Laurel Cove

by Sarah Turtle

  Inside was a space just large enough to hold a table for two. One of the chairs was already removed to accommodate a space for Brynn to pull right up to the table. The only light source in the dimly lit room was from a single candle in the center of the table. Willa realized as she observed her surroundings that what contributed to the dimness was that the walls were painted black as well as the table cloth, table settings and furnishings. This was all such a stark contrast to the bright colors used throughout the rest of the restaurant.

  The hostess removed an odd-looking contraption from a shelf on the wall behind her and placed it on her head. Willa gasped and leaned away from her when the woman pulled the goggles down over her eyes. The woman lifted the bottom of her goggles up at Willa’s reaction to the strange device. “Usually people inform their dinner date of what is about to happen, but I guess she’ll fill you in with the details after we begin.” The goggles were then replaced, and Willa raised a questioning eyebrow at the mysterious dinner experience that she was about to embark on. Across the table, Brynn winked at her and grinned, before the hostess bent down and blew out the candle.

  Shrouded in complete darkness, Willa sat frozen and wide eyed as she heard the sound of the woman walk away and close the door behind her. She blinked a few times, unable to tell if her eyes were open or closed in the blackness.

  At home, while she slept with the lights out, there was always light coming from random sources. Chargers for the cellphone and laptop, neon signs from businesses nearby, and the consistent flow of traffic on the street below, kept some sort of glow no matter how soft, peeking through the darkness. Here, though, there was nothing visible, even after the typical adjustment period that eyes need to go through when the lights are first shut off. The dead silence also made it eerie, until the familiar deep chuckle that emanated only from Brynn broke through and lit up the room with sound.

  “Have you ever done dinner in the dark before?”

  “No, but some of the trendy restaurants in New York are offering it. I would have given it a try if I had someone to go with.”

  “I’m glad I picked something that wouldn’t completely scare you away.”

  “This could be fun, now that I know those were night vision goggles, and I’m not about to become a victim in some steampunk horror flick.”

  “Ha, yes, it is scary the first time you see them on the waitress, especially when you know that they can see you, but you can’t see them.”

  “First time. So you’ve been here before?”

  “Just once, but I was by myself the last time.”

  “This seems like a peculiar thing to do on your own.” The words came out of Willa’s mouth even though she meant to keep them within the confines of her own mind. She supposed that the darkness might have some sort of effect on her openness, which she would have to work to suppress before she blurted out all of her thoughts.

  “There was no one available to go with me at the time and it was suggested that I do it as part of my therapy.”

  Willa giggled. “Since when does stuffing your face with no lights on help out with your physical therapy?”

  Brynn was quiet for a long time, so long that Willa almost called out her name to be sure that she was still there.

  “Not that kind of therapy.”

  Willa closed her eyes, although it was still pitch dark, and took in as deep a breath as she could, as silently as possible. “It was my one hope over the years that you wouldn’t need to see someone because of what happened.”

  “It’s ironic that I worried about the same thing for you.”

  “Well, it seems as though both of our fears have come true.” Willa sighed. “Although, it sounds like your therapist has some more entertaining methods for treatment than mine does. Would it be overstepping any boundaries to ask what you are supposed to get out of this?”

  “Nah, I don’t mind sharing. I think that she wanted me to spend some time with a different disability other than my own, so that I would have a greater appreciation for what I do have going for me.”

  “And did you find it helpful?”

  “Actually, I got more out of it than I expected.”

  “How so?”

  “Not being able to see my meal made me rely on other senses such as taste and smell to enjoy it. I found that everything was better in a different sort of way, such as the flavors standing out more to me. I related this concept to my injury and how I used to really love soccer and softball, but now I’ve found a love for basketball and tennis. I would have never focused on those sports before, and now it might get me into the Paralympics someday.”

  A slight weight was lifted from Willa’s heart when she learned that Brynn could still pursue her love of sports. The darkness made her wonder how she would be able to continue writing if she were to lose her sight. She shuddered to think about having to rely on voice activated computer programs that would hinder her personal creative process.

  “Please tell me that you’re not going to ever say that what happened to you was a blessing in disguise,” Willa pleaded.

  “Hell no, those words will never come out of my mouth.”

  The waitress dropped off an array of wine tastings for Willa and beers for Brynn. Fortunately, they were lined up on a wooden tray with a carved surface to hold the glasses in place as they fumbled about in a search for each little glass. When Willa inquired how they were going to see a menu to order, she was informed that they were going to be served a predetermined seven-course meal of tiny plates, because the best way to experience the meal was to not know what they were putting into their mouths until they tasted it.

  The first couple of courses were appetizers that were served so that each bite was already set up on a separate spoon, making it a simple process to find on the table. Willa successfully found the correct end of the spoon, but as she lifted it to her face, she misjudged where it should have gone into her mouth, and it instead bounced off the corner of her lip, hitting her cheek. Most of the contents of the spoonful landed on her lap.

