by Hunter Jones
The first night in Atlanta, Maggie fell into a deep sleep, possibly due to the exhaustion of moving. As she looked into the large mirror she’d brought from home, propped carefully against the wall, the reflected images of her small room mingled with tears as she thought of Rhett and Natasha in their new apartment. I know he loves me. It’s just a matter of time. We’re meant for each other.
In her dream, she watched him sit on a chair by the window. A beautiful young woman entered the room, dressed in red and black. She was small and stunning. But she was like glittering ice. She was alive, for all that, and her eyes sparkled like two dark stars, but in them there was neither rest nor peace. She nodded toward the window and beckoned with her hand.
“Where have you been?” he asked.
“I’ve been auditioning members for my new band.”
He looked at her in the darkness, the smell of alcohol and cigarettes filling the space between them. “It’s almost 4:00 a.m. I have classes in the morning. We aren’t going to live like this, are we?”
“No, baby,” she said, walking to him and unzipping his pants. “We’re going to live like this.” He was frightened, and as he moved from the chair, it appeared that a raven or something dark flew past the window. But once she touched him, nothing seemed to matter anymore except the feel of her body against his.
Somewhere in the dream, an unknown voice sang a song to her. The mists separated as he finished the ballad. He tousled his long hair, looked at her, and faded into the mists.
The sun’s rays woke Maggie as the mirror caught their first glimmer. She glanced at the phone to see that there was plenty of time to shower and make it to her first class. The next day was clear and crisp. Autumn turned to winter, and springtime came. She and Rhett shared library time as often as possible, same as they had since they were children. Every time she saw him, the ease of their time together never ceased to amaze her. Hours would pass. They would discuss classes, philosophies, occasionally politics, and sometimes Tennessee would be mentioned. But usually discussions were about the future and rarely about the past. Rhett told her that Natasha was recording in New York City and traveling there often. The thought made Maggie’s heart flutter. Maybe he is giving me a chance after all this time. She looked across the campus. The sun shone, the green grass sprouted, birds flew by on the way to make their nests, and the dream of children playing and making wishes on stars on a summer evening flashed before her mind’s eye.
They were now finished with undergrad and no longer lived across the hall from each other. He and Natasha had moved into a larger condo in Virginia Highlands, yet Maggie remained in the tiny studio where she had started Emory. Rhett walked her back to her place that evening as the late summer roses bloomed in the glow of the peach-tinted twilight. As they moved closer to her apartment, Rhett reached down to take her hand. Deep within her, the little girl that was still there recalled a line about roses and thought about flowers from her mother’s yard and how the fragrance would envelop them in the heat of a hot summer night.
“You’ve been accepted to Emory’s med school, I hear.”
“That’s right,” Rhett replied. “I was accepted to a couple of schools but decided to stay here. It makes life less complicated.” He looked at her and smiled that smile that had held her spellbound since they were children. “What exactly is your dissertation?” he asked. “Your email was complicated.”
She smiled, brushed the hair from her eyes, and said, “It is complicated. I was a little rushed too. It’s actually a study in History and Literature. I’ll be here and in Cambridge in the U.K., studying…are you ready for this...motifs in fairy tales, fables, and folklore...Stories that are timeless and universal.” She cleared her voice, flicked a leaf from his shoulder, and continued. “There are tales of folklore dating back to the Bronze Age that are found globally. Between the Cherokee Nation in Georgia and Tennessee, and the European collections stored at Cambridge, I’ll have a great deal to discover. All these stories share dichotomies of good and evil, right and wrong, punishment and reward, moral and immoral, male and female. There are stories of a devil or trickster character that weave into every culture. It’s really fascinating.”
They looked at each other and Rhett said, “You have always believed in fairy tales. This is perfect.”
They held each other’s hand, and she stopped to kiss one of the roses. As Maggie looked up at the last ray of sunshine, she spoke and said, “Hasn’t this been the best summer? Did you ever believe these last few years would go by so quickly?”
