CHAPTER 7

Two days later, when Arizona woke up and walked into the living room, Callie wasn't on the couch. Just as she had done the previous days, Callie had rolled up her sheet and blankets and put them in a corner.

Arizona looked out the window and saw Callie shoveling snow from the front door across the open area in front of the house to the wood shed.

There was no wind which was probably why the latina had decided to get some shoveling done. She looked like a pro, twisting her body with every movement of the shovel, and letting go of the snow in one fluid motion. Her hair was tied up in an intricate pattern which made her look like she was made for being on this mountainside. It looked like the very white and shiny snow had birthed both her and her dark, dark hair.

Arizona thought about the diplomas on the wall in Callie's clinic; honors, great achievements in the medical field. And she thought of Callie surgeons' hands that were right now holding a shovel. The distance between John Hopkins and Centerville seemed unfathomable.

Callie's cheeks were red, and looking at the latina made Arizona wonder how warm Callie's body probably was underneath the layers of thermal clothes. How her skin probably smelled of fresh air.

Callie must have sensed Arizona's presence because she turned around and stared directly at the blonde. Then she pushed the shovel into the snow and walked up to the house.

Arizona instantly put on a small smile, hoping that Callie hadn't realized how much she had actually been staring.

When Callie came through the door it seemed like the latina hadn't noticed a thing.

"We need to get some firewood in here so that it can dry off before we need it for the fireplace" Callie said in a voice raspy from the cold.

"Okay, let me get dressed, and we can carry some in"

Callie looked at the blonde. Arizona wasn't scrawny. And maybe it was only because Callie knew that she was a lawyer, but Arizona didn't look like someone who'd carried much wood around in her life. She'd survived on the mountain until now AND done great things to Nella's house though which gave Callie an indication that the woman was far from helpless and weak.

Callie herself had learned about small town life the hard way, picking it up as she went; either live it or leave.

They carried lots of wood into the house and stacked it close to the fireplace.

When they were done, the latina started opening her thermal outfit to spend the rest of the day inside, and as she zipped the zipper halfway down, Arizona caught a glimpse of a black bra and bare skin. Callie noticed where Arizona's eyes were directed, and suddenly remembered that she wasn't wearing much underneath her outfit. She quickly pulled the zipper back up.

"Uhm..." she said "Those clothes we talked about...uhm...I washed my own earlier. It's drying. And now I'm sort of out"

Arizona snapped out of her thoughts and say "Oh, yeah, just a second"

She left for her bedroom and came back with a pile of clothes and put it on the couch.

"Some of it is mine...and some of it is Nella's" she said "It's all clean"

"Thanks" Callie said "I'm...I'm just gonna take a shower"

Arizona simply nodded, trying her very best to try and snap out of whatever weird bubble she had been in since she saw Callie in the snow. It helped that Callie left the room to shower. Arizona sat down and started reading a book. She was happy that Nella had a large collection of literature, because otherwise these winter weeks would seem even longer.

10 minutes later Callie walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a large towel. She'd showered in the house the previous days, but she'd gotten dressed in the bathroom before coming out, so the sudden show of legs and shoulders came as a surprise to Arizona.

Callie grabbed some of the clothes on the couch and went back into the bathroom.

Arizona swallowed. Callie's skin looked so tanned. How could it look so tanned when she was cooped up in a valley in the middle of nowhere?

The blonde cursed herself for staring. And for giving anything about Callie that many thoughts. Was the isolation already getting to her? Or was thinking about Callie a way for her to escape thinking about her life in New York?

She hardly finished the thought before Callie came back out of the bathroom wearing black jeans and a green shirt. Her hair was tousled, wet and wavy, and she looked relaxed.

Arizona studied the Latina as she brushed her hair and pulled it back and up in a swift motion. The blonde was sure that Callie could make anything seem easy. Doing sutures, shoveling snow. Even living in Centerville, far, far from the financial district of New York.

Once again Arizona tried her best to not think about Callie. She'd found the doctor annoying the first few times she met her, and she really wanted it to stay that way. Anything else would be...stupid.

Later in the day Arizona's phone rang and pulled both the blonde and Callie out of the reading they had both been doing for hours.

Arizona picked up, and the conversation started out civil. It was obviously a work related call, and Callie listened as Arizona was citing legislation and speaking like someone off a courtroom TV show. Towards the end of the call Callie could tell that Arizona felt pressured. "Mark, there's really nothing else I can do" the blonde said in an exasperated voice "Because I'm stuck on a damn mountain!" The blonde paused to listen to the man at the other end of the phone before she spoke again "Well, I don't know, okay. What do you want me to do? The best I can offer is to write a preliminary report based on our first talk, but I cannot settle anything between them until I can get off this mountain and to a place that has internet. I have access to nothing from here, Mark. None of their bank statements, no asset lists, no information on the children. Nothing" She let go of a sigh as Mark was obviously giving her grief about her being so far away "Go to hell, Mark!" she then said, hung up, and threw the phone across the kitchen counter.

