I left Dalt to keep practicing with the truck in Albuquerque. His driving wasn't that bad - for a medieval hulk. I didn't think I'd ever see that truck again (in one piece, at least). I wanted to start training my men right away, but I had to trump back to San-Francisco instead. It was April 29, and I had to be near Merle for the entire next day. No, it wasn't my birthday. Nor his. It was the day of assasination attempt on Merle "sitting duck" Corey, and I would be playing his invisible bodyguard. This time, however, would be the last. No matter how things would turn out.
I called the office only to find out that Merle had quit one month ago. I didn't want to bother looking for him just yet. No rush. I was feeling melancholic. I was driving through the city without any conscious destination, thinking of the good old times. Suddenly, some very familiar buildings surrounded me. Gail's place. Cursing silently, I pushed the accelerator. I had neither reason nor desire to see her again. That's what I told myself. I was about to get back to the hotel, but it was too early, and I didn't want to be sitting all alone in my room for the rest of the evening. I needed to talk to someone. Someone... mortal. I chuckled. In the entire Shadow, I had no one to talk to. There were colleagues. I suspected that they all really hated me. I had been better than any of them since day one, so they simply chose to pretend that I didn't exist. My college buddies? Well, there were just the four of us. Of course, I could go check on Julia. And why not? She had been part of our little gang for a long time.
Going upstairs, I was thinking why I hadn't called before coming here. Probably because I wanted to keep the delusion that at least somebody would be glad to see me as long as possible. I knocked at the door. She opened it and went back inside without saying a word. I closed the door behind me and followed her into the kitchen.
"Coffee?" she asked. The way she was acting, one would think that we had just parted couple of hours ago.
"Sure". I kept watching her, trying to figure out the reason of her weird behaviour. Her movements were absent-minded. She was on autopilot, concerned with something. Was it any of my business? What if it was something I could help her with? All these nasty things I was about to do made me feel like doing something good for a change.
"You look worried," I probed. "Are you in a trouble of some kind?"
"Nothing I can't handle," Julia smiled weakly. For some reason, I felt awkward.
"Maybe I shouldn't have come. I wanted to give you a call first, but..."
"That's okay, Luke," she interrupted, putting a cup in front of me. "I have already finished anyway."
"Finished what?"
"Stuff," she waved it off. I couldn't tell whether this "stuff" was important for her or something she really didn't give a damn about. With Julia, one can never tell.
Coffee was good. Raising my cup so that it would conceal the direction of my gaze from Julia, I quickly scanned around the kitchen for... what? I had no idea. Yet, I found it. It was lying on the window-sill - one of my first successful trumps. Melman's room. Had I been someone like, say, Merle, I would've assumed that I had dropped it accidentally during my last visit, or some other "coincidence" crap like that. But I have a good memory on such things. Last time I had seen this trump, I was giving it to my mother. No doubt.
"Got yourself a new hobby?" I asked nonchalantly. Julia traced my now open gaze.
"What do you mean?" she asked in the same manner.
"I've never seen you with cards before," I stated, standing up and heading towards the window. "Are you into solitairs? Got any buddies to play poker with? Or is it," I continued, picking up the card, "something like that Tarot stuff?"
I waved my hand in the air mockingly. She gave me that "if you only knew" smile of hers. She was completely relaxed. She didn't know anything about me.
"It's not for poker."
"I can see that now. Didn't know such cards existed. What deck are they from?"
"No deck."
"Just one card?" I asked jokingly. "What kind of game can you play with one card?"
"A complicated one," she grinned condescendingly. I turned around to look into the window and to hide a grin of my own. It rained heavily.
"This trump has been drawn by hand," I noticed, toying with my keyring. "You know the artist?"
Julia's reflection in the window stood up slowly. Very slowly.
"How do you know it's a Trump?"
I called the office only to find out that Merle had quit one month ago. I didn't want to bother looking for him just yet. No rush. I was feeling melancholic. I was driving through the city without any conscious destination, thinking of the good old times. Suddenly, some very familiar buildings surrounded me. Gail's place. Cursing silently, I pushed the accelerator. I had neither reason nor desire to see her again. That's what I told myself. I was about to get back to the hotel, but it was too early, and I didn't want to be sitting all alone in my room for the rest of the evening. I needed to talk to someone. Someone... mortal. I chuckled. In the entire Shadow, I had no one to talk to. There were colleagues. I suspected that they all really hated me. I had been better than any of them since day one, so they simply chose to pretend that I didn't exist. My college buddies? Well, there were just the four of us. Of course, I could go check on Julia. And why not? She had been part of our little gang for a long time.
Going upstairs, I was thinking why I hadn't called before coming here. Probably because I wanted to keep the delusion that at least somebody would be glad to see me as long as possible. I knocked at the door. She opened it and went back inside without saying a word. I closed the door behind me and followed her into the kitchen.
"Coffee?" she asked. The way she was acting, one would think that we had just parted couple of hours ago.
"Sure". I kept watching her, trying to figure out the reason of her weird behaviour. Her movements were absent-minded. She was on autopilot, concerned with something. Was it any of my business? What if it was something I could help her with? All these nasty things I was about to do made me feel like doing something good for a change.
"You look worried," I probed. "Are you in a trouble of some kind?"
"Nothing I can't handle," Julia smiled weakly. For some reason, I felt awkward.
"Maybe I shouldn't have come. I wanted to give you a call first, but..."
"That's okay, Luke," she interrupted, putting a cup in front of me. "I have already finished anyway."
"Finished what?"
"Stuff," she waved it off. I couldn't tell whether this "stuff" was important for her or something she really didn't give a damn about. With Julia, one can never tell.
Coffee was good. Raising my cup so that it would conceal the direction of my gaze from Julia, I quickly scanned around the kitchen for... what? I had no idea. Yet, I found it. It was lying on the window-sill - one of my first successful trumps. Melman's room. Had I been someone like, say, Merle, I would've assumed that I had dropped it accidentally during my last visit, or some other "coincidence" crap like that. But I have a good memory on such things. Last time I had seen this trump, I was giving it to my mother. No doubt.
"Got yourself a new hobby?" I asked nonchalantly. Julia traced my now open gaze.
"What do you mean?" she asked in the same manner.
"I've never seen you with cards before," I stated, standing up and heading towards the window. "Are you into solitairs? Got any buddies to play poker with? Or is it," I continued, picking up the card, "something like that Tarot stuff?"
I waved my hand in the air mockingly. She gave me that "if you only knew" smile of hers. She was completely relaxed. She didn't know anything about me.
"It's not for poker."
"I can see that now. Didn't know such cards existed. What deck are they from?"
"No deck."
"Just one card?" I asked jokingly. "What kind of game can you play with one card?"
"A complicated one," she grinned condescendingly. I turned around to look into the window and to hide a grin of my own. It rained heavily.
"This trump has been drawn by hand," I noticed, toying with my keyring. "You know the artist?"
Julia's reflection in the window stood up slowly. Very slowly.
"How do you know it's a Trump?"