"Ok…so do you want a coffee? Sandwich?….Or…we could go out somewhere and have dinner?" Carol spoke frantically as she placed Grace's heavy suitcase by her bed.
Grace was still standing timidly by the door, watching as Carol moved around. Finding no energy inside herself to make any sort of motion. She just stood, and felt her eyes sting again.
"Carol…it's midnight…." Grace whispered.
Carol turned to her, hearing the shakiness of her tone as she came close to tears again.
"Oh…oh sweetie…." She murmured, walking to Grace, placing a hand behind her head and cradling her as she started softly crying.
"I'm sorry…" Grace said croakily, trying to make herself laugh the tears away, "…I feel so stupid…"
"Don't, ok? Don't worry about it…" Carol cooed, in her soothing way. Grace hadn't felt so lucky to have her as a friend as she did at that very moment…
"…Should I have left?" Grace asked.
Carol said nothing; she stroked Grace's back and listened as she started to sniff back tears, "should I?…" she asked again.
"Don't…don't think about it…" was all Carol could say.
Grace pulled away, wiping away salty tears with her fingers. Carol tucked back wisps of hair from her face, she stared into Grace's sore eyes; "you know….I think you just need to sleep right now…."
Grace gave a pathetic nod, and Carol led her to her bed. Grace lowered herself down, and Carol moved around, taking off Grace's boots, helping her to squirm out of her heavy coat. And finally, she tucked the blanket over her body.
"Carol…" Grace murmured, already half asleep.
She sat beside Grace, rhythmically stroking her hair, watching as Grace's eyes closed; "what is it honey?" Carol whispered.
"…. He told me he loves me…" Grace whispered back, opening her eyes just wide enough to see a blurry image of Carol.
Carol nodded, trying to curb her surprise, she kept stroking her hair… "Don't think about it…wait until morning, ok?"
"So…how do you feel about it?" Jessie asked as she walked her brother to his terminal.
"About dad and Lily adopting?" he asked, turning to her, she nodded.
They reached the sitting area, and found an empty row of plastic seats where they sat; "I don't know…happy I guess…" he replied, "why? How do you feel?"
Jessie shrugged and sat back, "really happy for them…"
Eli looked to his sister out of the corner of his eye; "…will you and Katie be next?"
Jessie gave a small smile, and turned to him, "to adopt?" she asked, and he nodded with a small smile.
She let out a small laugh and bit her bottom lip, "we'll take it slow for now….but…." she gave a small nod, "…yes, I think we will…eventually…definitely…not just yet"
He elbowed her softly, playfully; "I can't picture you as a mum"
She laughed, "I can't picture you as an uncle!"
They turned to one another and smiled; "…no…you're still my little sister…it's hard to picture you starting a family of your own when, in my eyes, you're still only a baby yourself"
She shrugged, "well, start picturing it, E…cause not too long from now it's gonna happen!"
"Flight 879 departing for Philadelphia…Flight 879 departing for Philadelphia…"
Eli stood, and Jessie looked up at him; "I'm going to miss you," she murmured.
He reached out a hand, and helped her stand. She wrapped her arms around him, "don't wait so long for the next reunion, ok?" she whispered in his ear.
They pulled away and he nodded.
"Have a nice holiday, Jess!".
She nodded, and bit her bottom lip again when she felt tears begin to form at the back of her eyes; "call me when you get home, ok" she ordered.
He rolled his eyes, "I will" he turned, and started slowly walking to the line that had formed.
Jessie stayed standing, she watched as he filed in line, handed his ticket to a stewardess.
He turned around one last time before boarding, and Jessie mouthed 'call me!', he nodded again and smiled.
Jessie waved, and so did he…and then…he was gone.
"What did dad say?"
Grace opened her eyes.
"Really?"
Carol laughed, and Grace rolled over.
"No, no that's great!"
Carol was standing by the window, phone to her ear, smiling madly….it must be her beau, Samuel, on the phone.
"Ok, well tell her to stay away from them! Ok?"
Grace sat up, and Carol turned to her.
"Ok, baby I got to go….alright….I love you more….I love you, bye!" she clicked the phone off, placing it on her desk, she walked to Grace's bed, siting on the edge.
"Nice sleep?"
Grace nodded, "what time is it?" she asked.
"11:30…" Carol replied, and Grace groaned; "Christ! You should have woken me up…."
Carol shrugged.
"Was that Samuel?" Grace asked, eyeing the phone.
Carol nodded, "yep…he might be coming down next week for a day or two…if he can convince his dad it'd be for business…"
Grace gave a small smile, "…your so lucky…" she whispered.
Carol squirmed uncomfortably. She silently cursed herself for not standing in the hall while talking to Samuel.
"So…am I going to zip down to 31 flavours and buy you a bucket?" Carol asked, changing the subject.
Grace bit her bottom lip, looking away; "I could really go a Pralines 'n Cream…" she whispered.
Carol smiled, and patted her hand, "Pralines 'n Cream it is then…" she said, standing up and reaching for her purse.
But Grace reached out, grabbing her hand and stopping her…Carol looked to Grace.
"Thankyou…" Grace said, almost silently.
Carol nodded and shrugged, forcing a warming smile to spread across her lips; "its what I'm here for…", she said, knowing Grace didn't just mean thankyou for fetching the much needed ice cream.
Grace nodded and let her go.
"I'll hurry back… you look as though you need that bucket real bad!" Carol smiled, and left the dorm room.
