Black Knight

by Svetlana Ivanova

  It made her roll her eyes, but I ignored her.

  When we were done browsing, we went to the check-out counter with my chosen books. There were a few other customers there, so we had to wait in line. I got myself a copy of The Martian Chronicle, Fahrenheit 451, and 1984, which was the second book I read by George Orwell after Animal Farm. Not everyone knows Animal Farm is a satire of the Russian Revolution. All of the books were recommended by Allecra. I figured they suited her extraterrestrial taste better.

  "Hand me the books and wait here," she said. I gave her the copies and she left. An infatuated male cashier stared at her in obvious awe as she approached. I snickered at the comical scene.

  While Allecra was checking out the books for me, the bell dinged as the glass door of the bookstore opened. By reflex, I glanced up and saw someone I didn't expect to see.

  "Hey, Nina!" her surprised voice was clear and melodious in my ear, but I still hadn't prepared for this encounter yet. There were a few nanoseconds before I could make myself speak.

  "Hello, Eva," I greeted the violinist. “Nice to see you again."

  "You too," she said. "You're here by yourself?"

  "Oh no, I'm not...I'm with...er..." I said and then paused, not sure how to tell her.

  "I'm done, let's go," Allecra's voice called out. Eva and I turned to her at the same time. The blonde froze in her track as she stared at us. A spark of surprise ignited in her turquoise eyes. There was a moment of silence as the three of us stood in the middle of the shop, staring at each other awkwardly.

  "Hey," Eva finally said in a quiet tone, clearly didn't expect this incidence as well.

  "Hi," Allecra said with a cordial smile.

  "I didn't expect to see you two here," Eva breathed again. Under a white jacket she wore a yellow silk blouse, which were finely tailored and looked stylish, yet at the same time sophisticated. She definitely knew how to dress. And in that instance, the violinist was the second sight that stood out the moment she stepped in. The first was, of course, the quiet blonde beside me. I felt the need to say something to break the tension.

  "Yeah, so how's everything with you so far?" I asked Eva. "You settle in well?"

  "Oh so far so good," she said. "I just moved into an apartment with a good friend of mine. I'm here to find some music books before the term start."

  "Oh, I see," I said, "By the way, I didn't get a chance to thank you personally. Thank you for the beautiful performance the other night. Everyone loved it."

  Eva smiled shyly.

  "My pleasure, Nina," she said, "I think we should hang out sometimes, maybe go shopping or see a movie. Piper should come along. What do you think?"

  "We would love to," I said because there was no way I could reject that. I gave a brief glance at Allecra, who paid more attention to her shoes than usual.

  "What about you, Allecra?" Eva said, which caused her to look up again.

  "Yes?—Oh no, I'm good," she said with a shake of her head. "You both can go and have fun. Thanks for asking."

  There was another pause before Eva turned to me and her smile brightened again.

  "I hope to get in touch with you soon," she said. "Have a good day both of you."

  "You too, Eva, take care," I said with a small wave and the violinist moved inside and we turned towards the door. I looked at Allecra again. She seemed particularly distracted.

  We got into our car a while later.

  "You're alright?" I decided to ask her.

  "I'm fine," she replied casually. "Why?"

  "I'm just worried about you," I told her honestly, "Seeing Eva again might trouble you, I know."

  She turned and studied my face.

  "There's no reason to look back when you have so much to look forward to, Nina," she said, staring into my eyes. Then Allecra leaned it and kissed my forehead. After that, she started the car and drove off.

  But instead of going to my home, she took me to a place by the beach and parked the Lambo near the cliff.

  "Why did you bring me here?" I asked.

  "To get some fresh air," Allecra said.

  We got out of the car, and she brought out a blue blanket from the trunk. Allecra took me by the hand as we hiked down the grassy hill. When we reached the beach, I had to take off my heels, because the sand was so soft. There were no other people there. The evening sun began to hung lower beyond the ocean. Allecra and I found a good spot by a big rock and lay the blanket on the white sand. We made a nest for ourselves and lay side by side, looking up at the pale blue sky. As the sun began to set, the clouds turned bright pink and orange over the sea. All we could hear was the sound of seagulls and the splashing of waves.

