Dynamic Sky

March 20, 2018April 5, 2018 ~ Piece, of the Sky

Ran sat at the bar, in a lounge suspended in a glass box, high above Grand Central and the teeming wet streets below. It was raining in New York City. She nursed a glass of bitters and picked at some lint on her cobalt blazer.

A woman walked by and sat down, one seat away from her. Ran was startled to notice that it was the same blond woman from the town car, a few nights ago. The woman – What was her name? Dallas? – recognized Ran, and waved, coming closer, much to Ran’s chagrin.

She was wearing a knee-length, white dress, with a bright, primary color paint splatter print, and red pumps. “Funny finding you here,” Dallas said, balancing her clutch and her drink, a martini.

“I would say the same to you,” Ran said, still surprised.

“What do you do for a living?” Dallas said.

“Well, I used to run a surf shop, but my girlfriend got me a marketing job, here in the city,” Ran replied.

“A surf shop, huh?” Dallas stirred her drink, with the olive’s toothpick, “That’s interesting.”

“It was a small outfit,” Ran said, “I love to surf. It was just something I did after college.”

“So, you are a transplant,” Dallas said, “What’s your girlfriend like?”

Ran brightened, “She’s really kind. We met in the Caribbean.”

“That’s something; I just got back from the tropics. Thailand.” Dallas mused.

Ran looked at her, shocked, “Thailand? That’s cool. I’ve never been to Southeast Asia.”

Dallas returned her gaze, “You’d love it: green curry, papaya salads, a booming nightlife.”

Ran shrugged, “Maybe someday. Do you have a girlfriend?”

“Had a girlfriend,” Dallas said, looking back at her drink, “She came back to the states before me.”

“I’m sorry,” Ran said, also deflating, “Were you guys living there?”

“Yes,” Dallas responded, “I wanted to continue my research, while still living in that part of the world. I had lived in Australia before. But some relationships can’t take being uprooted and moved to the other side of the world.”

“I guess not,” Ran also looked ahead of her. The congestion was still heavy on the slick streets. The downpour was only getting worse; someone’s umbrella was blown inside-out.

Dallas glanced at Ran again, “If you closed down a business for this woman, even a small one, it must mean she’s important to you, right?”

“I would say so!” Ran took a sip. She mellowed, “Hopefully you can find the one you’re looking for.”

Dallas sighed, “I already did; I threw her away.”

The first thunder of spring echoed across the skyline. Minuscule rivers ran along the curb and poured into the sewers.

Pure Becoming

March 19, 2018April 6, 2018 ~ Piece, of the Sky

cdsz

The rain drummed harder on the thatch roof. Ran and Alli went inside the cabana.

White drapes hung silently. Raindrops ran down the back windows. There was a kitchenette, and a bathroom, hidden off to the side.

Alli walked around the circular room. The wooden floor was covered in faux thatch mats. There was a TV, in a mahogany stand. A NutriBullet stood on the counter. She looked at the large plastic jars of protein powder. A small photo frame had been set on the night dresser. It showed a kindly, older woman with graying hair and spectacles, probably Ran’s mother.

The tide was coming back in, flooding the tunnels and the caves in the cliffs, further down the shore.

Ran came in from the woods. The fire in the cast iron stove had burned low, down to glowing coals. The curtains were drawn. Alli lay on the lower bunk, under the knitted quilt. She was turning a page when Ran walked in, knocking the nettles off her boots.

The cabin smelled of the ginger tea Alli had brewed earlier. Ran extinguished the candle sputtering on the kitchen table. She sat down on the bench, undid her boots, pulled her flannel shirt out of her jeans and yanked off her high-thread count socks.

Down the mountain, moose were traipsing through the wilderness. Foxes were running, to and fro, in and out of the underbrush.

Ran came home, hurrying in from the New York rain. Her shoulders drooped with weariness. She’d forgotten her umbrella and her pewter jacket was soaked. She set her keys down on the table by the door.

Alli moved across the hallway and peeled the sopping jacket off Ran. “Come on, let me draw a bath for you, before you catch a cold,” she said.

She filled up the bathtub, with hot water and bubbles smelling of lavender. She wasn’t satisfied until Ran was sitting in the scalding mixture, saved from the chill.

Later, Alli and Ran were watching Wheel of Fortune on the couch, drinking green tea. Alli was reclining at one end and Ran sat on the other side.

At the end of the show, they fell asleep, spooning in the gentle light of the summer evening.

It was raining outside. The wind lashed the bay window, which rattled with every gust. Ran and Alli sat on the couch watching TV, but every so often the downpour would cause the cable to cut out.

During one of those ‘No signal found’ moments, Ran turned to Alli and said, “I’m falling in love with you.”

“No, you’re falling in love with the idea of me,” Alli said, with a self-conscious grin.

Ran held Alli’s hands, “No, I am actually falling in love with you.”

Rain water clattered down the window panes. Alli squeezed Ran’s hands in return, “I love you too, Ran.”

Ran hugged Alli to herself. She looked down at Alli, and Alli looked up at her, and locked in this embrace, on this wintry day, they had never felt so warm.

dartmouth