who they’ve married and how many kids they have. Oh, and of course, who got the most expensive birthday or Christmas gift from their dickhead husband.”

  “Mia, go ahead and tell me what you really think!”

  Mia tried to feign a hurt expression, but in reality she loved that Juliet was comfortable enoug
h to name her boisterous side. “I really need to work on that filter, huh? You’ve trained me too well. Now I just say whatever. And eat whatever too, apparently. Lucky I haven’t put on two stone.”

  “You say whatever you like, and you are superhot with or without two stone.”

  “You wouldn’t say that if I had to waddle instead of walk.”

  Juliet grinned. “I don’t like this conversation. Have I mentioned that you’re hot? That seems like a safe space to stay.”

  Mia dropped her fork to the bench and slipped her fingers through Juliet’s damp hair. She pressed messy kisses to her cheek until Juliet squirmed. “You want me to stop?” Mia asked.

  “You’re tickling.” Juliet said, screwing her nose up and taking another bite, her plate almost clean. She tipped the tall tumbler to her mouth and swallowed several mouthfuls of juice.

  “Oh my God.” Mia’s body straightened vertically as she heard the familiar distant ringing again. “Go and answer that freakin’ phone,” she said.

  Grunting, Juliet slid off the chair and hurried off. Mia continued to eat her breakfast, giving up on the cutlery and picking up the last section of toast, piled high with egg and bacon. She turned when she heard Juliet murmuring into the phone. Mia watched her go still near the television in the lounge, eyes on the ground.

  Juliet seemed to freeze mid-movement, one arm held out in front of her and the other holding the phone to her ear. Her hair hung over her face, over her wide-open mouth. Mia tossed a piece of crust back onto her plate, continuing to chew. Her instincts were a little slow: she only slid to her feet when the phone in Juliet’s hand tumbled to the ground. Juliet raised wide, petrified eyes and uttered just a small whimper as she stood in the lounge, motionless.

  Mia stilled too, and she wasn’t sure why. They stared at each other across the room until Juliet suddenly raked her hands through her hair and tilted her face to the ceiling. Mia rushed forward and cupped Juliet’s elbows.

  Juliet wheezed, squeezing Mia’s fingers. A jumble of non-specific expletives burst forth from her until they morphed into a half sob.

  And for Mia, it felt as if she were watching life itself fall apart in front of her.

  CHAPTER 12

  Juliet slowly drew her hands down from her hair, pieces now wayward and extending out at all angles. She accepted Mia’s touch, fingers running up and down over her arms, but she could barely detect the sensation.

  Staring at Mia, Juliet nonetheless had trouble focussing. Her eyes were fixed on Mia’s, but her mind felt blurred and empty.

  “What was the call?” Mia asked gently, but she might as well have asked in a foreign language. She took a step forward, but stopped as Juliet immediately jolted back from her approach. Panic filled her, and she shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Mia said gently. “What’s happened?”

  “I, umm, I have to go home.”

  “Home?”

  “Ah-huh.”

  Juliet worked to catch her breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly. When Juliet looked over her shoulder, Mia stepped in again, this time holding her wrists, tenderly stroking over her pulse points.

  “What’s happened?” Mia repeated, but the words were nearly lost in mass of chaotic and confused feelings that preoccupied Juliet—the battle between an instinct to just stop and dissolve and knowing there were things that had to be done and done quickly. Falling apart was a luxury she couldn’t afford right now.

  “It’s my dad.” Juliet’s voice was splintered. “He’s died, and I have to go home. There are things to be organised, to do.”

  “Oh God,” Mia said, her eyes closing briefly. “Juliet.”

  Juliet nodded and swallowed loudly. She stepped out of Mia’s grasp and bent down to pocket her phone. “I just, I have to book a flight and make some calls.” She forced herself into control. She needed to be focussing on something other than the complicated mix of feelings and thoughts this news had unleashed.

  “Yeah, definitely. Let me help.”

  “They’re going to organise getting him back,” Juliet said, more to herself than Mia. “But I have to let my aunt know, and I should call Jack…” She put her hands on her hips, blowing air out of her lungs. “They’re going to be devastated.” Narrowing her eyes, she shook her head. “Should I call them first or book my flight? And I have to call Northwest…shit.”

  “Okay, let me sort flights, and you can make the calls that you need to. But Juliet, just take a second, okay?”

  Nodding, Juliet tried to lose some tenseness in her shoulders, and she focussed on Mia. “I’ll get you my card,” she said softly, gritting her teeth when she felt a burn in her throat. “Umm, to Kansas City, just economy.”

  “I’m not letting you go on your own.” Juliet didn’t have the energy or focus to argue, but Mia’s tone left little room for debate.