“No,” he replied. “It’s all because of you. You saw this long ago. I owe all this to you.” He turned to her and gently moved the wisps of blonde hair from her eyes. “I wish today would never end.” Then, he softly kissed her on the forehead and the wistful scent of the flowers surrounded them on the breeze.
Maggie loved that one moment and the rose bushes and made a wish that they would never stop blooming.
It was then, as Rhett’s phone buzzed, Maggie heard something crash in the distance. Rhett said, “Ouch. I’ve got something in my eye.”
He blinked a few times. She put her arms to his face and looked, but she couldn’t see anything in either eye.
“I think it’s gone,” he said. She found some drops in her backpack and handed them to him. “Thanks. It feels like a piece of glass has flown into my eye or something. Must’ve been a piece of pollen from the roses caught on the breeze. Whatever it is, it hurts like hell.” He covered the eye with one of his palms and looked at her with his other eye. “As we would’ve said when we were kids, this hurts like H-E-double-toothpicks.” This made them both laugh, although she could sense that he was really uncomfortable. He continued, “Now, to top it off, I’ve got heartburn or something from the coffee I had earlier. Today’s really not going the way I had planned.”
Maggie wondered what he meant, but they were only a few steps from her apartment at this point. “Come on in and I’ll make us a cup of green tea. That will make you feel better. You can check your eye too,” she said, turning to Rhett as she smiled.
She fumbled in her pockets for her keys. Usually, she kept them in the same place in her jeans, but being with him had mesmerized her this afternoon and she couldn’t remember exactly where she had stuck them. Finally, she located the keys and held them in her hand.
Rhett reached for them and said, “I need to tell you something.”
Maggie’s heart sank and her blood ran cold. She was curious because the afternoon they had shared had been so wonderful. “What? Is everything okay, Rhett? You know you can share with me. We’re best friends. C’mon in and we’ll talk.”
“No. No, Maggie, I can’t come in anymore. I…uh…me and Annie…Natasha and me…me and Natasha, we’ve made a commitment and will be getting married after I graduate from med school. Basically, she has asked me and I have accepted. It’s a long story, but she’s met someone in Manhattan that’s financing her new band. This money will put me through med school. I’ve told her that I will see you at school, but we won’t spend any more private time together. Let’s face it, if I’m engaged, it really doesn’t look right for me to be alone with you, does it? You’ve never really dated anybody, Maggie. It’s time you got your nose outta those books for a while and started living. There’s no time like the present to start something new.”
Scenes of Annie who had become Natasha flashed across Maggie’s mind like a slow motion movie from the 1980s. She knew the girl who claimed to be her best friend had always laughed at her behind her back. Now she was truly going to take Rhett from her. She thought of all the boys and men, and the girls that Natasha had slept with, and wanted to say something to Rhett. But he had made his decision long ago. She had always been a dreamer, and thought that by being the good girl, she would show Rhett they belonged together. But silly childhood fantasies had led to getting her heart broken. And now she knew why she hadn’t heard anything from Natasha in months. The girl had been scheming against her an
d didn’t want to give away any plans so that Maggie would be completely blindsided. What a great friend she had turned out to be. Annie Bragg had become Nasty Bragg. Oh, how very appropriate.
She started to speak and the movie reel of her life continued. This time, it featured Rhett. How would she ever let him go? Why did she ever think he would love someone as tall and geeky as her? Why had she loved him so much? It was as if nothing in her life had mattered since the moment she first laid eyes on him. She wanted to look at him now but felt the tears begin to burn her own eyes. She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying and she felt as if she had been physically hit in the stomach, and all the air removed from her lungs. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked and she heard another crash. She felt herself attempt to unlock the door of her studio.
“Are you all right?”
“Of course. You two are childhood sweethearts. This is expected,” she heard her own voice lie in a whisper to him. She still couldn’t look at him and moved her head so that her hair covered the side of her face. “Are you all right? That’s the question,” she said.
