by C S Joseph
“Zachary! Hurry up and get down here. We need to get going so you can eat breakfast,” Reese called up after her son.
Julia walked into the living room where there were more boxes of Reese’s possessions. She looked around for a few moments and realized that a single box had been opened. She pushed the flap over and looked inside. Framed photos. The one sitting on top was of Reese and Julia. She picked it up and tried to remember when the photo was taken. She didn’t even know Reese had this photo, let alone that it was in a frame. She smiled. The two of them were sitting next to each other on the couch. Ollie was sitting on Julia’s lap, with his front paws up toward Reese. Both women were laughing. Julia smiled as she remembered that day. Ollie had started barking at Reese, who laughed and started to play with the little puppy.
“I was trying to get him to stop barking at me,” Reese said from behind her. “Your father took the photo. He told me that he thought it was a cute moment, so he gave it to me for my birthday.”
“I didn’t know my dad gave you a present.” Julia put the photo back in the box. “Ollie kept sitting up like that as though you were supposed to just give him all your attention. He has never demanded attention from anyone like that, except for me.”
“Well, he is a lot like his owner. Your father is very kind.”
“I never saw it in your house before. I didn’t know it existed.”
“It was in my study on the desk. There was never a reason for us to spend time in there.” They were broken from their conversation with a loud bang above their heads and a herd of elephants tumbling down the stairs. Julia looked over Reese’s shoulder and saw Zach jump the last step. Ollie was right on his heels.
“Julia! You made it!” Zach jumped toward her with a few feet to spare. Julia braced for impact and caught him midflight. He wrapped his arms around her neck, and she swung back a bit to lessen the blow.
“I’m here for two weeks. So, we’ll have plenty of time to hang out. Okay?” She lowered him to the floor and rubbed the top of his head. “Finish getting ready for school. I’ll go with you to get dropped off.” She saw a smile on his face before he turned and ran off into the other room. “Reese, I’m not sure, but I think he missed me.”
“We both did.”
Julia was acutely aware that she could breathe again, just by looking at Reese. Of course she’d been breathing their entire time apart. She knew it was physically impossible to stop breathing for several days. Now, it was just easier. Julia took a deep breath for good measure.
“Where’s your secret passage thing?”
“In the kitchen. Oh! I forgot to tell you. I started reading Clara’s diaries. I haven’t gotten very far. Poor thing, her father died. That was the earliest entry. She talks about her friend who was a servant girl that worked for her father. It’s been very intriguing so far.”
Julia smiled. “I’m sure it is. Reese, I’ve gotta tell you…”
“Mom! I’m ready, let’s go.” Zach ran through the house and jumped through the back door. He talked nonstop, the whole ride to town. They ate a quick breakfast and dropped him off at school. There was a comfortable silence between the two women, until they got back to the house. Julia brought in her luggage and hauled it upstairs.
“Reese, where should I put these?”
“Oh. Um. You can either put them in my room, which is the last room on the right, or we can put you in Zachary’s room. I don’t have a guest room setup for you yet. Whatever you feel comfortable with.”
“Would I be safe?”
“Safe? Why wouldn’t you be safe?”
“I mean, can I trust you to keep your hands to yourself?” Julia chuckled at Reese’s offended expression.
“Julia, really? We’ve slept in the same bed before. I stayed on my side. What makes you think this is any different?”
Julia carried her luggage into the bedroom.
“No, I was teasing. I shouldn’t do that to you. I’m sorry. I’ll sleep with you, ok?” She immediately recognized her unfortunate choice of words. Innocent in meaning, they suddenly sent Julia’s mind to one, singular thought. She felt relieved when Reese didn’t seem to notice.
“Now that that’s settled, let’s start clearing out the dining room. When we pick up Zachary this afternoon, we’ll go get a lawn mower.” Reese turned around and walked out of the room.
Julia stood there for a minute and looked at the bed. I’m here as a friend, just a friend. She thought cleaning out the dining room was going to be a perfect distraction.
