William found Carla sitting in the family room, curled up on a sheet covered couch, a magazine in her lap. She seemed perfectly at ease, the complete opposite of what he felt at the moment.
He was two seconds away from loosing his mind and running into the woods, praying that the Black Rose Society forgot all about his existence.
He took a deep breath, and sat in the chair across from her.
"What you reading?" He crossed his legs, his fingers tapping the padded arms of the dusty chair.
She held up the magazine, and he nearly burst out laughing. It was a teen pop mag from back when they were in high school.
"I found a whole stack of them in a box over there." She flipped the page, but didn’t look up at him.
"You must have spent a lot of time here back then." He looked over his shoulder, out the large bay windows that looked out into the woods, and then the lake. "I mean, you and Julie were really close."
"Not so much in the house. More like around the house." Carla looked up, throwing the magazine to the floor. "Julie’s dad didn’t really like company."
She stood and started fishing through a large cardboard box. William could hear the sound of objects shifting, clouds of dust billowing out with every move. The particles seemed to dance in the fading sunlight.
"What did I do Carla?" William stood, his hands held out, palms up. He was physically, and emotionally opening himself to her, and he was half ready for her to strike.
"Nothing." She looked back at him, confused. "Why?"
"It’s just... I thought maybe we had something starting up, but now you’re acting kind of..." His mouth was moving, but he couldn’t think of a word that wouldn’t make her angry.
She walked over to him, and he felt his muscles tightened. He was half expecting a slap, but what he got shocked him. Her lips pressed against his, her hand gently moving through his hair, then resting on his neck, pulling his face gently towards hers.
When she finally let him go he knew he looked like a complete idiot. He could feel the large smile on his face, and his cheeks burning as the blood rushed to them, probably making him as red as a beet.
"William, if this is going to work, then you have to understand that I’m not always the warmest person." She smiled, walking back towards the box. "You should get the crash course from Paul. Our marriage may have been a shame, but he did know me backwards and forwards."
"I think I want to learn through my own experience." He walked up behind her wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her body close to his. "I learn best through experience."
She turned, gave him a light kiss, then stepped back. "That was cute, and so cheesy at the same time."
She laughed, then returned to her box.
"Help me find something to read." She knelt down on the floor, tipping the box over. "Kind of need a distraction, and the teenage hunks of 2003 just aren’t doing it right now."
William joined her, fishing through the dusty magazines and creased paperbacks. It was like looking at a time capsule. He had been older than Carla and her friends, so he hadn’t really been into the same things as them, but he was surprised by how many memories this stuff recalled.
"Makes you feel old, doesn’t it?" He picked up a small young adult novel, a picture of a young girl’s ghost floating over some guy’s bed. The title was written in a bright red foil, the font seemed to be dripping off the page.
"A little." She looked at him. " I’m only twenty six, not eighty."
He nodded.
They sat there for the next hour, not speaking much, but just enjoying the memories that the boxes contents brought back. Memories of a simpler, safer time.
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