“Are you crying?” he asked. “Christ, it makes you look ugly. Speaking of which, it would do you some good to get yourself a good haircut and a makeover. You’re a pretty girl; it’s time you let other people see the real you. As for me. You ask about me. Me? There’s nothing the matter with me. I’m better than I’ve ever been in my life.” Then he reached into his pocket for a rosebud that he had broken off the bush as they had made their way to her home.
“Ugh! Look at this rose. It’s filled with worms.” He glanced at the frame of her doorway and said, “This thing is crooked. Have you ever noticed that before? Who did this? God, and the paint job is pathetic. What color is this supposed to be? I’ve never noticed these flower boxes. How old are those?” With that, he gave the boxes a swift kick and walked off without saying goodbye, throwing the rosebud on the ground behind him.
“Rhett, what in the devil are you doing?” Maggie cried after him. She had never seen this side of his personality. When he saw how it upset her, he broke off another rose branch from a neighbor’s yard, and then walked into the enveloping blanket of the night, leaving Maggie alone on her doorstep.
She stumbled into the studio, locking the door behind her. The shock of the announcement still made her tremble, but there was something more. As her eyes grew accustomed to the dimness from the sole light that shone over the stovetop, Maggie saw the lights reflected at her as if thousands of diamonds filled her tiny studio apartment. She saw the words from her long ago dream that she had stenciled in Hebrew on the wall, across from her bed. Then, the horror of the image struck her. The antique family mirror had fallen from the wall, the shards lying in thousands of tiny pieces throughout the room. It was the only thing of value she had ever owned and now it was ruined forever.
That dream from long ago of fragments of a magic mirror crossed her mind again. At that point, her sorrow could no longer contain itself as she slid down the wall and lay on the floor, a sobbing mass of emotion and pain. The wind carried a breeze outside her door, and she could’ve sworn the chimes said in a male voice, I’m on my way.
She sobbed openly as she realized her life would never be the same.
When Rhett arrived at his new home, he saw that Natasha had a few friends over. He braced himself for what would happen later and knew his life would never be the same after tonight. As he entered the room, he saw that she had pulled up some pics on the web and opened a bottle of wine. They were reviewing some new sounds and photographs. Plans were underway for a tour. Drinks flowed freely and the music blared. Natasha was the center of attention. As the party grew, Natasha began to tell stories and imitate people. She did this so cleverly, it made everyone laugh. Before long, she could mimic the walk and the talk of everyone in the room. Everything that was odd or ugly about them, Natasha could duplicate so well that people said, “That girl has got a real talent as a performer.”
Before long, Natasha made fun of the ugly girl she grew up with, the one who still stupidly believed they were best friends. The room laughed as she explained that the girl had not only followed her to Atlanta, but she had also thought Rhett would someday leave Natasha for her. By this time, the room filled with laughter as Natasha pulled up a pic of Maggie from the eighth grade. She had been gangly, with glasses and braces. No one could imagine a girl like that thinking she was Natasha’s competition.
Whenever Natasha attempted to embellish the story, Rhett always broke in with “…but,” although he couldn’t get a word in edgewise. The pain in his eye and his heart made him uneasy as his mind drifted back to Maggie, who he knew loved him. He knew he shouldn’t have lied to her tonight about being engaged, but he had to do what was the best for all concerned. Besides, Maggie would never understand his new arrangement with Natasha. Finally, he joined in and found that if he made fun of Maggie, everyone liked him better. From then on, nothing was as it had been before. The night became much more fun.
Now his life felt very different from what it had been. It made more sense. It was as if he could see clearly for the first time. Someone handed him another drink and a few people began to leave. He heard Natasha in another room but couldn’t understand what was being said. He knew there were whispers that her investor in New York was a European actor, but he really didn’t want to know. Cedar incense floated in from another room and he heard a balcony door open from upstairs. Looking outside, he saw that the night was black as ink. Midnight approached fast.
