by Carly Fall
Chapter 17
Jeff really didn’t want to be social with his new neighbors, but at the same time he didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts. Maybe this evening would provide a few hours of distraction he needed from his Sara issue. Maybe if he could just hang out for a couple hours with other people things would start to look up. His coworkers all knew he was depressed, and they felt sorry for him. He didn’t want to be around people who pitied him.
As he studied Adela, he got the distinct feeling that there was something different about her. She was beautiful, but her facial structure looked old European. She had a slight accent that he couldn’t place, and it was as if she didn’t quite belong in this world. It wasn’t anything that she did or said, just a gut feeling on a passing thought.
Jeff followed her and Missy to the kitchen to where Liam was cutting lettuce and tossing it into a bowl. Adela sat on one of the stools, and Jeff slid onto the other.
“You ready for that beer, Jeff?” Liam asked, reaching into the fridge.
“Yeah. Sounds good.”
“What can I do to help?” Missy asked.
“Nothing. Just sit down and have a beer, honey,” Liam answered.
Jeff guessed Liam’s accent as Australian. The guy seemed normal enough, but again, he felt something was slightly off.
“So you’re a cop, Jeff?”
He nodded, flipping the top on the cold can. “Yeah. Going on five years now.”
“What about you, Missy?”
“I work as an executive assistant to a vice president of a bank. It’s definitely not as exciting as being a cop!”
“And are you married, Missy?” Adela asked.
Missy shook her head. “Nope.”
“What about you Jeff?” Liam asked.
“I am . . . sort of,” Jeff answered after a beat of silence.
“What happened?” Adela asked. Jeff noticed that Missy had gotten quiet and was studying her beer carefully, the smile gone from her face.
“Adela, you just met the guy,” Liam chided, smiling. “You’re being a little nosey, aren’t you?”
Her cheeks turned pink, and she gave him a small smile before looking down at the floor. “I’m sorry, Jeff.”
He chuckled. Yes, she was being nosey, but he could tell she meant no harm. She didn’t know she was poking at his proverbial Achilles’ heel. “No, it’s okay, Liam. We’ve been . . . separated for about four months.”
Both looked at him expectantly, as if they were waiting for more, yet he wasn’t going to air his dirty laundry to strangers. Time to deflect. “How long have you two been together?”
There was brief pause and a quick exchange of glances. “We’ve been together about six years,” Liam answered. “Five years of bliss, even though sometimes she can act like a three-hundred-year-old witch.” He then winked at Jeff, threw his head back, and let out a hardy laugh.
Jeff joined in, but saw out of the corner of his eye that Adela didn’t find it funny in the least bit. She glared at Liam.
“That’s not a very nice thing to say about your wife, Liam!” Missy exclaimed, smiling again.
“Liam, do you remember our conversation at the restaurant this morning?” Adela asked as she got the knives out of the drawer.
He nodded his head, still smiling.
“Keep that forefront in your mind.”
As Jeff studied Adela, he tried to do the math. She couldn’t be any older than twenty. So if she and Liam were together for five years, that would put her at fifteen when they got together. That didn’t make any sense. Maybe Adela was one of those women who never looked her age. For all he knew, she could be close to thirty and was just blessed with really good genes.
The evening passed with light chatter. Jeff really enjoyed the company of his new neighbors, and he had always liked Missy. Even though Missy had been Sara’s friend, she hadn’t taken sides in the drama that had become his life. And, Sara had also cut all ties to Missy. Why he wanted her back, he couldn’t figure out. Maybe he was pining for the “old Sara,” the one who was happily married to a cop, and not the “new Sara,” who wanted culture and art and whatever the fuck else she had said.
Turning back to Adela and Liam, Jeff realized he hadn’t seen them move in; it was like they had just suddenly appeared. He had been pulling some long shifts along with his time in the shrink’s office, so maybe they had slipped in then.
Their relationship was strange as well. Jeff couldn’t help but feel that when Liam pulled Adela close to him, it was forced, and he thought he saw Adela flinch when Liam kissed her forehead.
But again, he could be wrong. Maybe his own life was so messed up he was looking for fault in others.
“So where did you move from?” Missy asked.
Liam and Adela glanced at each other and then smiled. “We came from Montana,” Liam said. “A little town just outside of Butte. A little slice of the Old West is alive and well.”
Four hours later, Jeff was full, slightly buzzed, and ready for bed. “I’ve got to head home, guys,” he said, standing from the chair out on the deck. “I’ve got an early one tomorrow.”
“Me too,” Missy said. “Adela, let’s try to have lunch one day this week.”
“I’d love that. Thank you.”
They said their good nights, and Jeff walked down the hall to his apartment, waved at Missy, and prepared for the onslaught of memories and heartbreak that awaited him.