†
They emptied out all the furniture and other items left by the previous owner. Nearly everything went into the large dumpster the contractor had hired. Reese insisted they strip the wallpaper, which was harder than expected. One of the contractors noticed their efforts when they came back into the house from their lunch break.
“Uh, ma’am, why are you bothering to take off the wallpaper? We’re gonna remove all of this lath and plaster to replace it with new drywall. It’ll be easier to rewire and add new outlets to meet code.” Reese sighed in frustration.
“Sorry, I thought we were helping.”
“No big deal. But if this room is empty, we’ll gut it at the same time as the kitchen. Are you gonna want to keep those columns at the entry there?” He pointed to two large ionic columns that were on both sides of the opening between the living room and dining room.
“Yes, I would like them repainted.” Reese responded. “Well, then I suppose we should just go through the boxes in the living room. At least determine where things will be placed. How long before this room will be completed? I could empty a lot of boxes if this was finished.”
“Hmm.” The guy looked around. “Are you gonna replace the chandelier?” Reese nodded. “If you can pick that out, I’ll get my electrician to rewire the walls. The drywall and paint won’t take too long. I’d say we can get it done in a few days. You need to pick out flooring and the style of molding you want around the floor and ceiling in case we can’t salvage the original.”
“We’ll get you samples and a light fixture this afternoon.” Julia responded. Reese looked over at Julia, surprised at her joining the conversation. “And I’m handy with a hammer or a drill. I can work on it when you aren’t here. Do you have an extra Sawzall? Sledgehammer? I’ll start knocking this out.”
Reese tilted her head at her. The worker nodded and headed out to his truck.
“You’re gonna get dirty.” Reese said.
“I want to help out. That’s why I’m here. Let’s get this room fixed up for you, so you can move in your furniture and put things away. One room that is all set up will make you feel better.”
“Feel better? I feel fine.”
“Reese, this chaos is not you, and you are a little uptight. I wanna loosen you up a bit. This”—she gestured around the room—“will help with that.” The man returned, holding a crowbar and a sledge hammer.
“I’ve got an axe in the kitchen, sometimes it helps. Plaster this old is hard to get through.”
“Your extra guy can clean up as I go.”
“Sure. I called my electrician. He’ll be here first thing in the morning.”
Reese watched, as Julia put on a pair of clear safety glasses and grabbed the hammer. She repeatedly smashed it into the wall. Chunks of plaster and pieces of wood flew in every direction. Reese watched her swing with a full range of motion. Julia rested the hammer, head down on the floor, and took off her shirt. The tank top that remained clung to her body tightly. Reese was too engrossed to even realize that she was just standing there staring intently, as the muscles in Julia’s arms and back flexed and relaxed with every swing. She could not tear her eyes away. Aiden rarely did manual labor. When he did, Reese could only think of how disgusting it was that he would get sweaty and dirty. She always made him shower.
A sheen of sweat was starting to appear on Julia’s olive skin. The dust in the air was starting to stick to her, making her skin look even darker. Leaning agai
nst the far wall, Reese didn’t think she’d ever seen Julia look sexier than in that moment.
“You alright there?”
Reese could not respond. She just nodded.
“Do you have any water?” Julia reached up and swiped the back of her hand across her forehead, then over her mouth. Dirt smudged as her hand moved. Reese could no longer comprehend words. She just nodded and stood there watching, as Julia picked up the crowbar and went to work on the nails that were holding the wooden lath to the first stud. Creak. Creak. Pop! She moved to the next nail.
“Water?” Julia had stopped to look back at Reese.
“Oh! Sorry. Yes.” She jumped away from the wall and walked halfway into the kitchen before remembering the cooler in the living room. She brought back a bottle and handed it to Julia. “It’s not cold anymore.” She was standing close to the sweaty woman.
“Thanks,” Julia opened the lid and took a long gulp. “You don’t have to stand here and watch me. I don’t want you to get dirty.” She smirked.