  “I can’t take you to my home,” Juliet said sadly. “I just can’t Mia. It’s complicated. It’s so fucking complicated. And now…this…”

  Mia nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll stay in a hotel. Or if you need time, space, I’ll disappear for a few days. I am not not going with you.”

  “I don’t want to do this.”

  “Oh, I know. I know so much. And you can yell and swear and cry and punch things…and whatever else you need to do.”

  “I have to make these calls, and I don’t want to.” Her fingers trembled as she brought them to her lips, and her words came out muttered in one long, breathless drawl. “I have to do it, and I have to tell them and I have to get on a plane and I have to…and, and I…I need you to wait.”

  Mia shook her head, and even in the midst of the crisis, Juliet could see the confusion in her expression.

  “Just wait until I can stop,” she said. “Be ready when I stop.” Again, a perplexed look crossed Mia’s face. “For me…for us.”

  Nodding, Mia reached forward and squeezed Juliet’s shoulder. “Okay. I’m going to sort the flights, and you go make your calls. I’m right here if you need anything.”

  Juliet turned away without another word; she was too overwhelmed to think about anything more than the next step. And her next step was to make a few impossible phone calls, the ones that you hope you never have to make. And she was making them for the second time.

  * * *

  “It’s Juliet, Juliet Taylor,” she said into the mouthpiece of the phone, rubbing her forehead as she leant forward on the sofa.

  “Ah, Juliet, yes, how are you? Are you coming in to visit your mother?”

  Juliet sighed; she would be now, she supposed. “Umm, yes, in a week or so. I have some bad news, actually.”

  “Mmm?”

  “My father has died, and we’ll be having the funeral later this week.” The sentence sounded gentler in Juliet’s head, the words less void of emotion. She couldn’t change them now anyway. Words were like that: once they were said, they couldn’t be retracted. Her father had always been good at saying things without filter, no matter the consequence.

  “Oh, I’m terribly sorry.” Juliet was grateful that she was on the phone as her eyes involuntarily rolled at the rehearsed response. “Would you like your mother to attend?”

  “No,” Juliet rushed to say. “No.”

  “We will let the doctor know and advise Mrs Taylor.”

  “Thank you, I appreciate that. Is there anything she needs at the moment?”

  “No, not at all. Your father has always made sure there was more than enough in her account.”

  “Okay, well, I need to make some more calls, but please call me with anything else you need.”

  “Yes. I suppose you’re the sole contact now.”

  Juliet clenched her teeth and drew air in noisily through her nostrils. The frustration was brief; it wasn’t as if there were other options now. “Yes,” she said simply. “Give Mom my love.”

  “Will do.”

  Juliet hung up the phone. She was done with pleasantries.

  * * * />
  “How did the calls go?”

  Juliet shook her head and slumped back, head resting against the back of the sofa. “Military life—word was already out, really. Not really a surprise, I guess.”

  Mia felt a pang of familiarity; it was same in her old life. Only the gossip wasn’t always accurate. “Of course. Well, I have us on a flight tomorrow morning to New York. We just need to change at Heathrow. I wasn’t sure what you wanted to do then.”

  “Thank you for organising that. I would probably have gotten our flights completely wrong. I’ll just fly on to Kansas from JFK.”

  “Yeah, I know you said that you didn’t want me to come with you, so I thought maybe I would go down to Florida. My family has their winter place there. Unless you want me to come, which I would much prefer to do.” Mia was careful with her words. She knew that Juliet needed to do this on her own.

  The idea of seeing her family filled Mia with endless anxiety and dread, but pondering Juliet’s father’s death had given her own need to get closure some momentum.

  “I would like that. Maybe we can meet up somewhere after a few days?”

  “That was what I was thinking too,” Mia said. “Depending on how my visit goes, we could both be a mess.”

  “It’s been a while for you, hasn’t it?”

  “Almost a year. And our last contact was fairly spectacular, I think don’t you ever bring this family into disrepute again was the last thing my father said to me. So the reunion should go well.”

  The sarcasm was Mia’s attempt at keeping the conversation as light as possible. Juliet had enough to deal with without her family dramas as well.

  “What will you do if it all goes…well, crappy?”

  Mia shrugged. Of course, Juliet didn’t buy into her feeble attempt at humour. “See you in a hotel in New York?”

  “Good plan. There better be chocolate and wine if that’s the case, because I will need it too. A lot.”

  “There will be an endless supply regardless of where we are.”

  Juliet managed a small smile, and Mia could see her swallow heavily. “Aren’t we too young to have so much shit happen in our lives?”

  “Apparently the world missed that memo.”

  “I want to be twenty and carefree again.” Tears pooled in Juliet’s eyes.