  “I’m glad of two things tonight: that these napkins are thick and that I chose to wear black.” Willa laughed. “Oh, and also that you can’t see me laughing with my mouth stuffed full of food.”

  “I know what you mean; my shirt soaked up more beer than my mouth did.”

  “Mmm…I have no idea what I’m eating right now, but it tastes delightful.”

  “Is it that soft stuff with the crunchy crumble on top?”

  “Yes, like sweet potato with a spicy kick to it.”

  “Yeah, I’m guilty of licking the plate at this very moment because I can’t figure out where it landed when it fell off my spoon.”

  Willa tried to suppress her laughter by holding a hand over her mouth to keep from spitting out her sip of wine. “If the woman with the night vision goggles were in here now, I’d pay her good money to let me borrow them for a minute to watch you do that.”

  “Hmm, well, if you do that, then I’d alert the media to where you’re eating dinner. Imagine the headlines with photos of you with a wet spot on the front of your dress and food stuck to the front of your chest.”

  “I’d tell them that I didn’t want my date, who can’t feed herself, to feel embarrassed, and so I dropped food all over myself to match her.”

  “So, you consider this a date, huh?”

  Willa stopped chewing the bite of food she had taken and swallowed it down in one large gulp. “I didn’t necessarily mean that kind of date,” she stammered out uneasily.

  “Willa, I’m just messing with you,” she said in such a calm voice that Willa had a difficult time discerning if it was Brynn’s way of avoiding serious situations, as she was known for doing.

  Willa decided to take advantage of this opening to inquire about her involvement with Cassidy. “I doubt your watchdog, Cassidy, would appreciate me taking you out on a date.”

  “She’s more bark than bite and she can’t control who I spend my time with.”

&nb
sp; “So you’re not together?”

  “A long time ago we were, but we work better together as training partners than we did as a couple.” Willa tried to place how she could simultaneously have sadness for her friend’s loss of a relationship and yet be pleased that Brynn didn’t end up with someone as rude as Cassidy seemed to be.

  “I’m glad she’s an ex because I didn’t know how to break it to you that I caught her in the school restroom making out with some woman. Cass looked like she was trying to hide what she was doing, so I figured she was cheating.”

  “It’s the other way around, actually. Cass is a gym teacher and the other woman teaches math. She’s a married woman and they’re trying to keep their affair a secret until her divorce is final.”

  “Ah, that explains the sneaking around.”

  “I can ask her to tone down on the verbal attacks if she’s still being uncivil to you.”

  “No, please don’t. I need to be the one to mend any animosities that people still have towards me. The same goes for Griff.”

  “That’s understandable. I’ll stay out of it.”

  The multiple small plates of food added up to way too much than Willa had been used to consuming and by the time the dessert platter was brought out, she offered it all to Brynn.

  “Okay, but you’re missing out. This place has the best desserts in town.” Brynn described in detail how scrumptious every tiny dessert item was as she ate it, from tarts and pies to chocolate mousse cups and miniature cookies. The sounds of delight coming from Brynn made Willa crave for just one piece of the sweets that she knew were located somewhere on the table in front of her. She reached out to find a tiny soft square on the platter and took a bite of it.

  “Oh my, it’s your favorite, carrot cake.”

  “What! I haven’t come across that yet.”

  “Lean your head across the table towards me as far as you can go.”

  Willa reached out her empty hand until she could feel Brynn’s jawline. She followed it down until she cupped her chin in her fingertips, then she stretched out the hand with the carrot cake in it until it touched her lips. She could feel Brynn’s mouth open and she nudged the piece in between her open lips.

  “Mmm, it’s absolutely heavenly.”

  When Willa went to pull away from her face, Brynn clasped her hand around Willa’s wrist to hold it there. Willa felt the soft, wet warmth of Brynn’s lips as she sucked off the cake frosting smeared on her fingertips. When Brynn released her wrist, Willa slowly pulled her finger back out of Brynn’s mouth, although her lips kept a firm suction on it until the end of her finger came out, and then Brynn left a soft kiss on the tip of it.

  Willa’s body buzzed with a wild energy she fought to contain in the darkness.

  When they had been teenagers, Brynn always exuded a playful teasing towards Willa. It was like a game between twins to see who could make Willa squirm in a flustered state with the comments that they could come up with. While it was all in fun, Brynn respected the fact that Griffin and Willa were a couple and that she was only the best friend. Willa had never even considered the idea that Brynn had really wanted to be anything more to her until she professed her feelings to her on their graduation night. The night that she responded by causing permanent damage to Brynn’s body. The thought of that night brought the memories flooding back to Willa and a terrorizing fear replaced her excited tingle.

  Willa left an agonizingly long silence lingering between them and Brynn had to have noticed it too. “Did I cross a line that I shouldn’t have? I can’t see your face to know if what I did was wrong.”

  Willa wanted to keep things simple and lighthearted between them tonight. She yearned to blurt out that everything was fine and make some sort of comment about Brynn missing a patch of frosting on one of her fingers. She wanted to forget about everything else in their past and relish the sensation still lingering from Brynn’s mouth surrounding her finger. What had stopped her from fulfilling her desires was that the darkness provided enough security that she had the courage to truthfully expose her innermost fear. “After you kissed me, I hurt you and I don’t remember why I did it. I’m afraid that it could happen again.”