  "It's beautiful here," I said as I took in a deep breath of fresh air. My words hovered in the gentle winds that brushed against our skin.

  "My favorite place," Allecra said.

  "You seem quiet," I noted. She glanced over at me and laced our fingers together.

  "The thing about Eva," she said. "I want to make it clear to you that there's nothing romantic between us anymore."

  "I know. I just don't understand how you two could do it," I said. "I can't imagine seeing you with another girl. It must have hurt a lot. And it seems to me you both haven't forgotten about each other yet."

  "Nina, moving on doesn't mean you forget about things," Allecra said. "It just means you have to accept what happened and continue living."

  "You're right," I said, but this meaningless response floated in the air like a drifting cloud above us. I felt her hand came up to my cheek and turned my face to her.

  "The Japanese say you have three faces," she said. "The first face, you show to the whole world. The second face, you show to your close friends and family. The third face, you never show to anyone. That face is the truest reflection of who you are."

  "Why are you telling me this?" I asked, propping myself on one elbow to look at her. Allecra stared at me. The evening light made her turquoise eyes shone like purple galaxy. I could see the gold flicks spreading like stardust in them.

  "I want to tell you that sometimes when you're not guarding yourself against the world, I can see your innermost face," she said. "It's the most beautiful one, the most brilliant and compassionate one, but it's always hidden. It's hidden because it has flaws. Among all the beautiful things it can show, there are also fears, insecurities, vulnerabilities, and doubts."

  "I know that I'm not perfect," I whispered. Then her hands pulled me down into her embrace. I wrapped my arm around her and curled up into her body.

  "Nina, when I first saw you, I thought that you were perfect, so I fell in love with you," she said. "And now that I see you're not perfect, I love you even more."

  I heard a seagull squeaked in the distance. I guessed the gulls might cry if we were apart.

  "I love you, too, Allecra," I said and brought my lips to hers.

  We kissed and listened to the sound of waves and whistling sea breeze, and nothing was more wonderful than this.

  At home, I bathed and prepared a simple dinner for the twins. Jay came home at 7:30 followed by Piper five minutes later. It was unusual for either of them to be this early when their parents were away. They would be back at least around eleven or twelve at night the last time we were on our own.

  I went to the kitchen and brought beef sautéed in butter with a Caesar salad and chicken soup. Jay sat at the island a moment later. He and I hadn't talked to each other since the party night. I should be mad at his insolent remark to Allecra, but now I just pitied him for having a brain stuffed with so much ignorance.

  Jay cleared his throat to get my attention.

  "Nina," he said. I looked up. "I—I just wanna say I'm sorry for dissing out on your girlfriend that night. I was drunk and..."

  "That's alright, I'm not mad," I said without looking as I put the salad into a bowl.

  "Really?" he said, looking relieved.

  "I know that the brain has two sides, left and right. Unfortunately, your right one i
s lost and the left is also out looking for it."

  He thought for a second and then burst out laughing.

  "Aww, Nina, that's a good one!" he said and laughed some more. It's kind of irritating when people are so dented to be offended by your insult that they find it humorous instead. I rolled my eyes.

  "Hey, what's so funny?" Piper said as she appeared into the kitchen. Before she said anything more, the phone rang. My cousin went to answer it.

  "Robert Black's residence," she said and then after a pause, she exclaimed, "Oh, hey Eva!"

  My head turned at the sound of her name.

  "Yeah, I'm free tomorrow,” she was saying, "...oh shopping? Sure!—We can just do that."

  Then my cousin glanced at me and nodded to the voice on the other side.

  "Of course, I'll let her know," Piper said and then ended the conversation.

  "Who are you talking to?" Jay asked.

  "It's Eva Shapiro, the famous violinist!" she said and turned to me. "She doesn't have your number, and she asked if we would like to hang out with her tomorrow."

  "Can I go with you, too?" Jay said, looking hopeful.