She hid her face in her hands and took a few deep breaths. She was suddenly very aware that she had company, and she cursed herself for having lost it on the phone. She didn't need neither her private nor her work life of New York to spill onto this mountainside. She just wanted to finish what she had come to do and get the hell home so that she could get back on top of things.

"Is…everything okay?" Callie ventured after a few seconds.

"Does it seem that way?" Arizona snapped, but instantly regretted it. She sighed "Sorry. Mark is...my ex husband. And we...uh...own the firm together. Isn't that just the most ironic thing in the world; I'm one of the best divorce attorneys in New York, and I couldn't even settle it so that we would at least be able to split the company and go our separate ways"

Callie was silent. She couldn't believe that Arizona was actually opening up about something as private as her love life. It seemed out of character. She thought that maybe it was a result of being cooped up for four days.

Arizona continued.

"He's probably either running the whole place into the ground in my absence OR busy acquiring as many of my cases as possible so that he can shut me down and go on his merry way with everything that's mine. And his women"

Arizona sat down on the couch, grabbed her book and tried to get back into the story. She took a deep breath and let the air seep out of her lungs slowly. She needed to steady her breathing and her heart because there was nothing she could do about anything from where she was sitting right then. The thought of having shared what she had just done, made her clench her jaw.

Callie got up, took a bottle of wine from the pantry, opened it, poured them each a glass and handed one to Arizona. Arizona looked at the dark red liquid with gratitude and downed half of the glass in one go.

"Listen, I've been reading this horrible novel for the past four hours. Do you think we could…do something else? Talk maybe?" Callie ventured.

Arizona immediately looked on guard.

"What's said here, stays here" Callie smiled. She knew the coming weeks of isolation were going to feel very, very long if they didn't get to a level where they were more comfortable talking and joking and sharing things. The silence was killing her.

"We could do a quick 'get to know you row of questions'?" Callie asked.

Arizona was terrified at the thought, but the burn of the alcohol in her mouth and throat somehow soothed her. She wasn't going to be scared of sharing a bit of information. She'd already dished about her ex. And the thought of getting to know more about Callie intrigued her.

"Okay" she said and took another large sip of her wine.

"Great!" Callie said "You start"

Arizona thought for a second.

"What kind of surgeon?"

"Orthopedic. Why divorce law?"

"Because I'm good at it. Where did you grow up?" Arizona quickly continued.

"Miami. How about you?"

"All over the place. But the Midwest mostly. I was an army brat"

"Oh"

Callie looked genuinely surprised.

"Yeah. We moved all the time which is how I acquired my renovation skills" Arizona didn't say it with pride. More like simply stating a simple fact. With a hint of sadness.

Arizona's answer made Callie wonder what on earth had brought Arizona to Pine Tree Road. The latina was curious, but she had seen the look on Arizona's face when she'd asked about it, and she wasn't going to push it. There was more behind this 'visit' than just fixing up Nella's house to sell it with a profit. Callie could feel it.

"Uhm… Favorite book?" Arizona then asked, quickly moving them away from the topic of home and family.

"The Catcher in the Rye" Callie said.

"Really?"

"Yeah"

Arizona looked at Callie in disbelief until Callie raised an eyebrow at her. Challengingly.

"What? You think that with my Mexican heritage I can't relate to a white, upper class, private schooled, boy?"

"I didn't…I mean I..." Arizona stuttered.

"Please! Me and Holden Caulfield have a lot in common. Angst. Alienation. Actually, sounds a bit like your experience here in Centerville too"

Right then Arizona realized that Callie was joking with her. The latina chuckled. And Arizona breathed a sigh of relief.

"Callie…" she said and shook her head with a small smile that went from nervous to genuine.

Callie froze a bit at the sound of her name leaving Arizona's lips for the first time. It was so soft. The latina swallowed, and in the back of her mind a whole army of common sense was working very hard to avoid letting her fall into whatever she felt her feet started slipping at the edge of. There was something about Arizona. Something vulnerable and endearing. It was simply hard to see it because it was hidden away well.

"Your turn" Arizona said. She hadn't notice Callie checking out of the conversation for a second.

"Uhm… Siblings?"

Arizona looked like her breath got caught in her throat. Panic.

"No" she simply stated.

And the tone of her voice effectively ended the question game. She immediately got up and said "I think I'm going to make some pasta. Do you want some?"

Callie studied the blonde for a second. There were parents out there. Army parents. And maybe some siblings. And some story behind Arizona's 'No'. But Arizona clearly did not want to get into family stuff. The deflection was coming off the walls in large rays, so Callie just said "Uh…sure"