by Geonn Cannon
Lance looked at the clock and nodded.
Jodie sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and said, "I'm going to go take a shower. You should...probably be gone when I come back. It'd be easier." Lance reached up and brushed a tear out of the corner of Jodie's eye. Jodie turned her head into Lance's touch and kept her eyes closed. "The Mustang's keys are on the dresser. All your stuff is in your duffel bag, in the backseat. I, um...put something extra in it. You don't have to keep it. But I thought you should have it if you wanted it."
"Okay," Lance said.
"Just leave the keys in the front wheel well. I'll find them." She bent down and kissed Lance's lips. "Good bye."
"No," Lance said. She kissed the inside of Jodie's wrist. "I'll see you later."
Jodie laughed sadly. "I'll see you later. I love you."
"I love you, too."
Lance stayed in bed until she heard the shower start. She dressed slowly, wanting to prolong her departure. A part of her thought that if she was still there when Jodie came out of the bathroom, she wouldn't have to leave for a little while. But she knew it would just be prolonging the inevitable, making it a little harder every time. She pulled on her jacket, left the wig behind, and left Jodie behind.
#
Lance retrieved her bag from the Mustang, locked the doors, and stowed the keys on top of the wheel. She put the bag on the passenger seat of the Torino and drove to the ferry lanes. The euphoria of her interlude with Jodie was beginning to fade. On the surface, it looked like business as usual. She spent some time in a place, got comfortable, and was now getting ready to move on to another city, another job and another identity. But in reality, everything had changed. The law enforcement establishment that had hounded her for three years now believed she was dead. All she had to do was find a nice quiet place to lie low. Some isolated corner of the world where she could hide. And then Jodie would come to be with her. And they could be together.
Looking back, her time as Carmen Landry wasn't a real life. It was shadow puppets that she let confuse her into thinking they meant something. A job, a life, none of it meant anything. None of it but Jodie. Jodie Calico Curran. Lance felt as if she'd been walking through a dark room, groping for meaning, and she saw Jodie on the other side of a pane of glass. Outside, on the lawn, glowing brightly but utterly unattainable. But Jodie had seen her, too, and refused to let go. Jodie had warmed her back to life, literally.
She looked at the bag and pulled down the zipper. She dug around until she found an envelope with her name on the front, written in Jodie's surprisingly elegant handwriting. It didn't feel like there was much inside. She held it up to the light, ripped it open, and dumped the two squares of paper into her hand.
The first one was a photograph of Jodie, staring into the camera with a sly, knowing smile on her lips. She wore a blue turtleneck, her arms crossed with her hands on her shoulders. It was impossible to tell how magical her eyes were in the photograph, but Lance knew. And there was definitely something appealing about her eyes, even if the colors weren't apparent.
The other photograph was Elaine, the picture she'd brought with her from Chicago that always seemed to find its way back to her. She held them both with her thumb and forefinger, putting Jodie behind Elaine and then switching them to the other position. Jodie could never replace Elaine, but she could help Lance heal. Lance took both of the photographs and slipped them into the chest pocket of her blouse.
Claire Lance's life may have been a maze of shadows with a single point of light, but maybe sometimes a single point of light was all that was needed to continue on. She just had to keep moving toward the light and take care not to be confused by the shadows.
About the Author
Geonn Cannon was born on the fortieth anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He writes to get the ideas out of his head so he won't mumble to himself in public (which he already does a little more than is socially acceptable). He currently lives in Yukon, Oklahoma, although his mind is still stuck in Washington state. If you see it wandering around the shoreline, just make sure it's warm and comfortable and leave it be.