  "No, just girls only," Piper said. "Guys are gross testosterone lumps, and speaking of which I'm still mad at you for inviting Jack to the party."

  "Aw!" her brother cried. "I thought he wanted to make up with you."

  "No, he's an idiot and so are you," Piper said.

  "How is he now?" I asked Jay.

  "He's alright," he said. "Why?"

  The twins turned to look at me. I realized they didn't know what really happened that night, so I turned back to my cooking.

  "Anyway, I don't want anything to do with him again, like ever," Piper said.

  "Well," Jay said and scratched his neck, "He's kinda acting weird lately. He seems paranoid of something and is hinting that he wants to change school."

  "Really?" I said in surprise. Jay just shrugged back.

  "Whatever," Piper said. "It's not my concern."

  Clearly, I didn't know how bad Allecra had damaged his poor nerves, and I felt a bit sorry for Jack Conner.

  "So when does Eva want to meet?" I asked Piper to change the topic.

  "Tomorrow afternoon," she said, looking excited again. "I just hope we get paparazzi following us."

  But I had an awkward feeling stirring inside me. It was obvious that Eva wanted to meet me for some reason. Although things between Allecra and I had reached a new high, I just didn't know if I was ready to face her ex alone. What was Eva thinking about?

  The next morning at school, I decided not to tell Allecra about it. I felt like it was best not to bring back the spark to the old flame. Not that I was hiding from her, but I was not in the position to be certain what it was going down that lane. Piper awaited me in front of the house when Allecra dropped me off. I prayed so hard for my cousin to stay where she was.

  "I'll see you tomorrow," I said to Allecra. She nodded with a smile, but still had a strange gleam in her eyes I couldn't tell why. After briefly kissing her cheek, I walked out of the car. The blonde drove away, and I walked towards the house.

  "Come on, Eva is waiting inside," Piper said.

  "She's here?" I asked in shock and turned over my shoulder to see if Allecra was really gone. My cousin just nodded. When we entered the house, I saw the violinist sitting in the living room, talking to Jay, or rather being flirted with by him.

  "Eva, Nina's here," Piper called out. "Her hot girlfriend just dropped her off."

  I almost wanted to cover her mouth. I didn't know why Piper had to overstate things like she was a herald of my love life. Eva turned around and stood up with a sweet smile. She wore a cotton top with a brown leather jacket and a flowing mini skirt. As usual, she was stunning. Jay didn't look too pleased to be interrupted. He was probably trying to get scored with the violinist.

  "See you again, Nina," Eva said with a cordial smile.

  "Hi," I said with a small wave back.

  "I hope you don't mind going out today?" she said.

  "Not at all," I said.

  "Okay," Piper said. "You go get ready then."

  After I showered and got dressed in the best clothes I owned, I went down stairs again. I had no time to pounder over how to look effortless like Eva. Piper suggested we ride in her car since Eva didn't have a car yet, and mine felt too small for us three.

  When we got into the Porsche with its roof down, Eva announced that she would like to go to a certain shop, whose owner was one of her good friends. During the ride, I watched the sights of Los Angeles passing by and felt a pang of homesickness in my gut. Moscow wasn't so fancy and vibrant as this city, but to me, it was just grand.

  We went to a boutique that sold designer brands. There Piper bought a new bag and some jeans. I even got myself a new leather jacket. Eva bought two dresses, both of thin materials and four pairs of Jimmy Choo's and Dr. Martens's. She paid with a gold credit card and asked for the items to be delivered to her address. We hang around from store to store for a while.

  Afterward, we went to a hair salon. The place was like a dance studio, with shiny wooden floors and mirrors covering the walls. There were two rows of revolving chairs, and everywhere beauticians were coming and going with dryers and hairspray and whatnot.

  I didn't intend to get myself primped up, but it was impossible once you get inside a salon. Piper was getting her manicure at the other side of the room. Eva and I sat beside each other on the chairs while I pretended everything wasn't awkward between us.

  I realized she didn't ask to do anything for herself, just a bit of trimming up.

