Someone I Used to Know - By Blakney Francis Page 0,106
realizing there was nothing I could do to suck them back in.
I couldn’t look at them. My focus drifted to the bulky coffee table in the awkward silence that lingered.
Fran shifted uncomfortably beside me. “I think he likes being home. He’s been giving the southern dialect coach trouble because his natural accent has become so distinct…I think he’s doing it on purpose to mess with her.”
Madeline puffed her cheeks with an annoyed expression. “He’s doing it because he’s been an insufferable bastard lately.”
“They’re not taking well to being roommates,” Fran said, ignoring her younger boss and speaking directly to me. There was something strained and unconvincing to me about her cheerful explanation. “We all thought it was a great idea when he asked us to stay with him for the duration of production. I mean, his house is large enough to accommodate a soccer team and their families comfortably…I’m starting to think it isn’t going to work out though.”
“Because he’s a prick,” Madeline grumbled, unapologetic to Fran’s condemning gaze.
Again she was ignored. Fran changed the subject with an excited clap, and her happiness became far more believable.
“We got you something!”
“What? Why?”
No one answered me. Instead, a small wrapped box was placed in front of me. I eyed the seemingly innocent square uncertainly, but Fran nudged my shoulder encouragingly, and she looked far too eager for me to decline in good conscience.
My hands shook, nervous under their concentrated gazes. I hated opening gifts in front of people. There was so much pressure. What if I reacted in the wrong way? Finished stripping away the soft pink wrapping paper, I slowly pulled the cover off the small box.
“It’s a charm bracelet,” Madeline declared before my eyes could even appraise the dainty silver chain. “We’d only planned on adding one charm, but we all had a different idea of what it should be…so we ended up getting all three, one from each of us.”
Dangling from the delicate bracelet, three very different items all gleamed in expensive silver. I smoothed my fingers along each one.
“I picked the film reel in case you ever try and forget about us,” Fran said with a wink. “And Madeline wanted you to have the pointe shoes.”
I nodded. Emotions formed a bubble in my throat, blocking my ability to speak.
“I tried to make Alfred take his charm off,” Madeline said tartly.
My eyes carved over the last tiny replica. It looked like some version of a fancy fishing hook with faint markings and sharp edges opposite to where it curved.
I dragged my inspection away from the beautiful charm to where Alfred had been standing, needing to find some explanation for his choice. He was gone. I hadn’t noticed him slip free of the room, but it wasn’t hard to imagine why. As uncomfortable as I was at accepting their kind gesture, the stern giant would have been even more so accepting my gratitude.
She read my confusion, and continued, “He called it a Bone Fish Hook. Apparently, it’s some sort of Hawaiian symbol for strength…I didn’t think you deserved it after the way you split town, too cowardly to even say goodbye. He wouldn’t let me take it off though.”
“Why?” I found my voice, or at least a scratchy version of it. I felt a deep need to know his answer as well. How could I – the girl who could only do the right thing by running away from it – deserve anything honoring strength?
“He said it wasn’t a reward for the decisions you’d made in the past…It’s a reminder that you have the strength to make a different choice next time.”
With a stubborn effort, I fought down the swelling balloon of my emotions, unable to squelch them, only managing to swallow my grateful tears for the sake of my pride. I thought I had control. I opened my mouth to thank them, only to have fizz rapidly fill up my throat, like Champagne finally uncorked from its stagnant state. I coughed, nearly choking under the force it cost me. I could only hope my watery gaze conveyed what I could not.
“Not that I’m not thrilled to see you guys,” I said, swimming towards shallower waters, “But what brings you from Charlotte to Greensboro?”
“Someone had to bring you your present. You ditched us before we had a chance this summer, and not everyone is rude enough to let commitments go unfulfilled,” Madeline brushed me off, not missing a chance to get a dig in.