Natasha held up a jeweler’s glass, returning to the computer to review photographs. The blue light from the screen cast a surreal pearlescent hue across her ethereal white skin. He saw two guys walk up behind her to look at the pictures. Even in the darkness, he saw one of them reach under her blouse, while the other ran his fingers through her dark hair. Rhett knew how sexy she was, and there was nothing he could do to fight it. All he could do was watch or ignore.
She had explained long ago that life was freer in the artistic community. Sex was thought of differently because artists were free thinkers. He asked that she use protection, and he believed she did because she didn’t want to lose her perfect body; but, just in case, he had himself tested regularly. He had lost the ability to feel jealousy long ago due to the money and gifts she continually showered upon him. She always returned to him, and that made him believe that she did love him, in her own way.
When she tired of the boys’ attention, Natasha shooed their hands away and said, “Rhett, come over and look through this glass.” He did as he was told. Each picture was of Natasha, in various poses – some dressed but mostly nude. The photographs were like snowflakes in that each one was different, and all were staged.
“Look, how artistic!” said Natasha. “I am like a magnificent flower. These pictures will make me a star. I am spectacular to look at, aren’t I?”
Rhett nodded in agreement as he continued to examine each detail of the photographs in the dark, wondering who had taken such provocative, explicit photographs of his girlfriend. He knew this caliber of pictures was extremely expensive, and he had always had a nagging suspicion that the money Natasha made was payment for more than an investor.
“They are much more interesting to look at than any previous photographs made of me, for they are absolutely perfect. There isn’t a flaw in them.” As she said this, she looked at herself in the mirror of the condo, then looked around the room. Rhett and the few remaining guests nodded in approval, once again.
The new friend Natasha had brought in for the weekend, a psychic from Manhattan who called herself Philancie Soulurge, smiled at her and whispered, “You’re the most beautiful woman on earth.” Next, she dimmed the lights and lit seven candles throughout the main space of the condo. Natasha was so strange, Rhett thought. Philancie had an uncanny resemblance to Maggie, almost the same height and hair color, yet Natasha mocked Maggie for being homely while she apparently found this woman irresistible.
Na
tasha walked the two guys to the door as Philancie went to the kitchen and retrieved yet another bottle of wine. In the dark, Rhett saw the two kiss and Natasha unbuttoned her blouse, allowing her new roommate to lick her breasts before they returned to the main room.
Rhett took the bottle of wine offered him, asking the couple that remained if they would like another glass. They refused, saying it was getting late and they wanted to catch a band playing in Midtown. As Natasha and Philancie showed the guests to the door, he stretched back on the couch. Why has it taken me so long to understand this? He relaxed, the music softly playing as he closed his eyes. He felt a breeze from the open balcony door upstairs and heard the girls giggle as they blew out the remaining candles and stumbled in the darkness. He listened as their breathing patterns changed, and he heard them removing each other’s clothes. In the background, an owl screeched in the distance and he heard the far off buzz of traffic over the drumming of his own heartbeat.
He felt as if he had drifted into a dream when he heard Natasha say, “Do I have permission to kiss my boyfriend?” He looked up and saw her dark eyes staring into his.
“Of course, baby. You never have to ask.”
“Are you all mine now?” she whispered. “Did you tell that silly Maggie Pickett to leave you alone?”
“Yes, sweetheart. I did what you asked me to do,” Rhett said.
“Oh, Rhett, you are such a good boyfriend. I am so lucky to have you. To thank you, Philancie and I want you to try something new tonight, okay? Just relax, baby, and we’ll take care of you. Philancie will make this worth our time. Just like I promised you, okay?”
“Okay,” Rhett whispered. He wasn’t as sexually experienced or curious as Natasha, but if it would keep her happy, he would go along with her. Besides, he didn’t want her to know how scared he was of having multiple sexual partners, even if he needed the money. He felt as if he would be playing Russian Roulette.