"I am never going to get this down perfectly," she said to herself, bending down to reach the old, wrinkled papers. Through the legs of her overalls she noticed a streak of light coming in through her door, set ajar by a tall shadowy figure with willowy arms and legs.
"Well, how graceful," it said sarcastically, throwing a chestnut-brown mane over its shoulder and crossing its right boot over the other, leaning against the doorway.
"Karen!" Ann exclaimed, setting herself upright again and arranging her music. "What's up?"
"I hope you don't mind me dropping in like that," her friend told her, sitting on Ann's bed and crossing her long legs. Her thin, nimble hands began to play with the fringed ends of a pillow and her troubled emerald eyes didn't lift to meet Ann's.
"No, not at all." Ann set her flute down on the adjacent table and pulled up a chair, hanging her legs over the back in a masculine way and trying to look Karen in the face. "Everything going good?"
"Eh... that's what I came to talk to you about." Karen's voice quivered for a moment before she cleared her throat. She folded her hands over her knees, smoothened out her purple vest, and repeated the process again. "Oh, but while you're at it, I figured I might mention that Cliff chose me to perform with him tonight too."
"Congrats! Are you dancing again?"
"As always." Karen smiled momentarily before the corners of her mouth drooped again. "At least I think so. I might turn up for the festival before I leave."
"Leave?" Ann's eyes widened. "To where?"
All of the older girl's long hair fell forward around her creamy neck and shoulders. She reached for Ann's hands and held them tightly in hers. It seemed like fog settled in her gorgeous ivy-jade irises. Her thin pink mouth formed into a humble, sheepish grin. Ann and Karen both felt that they had known each other for longer than the beginning of time, but now... a world of differences emerged in an awkward silence.
"I, uh... I'm thinking of catching a ferry off the island, Ann. I may as well forget sugar-coating it, as you're probably the only person who understands," Karen explained.
"I'm not so sure I do. Is it your father again?"
"Not just that." Karen sighed, evaded Ann's pleading eyes and began pacing about, her heavy boots clunking against the wooden floor. She swung her arms as if it were a dance of concentration, always flowing in some way or another, while Ann remained motionless in her chair, only turning her head to follow Karen's movements.
"I love the vineyard. It's a part of who I am. And you're my best friend of all time. I will never forget my roots, but there's just something calling me, telling me to get away and find out what's right for me. I hate to think that I'm meant to follow the same boring pattern my ancestors have, tending to the vineyard without spreading my wings."
"...I'm trying to understand," Ann said slowly. "You're trying to figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life."
"That's not quite it, but close," Karen mumbled, fidgeting with the music stand and thumbing through the pages on it. "I mean, I know what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want it to be peaceful, rather simple, but busy too, with a nice husband and kids. Just like everyone else. But for some reason, I just can't start on it with the way things are. I'm under pressure, it feels like."
"The rest of your life is a long time coming."
"I realize that."
"These things take time."
At last Karen settled herself comfortably on the rug before the fireplace, crossing her legs and resting her elbows on her knees. She gave a big sigh and watched the logs crackling before making any kind of reply.
Ann didn't mind. All those years, Karen was always rash and said cutting things to get to everyone, but she never left. Something was always holding her back.
Sitting beside Karen, she draped her arm around her friend's shoulder.
"So. How often will you be writing to me?"
"Huh?" Karen asked, reflecting an uncomfortable, bewildered face.
"Well," Ann said calmly with a sage smile, "in the city, everything is expensive. You'll be working so hard to pull through, to be able to afford food and your new home. So how are you gonna buy stamps when you have little money to spend for yourself?"
"...I don't know. I never thought of that."
"Uh-huh. What was your 'big plan' anyway?"
Karen blushed and pouted. "Um... I know the next ferry leaves later on this afternoon, and I'll just ask Zach to take me as far as he can while on his route. And I can help him ship and deliver things for money, I guess."
Ann picked up her friend's hand and studied the way the light of the fire made her long, neat lady's nails glimmer like the snow outside. "You'll be handling crates. That's a big step above cutting grapes off vines with just a tiny piece of metal. Your nails will be gone and your hands will turn into big calluses. Just like mine."
She held out her own hands and let Karen see the way her smaller ones had become rough and almost manly. They were thickly padded and meaty, and Ann's fingernails were stubs ever since she was old enough to milk a cow. And when she turned them, there was no shine, or even softer look. Just a stronger light striking against the scratches and scars.
"Like shoe leather!" Karen gasped.
Ann raised and lowered her eyebrows comically.
Karen nudged her, laughing. "I should have known that saying goodbye to you would be hardest. That's why I wanted to talk to you first. No one else can successfully talk me out of it!"
"There are a million things I could've said to try to keep you here. But I haven't used a single one of those lines yet."
"Seriously, Ann, what do I have going for me here?"
"You said it yourself. You love the vineyard." Ann leaned over and half of her disappeared quickly underneath her bed. In a muffled voice she continued, "And you're the only one that can keep tending to it when your parents get old. If you leave, you're still the only one with rights to it." She emerged with a large paper bag of candy, forcing a chocolate and a peppermint into her friend's hand. "Enn you wounn't wust shell it to someomm, wood you?" she asked with a mouthful of sweets.
Karen chuckled at her friend's antics, playing with the peppermint wrapper. "I couldn't do that. Maybe I'll just check back on it every now and then, to see how well he's taking care of it."
"Hope you don't mean Kai," Ann said slyly. " 'Cause he's just your parents' hired hand. Someday he'll be gone, possibly back to his hometown to get married and live his own life. If you leave, it would be stupid to keep him here alone."
"You're right," the older teen grumbled. "And what could I do without him?"
Ann suppressed laughter, tightening her hands around her mouth and leaving Karen to reflect on what she'd just said.
"No," she said, dropping her jaw. "You don't mean...?"
"He deserves a chance," Ann said, shaking her finger like an old nanny. "And you need somebody. You two seem like a decent match to me."
Karen smirked, poking Ann's white arm. "Don't start talking to me about matches when you're the one who's lovesick."
"Lovesick? Me? I wouldn't go that far--"
"You're not fooling me either, honey. You're too close to Jack and Cliff than to say you're just friends with them. Maybe you should figure out who you're going to be with for yourself."
"And just what business do I have with Cliff?!" Ann spat. "That's ridiculous!"
"Well, you're being awfully defensive about it. And if you don't believe me, just watch. Things will happen. I know how it all works, and I'll be there to make sure..."
"You will?!" Ann said excitedly.
"Oh, crap. Looks like you win." Karen snapped her fingers and popped the mint into her mouth. "Come on," she added. "You've got some practicing to do and I haven't stretched my legs in forever." She pointed to Ann's flute as she slid her boots off her feet. "Let's just have fun."