Reese smiled, and as if on its own, her hand started to reach out to touch Julia’s arm. She slid her palm from shoulder to elbow, leaving a trail in the dirt on Julia’s skin. She kept her hand on that elbow.
“I don’t mind getting dirty, Julia.” They maintained eye contact. Reese felt as if her hand were on fire. The skin-on-skin contact was more intense than ever before. Her thumb rubbed back and forth slowly over forearm muscles. “Thank you for coming here and helping me.” Reese said.
“Um, ma’am?” The worker had come into the room; he looked uncomfortable at interrupting an intimate moment.
Reese spun around. “Yes?” Her face flushed with embarrassment. She’d forgotten they weren’t alone.
“Uh, this is Pete. He’s my guy for the day. He’s got a broom and a shovel to get what you’ve dropped.” Pete waved at the two women. Julia picked up the crowbar and went back to the wall. She continued to rip out nails, quicker than before. Reese went to the living room and started to open boxes.
“Reese?” She heard Julia call to her from the other room after a while. “What time do we have to pick up Zach? Do I have time for a quick shower?”
Looking over the top of a box, Reese saw that Julia’s white tank top was now dark grey. Her skin was covered in dirt. Reese glanced at her watch. “We’ve got about thirty minutes before we have to leave.”
“I figured you’d want me clean before I get in your car. I probably smell pretty bad, too.” As she lifted her arm and sniffed, she made a face. “Yeah, I do.” She looked up at Reese and made a gesture to her nose. “You’ve got a…”
Reese reached up and rubbed her nose. “Did I get it?” She walked around her stacked boxes and stood close to Julia. Julia shook her head and wiped a finger across the offending mark.
“I think I made it worse.”
“Well, I’ll show you the shower and get a towel for you. I’ll wash my nose at the sink.” She rubbed her nose again and laughed when Julia grinned. Silently, Reese walked up the stairs, while Julia followed. In Reese’s bedroom, Julia pulled out her luggage and found clean clothes. Reese grabbed a fluffy towel and laid it on the counter. She bent over the sink and washed her nose with the water. She grabbed the hand towel to dry her face and studied her reflection in the mirror.
She was a mother. She was a wife. She was lusting after her friend. She felt the pain of guilt in her chest. Gripping the edge of the counter, Reese leaned forward, dropped her head, and closed her eyes. Suddenly, she felt a warm hand on her lower back. She froze and looked back into the mirror. Julia was standing behind her. The visual only confirmed the feel of Julia’s body pressed against hers. “Reese, I have to tell you that…Caitlyn and I broke up.”
Reese spun around to face her. “What? Why? When?” The questions were out of her mouth in quick succession.
“Last night actually. I talked to her, and she told me that she knows how I feel about you.”
Reese gasped and put her head into her hands, shaking it back and forth.
“She’s not angry, because she has fallen in love with one of her research assistants. I wanted you to know.”
Reese felt a bit queasy.
“Please. It doesn’t change anything. Your situation hasn’t changed. I know that. I just wanted to let you know that mine has.” Julia moved past her and put her clothes near the towel. She reached into the shower to turn on the water.
“Julia. I’m sorry. It must still hurt.” Reese looked up at her. “I’ll leave you to shower. We have to go soon.” She turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.
†
The closing of the car doors trapped a new uncomfortable silence in the car. The only sound was the crunching of the gravel beneath the tires. The ride into town left Julia to stare out the window, while Reese was stuck inside her head. She was at war with herself, and she was suddenly unsure which side would win this current battle. Julia was free. Reese didn’t have to feel guilty about Caitlyn anymore. That was a partial relief. It killed Reese to know that Julia probably wouldn’t be single for long; she’d meet someone new. Reese imagined someone else touching her woman.
Not her woman. Julia was not her woman. Her own resolve to keep her distance was already crumbling, and it hadn’t been one full day. How was she going to get through the next two weeks? How was she going to get through the rest of her life with Julia so far away from her? She kept going back and forth, feeling as if her heart was on a thin string. The situation was impossible, that much she knew. She attempted to create a checklist of reasons why she shouldn’t stop the car and kiss Julia right that minute. She forced herself to continue driving down the road.
