Eclipse - Book One: Darkness Falling
by M. Bumbarger
Chapter Five : Shadow
Adam was greeted at the door of his flat by a purring, green-eyed ball of gray and white fur. She butted her head roughly against his leg, giving a loud cry of righteous indignation and proceeded to weave in and out of his ankles making it nearly impossible for him to walk down the short hall and brush his hand along the light panel.
"Hello to you too, Mystique," Adam greeted his feline companion brightly. The cat gave another loud yelp in response.
"I know, I know. You're mad because I didn't come home last night. Would you even believe me if I told you that I was sorry?" That earned him another bump against his shin.
Reaching down, Adam scooped the creature up into his arms and allowed her to butt her cold, wet nose against his face. The purring grew louder as she rammed her head against his nose and finally settled to a comfortable position cradled in her master's arms. While alternating between scratching behind Mystique's ears, and attempting to hang his overcoat with one hand, Adam continued to murmur softly to her.
"I won't promise you that it won't happen again. Even I know I can't keep that promise. But I will absolutely try my best in the future," Adam promised.
Punching a code into the answering machine, Adam was unsurprised to hear the computerized voice speak up. "You have three messages.
"Message one."
"Adam, it's Professor Cage. I tried to get you at the lab, but I didn't have any such luck. I really wanted to apologize for my terrible behavior today, I've been having an absolutely wretched week, but that's no excuse for how I treated you. Allow me to take you to dinner some time, lad, and we can discuss the error of my ways."
Adam shook his head and smiled slightly. "Red was right. You are scared that I'm going to leave your little project."
"Message two."
"Hello, Neiman, Sue Lee. I tried you at the lab, and didn't get an answer, so I'm assuming you're already en route for home. Just checking to make sure you actually went home tonight. Your turn to drive tomorrow, kiddo. Night."
Settling on the couch, Adam settled the cat in his lap. He spoke sarcastically to the disembodied voice although he knew that the woman couldn't hear him, "Thanks Mom."
"Message three."
"Hello, Adam. It's Lucy." Adam bolted upright, his eyes widening as his heart skipped a beat. Mystique gave a yowl of protest and jumped to the floor, switching her tail in indignation. "I bet you're surprised to hear my voice. I'm calling because . . . after seeing you today, I thought that perhaps we should get together. And talk. It's been a year, and I really think it would be a good thing if we cleared the air between us. Why don't you call me, and we can have lunch sometime this week? I'll be looking forward to your call."
With a frustrated groan, Adam allowed his head to fall backwards against the couch, his eyes focused on the ceiling. This was just what he didn't need right now. Lucy wanted to talk to him. After all this time, she finally felt the need to talk to him and clear the air. Why now? Why after a year, a year in which they both had gone on with their lives.
Was there anything left to say that hadn't been said? Was there anyway to forget what had been said?
Springing off the couch and crossing over to the bar, Adam made quick work of finding what he was looking for. He downed the first glass of scotch, barely noticing the fiery burn the liquid made as it eased its way down his throat and into his stomach. The second one he took more slowly, sipping it while he leaned against the bar and wondered what sin he had committed to send him spiraling backwards into memories of Lucy Adams.
* * * *
"I made dinner." Lucy greeted him at the doorway with a kiss on his cheek. "How was your day?"
Taking a quick look over his shoulder and out into the corridor, Adam made certain that he had the right apartment – and the right fiancée. The woman holding onto his arm was not the woman that he lived with, he was pretty certain of that. Lucy simply wasn't domestic. Lucy didn't wear silk blouses and short skirts and greet him at the door like a trophy wife. "Who are you and what did you do with Lucy?"
"I had a job interview today," the hard punch to his upper arm reassured Adam that this was indeed his Lucy. "I couldn't very well go in jeans and a sweatshirt, could I?" She turned away then, heading back towards the kitchen and Adam smiled softly as she walked away, watching the sway of her hips and enjoying the sight of her long legs.
"Maybe you should have job interviews more often," he suggested playfully.
"I know what you're thinking, Adam Neiman, and you can just forget it," Lucy peeked out of the kitchen and waved a large wooden spoon at him. "At least until after dinner."