  "You really have beautiful hair, Nina," Eva suddenly said, which surprised me. She was looking at me through the mirror.

  "Thank you," I said and blushed a little at her compliment.

  The man who was to take care of my hair said, “Honey, there's nothing more I can do to this hair. But whatever you do, don't cut it, okay? Like ever."

  "Why?"

  "Girl, I wish I had your hair. It’s this thick and bouncy and shiny," he said. "Men love it."

  "I'm not into men, though," I said.

  "Oh my my! One of us!" the hairdresser said, and he looked totally happy to hear that. "Alright, I'll turn you into an instant knock-out in no time, baby."

  Eva and I caught eyes with each other and muffled our giggle.

  Afterward, Piper came to us and declared that she wanted to get her platinum blonde hair dyed.

  "Are you sure?" I asked.

  "I want something that makes me look more mature," she said.

  "Piper, you look mature when you act mature, not because of the color of your hair," I said.

  "No, I also think that it's time for a change," she said. "I want the new-me look."

  Eva leaned towards me and whispered, "What happened to her?"

  "Some idiot broke her heart," I whispered back. Eva nodded with a small 'oh'.

  While we had to wait for Piper, Eva suggested we went to a café next to the salon.

  "You want something to eat, Piper?" I asked.

  "Just get me a hot latte. I could use some caffeine now," she said while her head was covered with foils.

  When we entered the expensive-looking café, Eva did a quick circuit. She seemed to look for a place quiet enough for us to sit. I thought we were only here to order and get back again, but it looked like it wasn't what she had in mind. I realized Eva wanted to have a moment with me.

  We took a seat opposite each other. Then a waiter with a Pompadour hairdo, wearing a black bow and a long apron around his waist, came to take our orders. I asked if they had non-caffeine beverages, which he suggested a glass of lemon tea. Eva ordered an espresso and a Perrier. The waiter apologized that they had no Perrier and asked if he could bring tonic water instead. Eva thought about this for a second before she accepted. I had never known a woman who knew exactly what she wanted. I couldn't even see the difference. She reminded me of Allecra. But Eva was more of how she was brought up a
s a refined sophisticated lady while the blonde was naturally particular about everything.

  After the waiter left, the silence descended on the two of us. Eva had an air of deep thought. Her forest green eyes stared at me with a gentle curiosity. In that moment, my imagination suddenly ran riot, and I thought about all the intimate things Allecra and the violinist must have done together in the past. It was unbearable to picture Allecra had bodily pleasures with this beautiful girl. I knew it was ridiculous of me to think of their past, but I just couldn't stop feeling that way when I looked at Eva.

  Soft ambient music floated into the room. Everything seemed to go slower in here than the world outside. It was like the time flowed in different speed from where we were sitting.

  "I love this song," Eva suddenly said. "Do you know it, Nina?"

  I shook my head 'no'. But it didn't matter because she seemed to already expect the answer. She just smiled brightly.

  "This is Canon by Pachelbel in D major," she said.

  Although I knew Eva was a musician, I was still amazed at how she could tell a music by ears so precisely. Sitting with her, I felt like my own talent was nonexistent. In fact, I didn't even know if I was good at anything at all.

  "It's beautiful," I said, and I meant it. Then a different waiter arrived. He looked a bit older than the last with sideburns and mustache.

  "Miss Shapiro?"

  "Yes?"

  "My apology for our service earlier," he said politely. "We've just got for you the Perrier you requested, and all your beverages today will not be charged, so please enjoy your drinks in our café."

  "Oh, thank you!" Eva said sweetly. "That's really kind of you."

  "For a special guest like yourself, you're most welcome," he said with a smile at both of us before placing our drinks on the table. When he left, Eva took her first sip of the coffee.

  "Does it happen often?" I asked. Eva just smiled sheepishly.

  "No, just a few times," she said. "Café owners are mostly music lovers. In fact, a lot of my fans know me because of places like this, too."

  "I see," I said and drank my tea as well.

  "You don't drink coffee, do you?" Eva said just to be conversational, but I felt a little embarrassed to answer her.