†
“I know you’re over there processing a lot in that big, amazing brain of yours.” Julia said, still looking out the window. She knew Reese was struggling, and she knew the reasons. But now that she knew her feelings were reciprocated, she felt she should push the envelope a little bit. Could she just reach out and touch the beautiful woman sitting in the driver’s seat? What if she pushed and Reese really did shut her out of her life forever? If it happened, she would surely shrivel up and die where she stood. She tucked her hand under her leg. Someone like Reese comes along once in a lifetime. She needed to stop pushing. She needed to get her head back into friendship. Keeping that bright light in her life was the only thing that mattered.
“I love my son.” Reese finally said quietly. Julia pursed her lips.
“I know,” she mumbled. Friendship was more than enough. “I’m sorry. I’m going to stop. I don’t want us to go through more pain than necessary. I’m just happy to spend time with you.”
She looked at her as Reese looked ahead at the road. “I want you to touch me.”
“I know.”
“I need to do what’s best for Zachary.”
“I know.” They were pulling up to the school. “Reese, no pressure from me. Okay? Let’s just be us. Just be normal, can you do that?”
Reese nodded, as she stopped the car. Kids were flooding the school yard, and Julia looked for Zachary. She spotted him walking next to another boy. They were talking and laughing as they made their way to the line of vehicles. Reese crawled forward, as each car picked up their child and drove off. Finally, they were the first in line, and Zachary got in the car.
“Hey, Jules! Today at recess, I totally killed it at the basketball game. These kids only let me play to push me around, and I made like ten shots! It was amazing! I wish you could have seen it. I was just talking with Jason, and he says the guys on the other team were totally mad!”
They left the lot and began to drive into town.
“Well, hello to you, too.” Reese huffed, and Julia laughed.
“Sorry, Mom. How was your day?”
“It was fine, thanks. It sounds like you had a good day.”
“Little man, we’ve gotta go to the hardware store to pick out some stuff for the dining room.”
“Cool. Mom,
can Jules help me with my homework?” Julia looked briefly over at Reese.
“We’ll see. What should we do about dinner?”
“Let’s go to that diner! I can show Jules the old jukebox. We’ll pick out songs to play for you.”
They pulled into a parking spot at the hardware store. They all went inside and got samples of the moldings and bought two different paint colors so that Reese could see it on the wall and in the light of the room. They looked through a catalogue for a chandelier. Nothing stood out, and Reese decided to call someone to get what she really wanted. When she said she would pay extra to have it overnighted, Julia rolled her eyes.
“There is nothing wrong with ordering something that I want.”
“I didn’t say there was. Are we finished? I think we’ve got everything. Spencer can pick up whatever else he needs tomorrow.” They paid and headed toward the diner. Zach ran ahead and was inside before Julia and Reese were out of the car.
“I think my son loves you.”
“I love him too. He’ll get over his excitement soon enough.”
Julia felt like she was magically transported back to the 50s. Just as Zach had promised, a giant jukebox stood in the corner. He was there waiting for her. Reese followed the server to their booth, and Julia joined Zach
“Hey, little man. So, what songs do you wanna play for your mom?” She looked down and began to read the titles. They were all oldies from the 50s and 60s. She browsed some of the titles and decided to stay away from any love songs. “How about the Monster Mash?”
“No, I think you should play this one. E-12.”
Julia read the title. “The Everly Brothers, All I Have To Do Is Dream?” She made a face. “I don’t think I should play that for your mom.”
“Jules, I think you should,” he leaned over to whisper. “Maybe she can listen to the words.”
Julia stood back and gave the boy a pointed look. “Why would that matter?”
He shrugged. “What about Elvis Presley, ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love?’” He held out his hand, and she gave him a quarter. He pushed in the combinations for the songs that he wanted.