  “Willa…”

  Willa could hear Brynn’s hand carefully searching the area in front of her, but only grazing upon silverware, plates, and glasses because she had withdrawn her hand into her lap. She didn’t feel worthy of the compassion that Brynn was sure to show her. The rustling sounds soon stopped and Willa guessed that Brynn must have given up on trying for a physical connection between them.

  “If I had a way with words like you do, I’d like to think that I would have expressed how I felt about you, without doing something as crazy as kissing you in front of your boyfriend, my brother. Your response was well deserved for the disrespect I showed you.”

  “For twenty years, my mind has replayed what I can remember of that night over and over again. The one part that I know for sure is that when you kissed me, I didn’t want it to end.”

  “You didn’t?”

  “No, I know without a doubt that I wasn’t upset with you for what happened. That’s what makes my reaction to it so unsettling for me.” Willa waited for Brynn to respond, but this time, she was the reserved one. “You have reason to be angry with me now that you know there was absolutely no rationality behind my backlash,” Willa said, gripping the seat of her chair as she waited for a response.

  “Please don’t misinterpret my silence as anger. I spent the last two decades thinking that I inappropriately took advantage of my best friend. I’m just relieved that I didn’t.”

  The sound of the waitress coming back into the room paused their conversation briefly as she lit a tea candle and placed it in the center of the table. “This will get you acclimated to the light again before I come back to bring you out. I hope you had a wonderful dining experience with us this evening.”

  Brynn and Willa both nodded through squinted eyelids before they found themselves alone again. A scattered mess of crumbs, splattered food, and spilled liquid from the drinks covered the table. Willa shook off her napkin from her lap and wiped off her chin for any remnants of food still stuck on it. She forced herself to look into Brynn’s eyes, finding that the truth of the matter was so much more difficult to say aloud when she was faced with the object of her greatest fear and desire rolled into one. “The chaos of what’s left of our dinner is representative of our discussion, isn’t it?”

  “I think the lesson we both learned from tonight’s conversation is that if we had just talked to each other after the incident, then we could have saved many years’ worth of self-blame on ourselves as well as lots of therapy bills.”

  “I agree. If there is to be any chance of us to have a friendship like we did before, then I need to know that you won’t shut me out again.”

  “Shut you out? Willa, you left me when I needed you the most.”

  Willa’s heart pounded in her chest and a wave of nausea passed through her. The room became all too small for her, with the single flickering flame seeming to expose her in ways that a bright fluorescent light could never do.

  “I slept in the hospital waiting room every night for a week. Griff came out and told me that I should leave, because you never wanted to see me again,” Willa said in a voice so low that it could barely be considered a whisper.

  Brynn’s face flushed even through her dark skin and her eyes glazed over as she released her glass of water and balled her hand up into a fist. “You were the person I asked for when I came out of my first surgery. I begged Griff and Mom to bring you to me. He told me that you never came and then I gave up when I heard that you had left the state.”

  Willa placed her hand on her chest, over her heart. She wanted to hold it in place, because it felt to her as though it was sinking. There had to be a reasonable excuse for Griffin’s behavior. “He was hurt.”

  “I was hurt. He fucking lied to me and you.”

  Chapter Twenty-one
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br />   Willa stood on the sidewalk and winced every time Brynn removed a section of her wheelchair and tossed each piece with much more force than was needed into the backseat of the car. When she was sure that there was no chance of being whacked in the head by a flying piece of metal, she got in and wrapped her hands around Brynn’s arm in an attempt to calm her. Willa opened her mouth to offer some words to help ease her rage, but became momentarily preoccupied by the hefty bicep muscle beneath her palms.

  Brynn backed out of the parking spot and roughly pushed down on her pedal extender, causing the car to jerk and accelerate faster than normal. “I need to get to the fitness center to beat the hell out of a punching bag. I’ll drop you off at your truck first, though.”

  “Oh, no, you won’t. The deal was dinner in exchange for helping you out at the gym and I intend on fulfilling my end of the bargain, especially since you sneakily prepaid for dinner when you made the reservation.”

  “And what exactly do you think you’ll accomplish for work, wearing that?” Brynn raised her eyebrows and glanced at Willa’s form fitted dress and high heels.

  “Hey, don’t underestimate the ability of a woman in a cocktail dress.”

  A half an hour later, Willa cursed to herself as she reached out from the top of a ladder to remove the heavily frayed net from a basketball hoop so that she could replace it with a new one.

  “Are you regretting the decision to turn down the offer to borrow a pair of sweatpants yet?” Brynn asked from the base of the ladder.

  “The ones you pulled out of the lost and found box that probably have some random man’s sweat dried into them? Nope, I’ll pass, thanks.”

  “You can’t say I didn’t warn you about the dress being an issue with some of the jobs.”