The sight of candles and the good china on the dining room table gave him pause. A fresh salad in a crystal bowl adorned the center of the table, as well as a bowl of fresh fruit. Taking a bite out of one of the strawberries, Adam smiled. "I take it that the interview went well and we're celebrating . . . or are you just being optimistic?"
"We are celebrating. I'm even chilling champagne."
"Champagne? What happened to a nice bottle of white wine?"
"I wanted champagne." Lucy emerged carrying a large bowl of steamed vegetables and winked at him, "And you know that I always get what I want."
As she slid past him and placed the vegetables on the table, Adam encircled his arms around her waist. She was wearing new perfume too. Pulling her back against him, he nuzzled her neck affectionately. "Well, you got me."
"You were easy," Lucy tilted her head back and caught his mouth in a brief, playful kiss.
"So, tell me all about this job you now have."
Lucy wiggled in his arms, turning and wrapping her arms around his neck. Her voice was soft and sultry with a hint of sulkiness that Adam recognized all too well. "Why don't we eat first, and talk later?"
Slowly reaching up and behind him, Adam disentangled her arms from his neck. "What I am not going to like about this Lucy?"
"Adam," Lucy purred and stepped closer then drew up stiffly when she realized that she wasn't hiding anything. She shifted her weight nervously from foot to foot, absently rubbing the knuckles of her left hand. "It's not a journalism job. It's a public relations position. I'll be a media liaison for a corporation." When he didn't respond, Lucy nodded and pulled out one of the dining room chairs. With a heavy sigh, she continued. "I'm going to be working for Psi Corporation."
All he could do was give a short bark of laughter. "Psi Corporation. You're kidding me, right?"
"No, I'm not." Lucy raked her hands through her hair and stared at him pleadingly. "I know, it's the last place that either of us expected me to work, but you don't know what they offered me, Adam. The credits, the perks, all of it. It was too good of a job to turn down. Inexperienced university graduates just don't get these kind of offers."
"But you did?"
"Yes."
"And you took it?"
"Yes! I would have been nuts not to!"
"And what about your ideals? What about your dreams and plans? You're going to throw them away just like that?"
"You're not being fair. It's just a job. I'll work here for a few years and go on to something else –"
"That's bullshit, Lucy!" Adam raised his voice for this first time since their argument had begun. "We both know it. No one works for Psi Control for a few years and then leaves. You work for them for life. Once you've been inside they don't let you out."
"And maybe that's not so bad. Job security."
"You're rationalizing. You're trying to find a reason for going against every principle that you have . . . or did you ever have them at all?"
"I took a great job. I'm sorry if you can't see past your dislike of your father to see that, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth."
"Yeah, that's right. Inexperienced college grads just don't get job offers like that. Did you ever stop to think that maybe my father is the reason you got it?"
Lucy sputtered, rising slowly to her feet. "Don't you even imply that I wasn't good enough to get this job on my own!"
"I didn't. You did. That was your rationalization the moment you told me," Adam reminded her darkly. "Maybe it's just something you don't want to think about. The power of the Neiman name and you're almost part of the family. How does it feel?"
"God damn you, Adam! You just can't stomach that thought that some of us have bigger goals in life than spending the rest of it teaching a lot of unappreciative students. Just because you want to waste away at the University –" She drew up suddenly, sharply, drawing a deep breath. "Adam, I didn't mean –"
"Yes, Lucy, you did." The cold calm to his words surprised him, because he was anything but cold and calm on the inside. Her words cut like knives. How many times had they crossed this bridge? How many times had she subtlety implied that she thought Adam could be and do so much more?
The words hung between them in the dead and painful silence of the dining room. The candles flickered, their warm red and orange glow a mockery. The vegetables grew colder on the table while the fruit and salad grew warmer. Adam brushed past her, having nothing left to say and knowing that anything they said would only make matters worse.
"Where are you going?" Lucy demanded.
"Out," was the only answer he gave.
The sound of the door slamming behind him was the sound of his perfect life falling to imperfect pieces.
* * * * *
Trying his hardest to shake off the ghosts that crept up, Adam tossed back the remainder of the scotch and poured himself another glass. Somehow, he thought that it was going to be a very long and very sleepless night.
***