When she was out of the room, Carol leaned against the door, closing her eyes and taking a quick breath.
She wondered how long it would take for her best friend to come to her senses….
Eli kicked his door open, juggling his house keys and large suitcase; he stepped inside, shutting it closed with his foot.
He tossed his keys out, landing them on the couch. He put his suitcase down by the door, and examined his apartment….it was just as he'd left it.
He walked to the kitchen; opening the fridge door and poking his head in. He scrunched his nose up with disgust when he smelt the leftover Chinese he'd forgotten to throw away.
Tentatively, he reached out, trying hard not to touch the box too much, and tossed it into his bin.
He took out a bottle of water and slammed the fridge, turning around to investigate his answering machine. He had a whopping 5 new messages.
He clicked the button and half listened;
"…Mr Sammler…this is Peter, you're assistant…just calling to confirm that you will be in the office tomorrow…there will be a board meeting…you have some release paper's to sign…and I took care of all you're phone calls while you were gone, and little bits and pieces of work….yes well, see you tomorrow Mr Sammler" beep
Eli rolled his eyes, and took a long swig from his bottle. Another message beeped on.
"Eli? …Just me, Jessie…calling to remind you to call me when you get home…" Eli laughed and shook his head, "…yeah well…call me! Love you!" beep.
"Eli? …" It was a woman's low voice. He couldn't tell who's it was…his heart skipped a beat when the thought of Grace crossed his mind. He lowered his water and strained to listen as the woman took a long pause before continuing. "….I detest answering machines…" he sighed, knowing exactly who it was. "It's Monica! You better be in tomorrow, there's a board meeting…to discuss the position you went out for…the position I have been discussing with my managers." Eli raised an eyebrow. So, she had tried to weasel her way in… "…Just calling to warn you that there are two names on the table for head manager…your's…and mine…good luck! Ciao!" beep.
Did he care? …Surprisingly enough, not really.
"E?" it was his grandmother. He could recognise her earnest, soft voice in an instant, and he almost reached out to delete her message…but restrained himself instead. "I'm sorry I missed you, missed saying goodbye to you, that is…" she made a heavy sigh, "sweety, you know I adore you! …I'm happy for who you are, really…" she wasn't the sort of person to make heart to heart conversations over the phone, and as he listened, he could hear her struggling to get the words out; "…forgot what I'd said…about…you know what! I love you, and I miss you already!"beep.
"Mr Sammler? Just calling to let you know you're car is ready to be picked up…" he deleted the last message, uninterested.
He walked to his bedroom. Just as he'd left it. And sat at the edge of his bed.
He was dying for a whisky….but resisted the urge, drinking his water instead. He also resisted the urge to call Grace…
He didn't know where they stood now. Was yesterday their last goodbye, ever?
Did she really hate him…as much as he hated himself….
He wished he'd forced her to stay, so he could ask her all these burning questions. So he could plead his case…plead with her to stay.
He looked around his cold, plain bedroom, running a hand through his hair. He heard a heavy sigh, and then a pathetic whimper…the beginning of a quiet, humbled bawl.
And then he realized…the sounds were coming from him…he was crying. And he couldn't stop.
Grace had changed into jeans and an old tank top. She tied her messy hair into a bun, and sighed with distaste at her large suitcase that awaited unpacking…. slowly, she lifted it to her bed and unzipped it.
Diligently, she tossed some clothes on the ground, clothes that needed washing. She took out her toiletries pack; her shoes…and then she came to the bottom of her case. The dark blue shirt stared back at her.
She carefully lifted it out. It was wrinkled, creased…and still smelt of Eli. She held it close to her face. Soap, laundry and that cologne… it was intoxicating.
"I got a bucket o' ice-cream here with you're name on it…" Carol exclaimed as she burst through the door.
Grace turned to her, a small smile on her lips, still holding the shirt to her cheek.
"His?" Carol asked.
Grace nodded; "I stole it…"
"Admirable!" Carol shrugged, pulling out the bucket of ice cream, and two small plastic, pink spoons.
"…I don't feel like any, right now…" Grace tried, but Carol pulled a stern face; "no way, girl! I just rushed out to buy you some comfort food…and by god, you are going to eat it!"
Grace smiled a little wider, and took a small spoon from Carol, who popped the lid of the bucket.
Grace took a spoon full, and was instantly addicted.
She and Carol sat cross-legged on the floor, their spoons swooping down every few seconds, taking scoops of the delicious creamy snack.
"So…I'm presuming that you had sex with him?" Carol finally asked, after an eternity of quiet eating.
Grace nodded, a little uncomfortably.
Carol nodded in understanding; "…how was it?" she asked.
Grace looked up, an eyebrow raised, lips pursed. Carol raised her hands in the air, defeated; "ok! Backing right away from that one…"
"Good…" Grace said, shoving another spoonful in her mouth.
"…How did he smell?" Carol asked, and Grace's head lifted.
"What the hell sort of question is that?" she asked.
Carol shrugged and took another spoonful, poising it in her hand as she spoke; "I don't know…just from experience, it's really hard to resist a guy who smells really good…"
Grace looked to the half full bucket of quickly melting ice-cream.
"Sam smells like…." Carol gave a small smile as she tried to pin-point his exact scent, "…he smells like….that crisp, fresh smell of a summer morning…you know that smell?"
Grace gave a small smile and a slight nod.
Carol laughed; "yeah! He smells like that! …Not really manly…but nice…warm….?"
"…It's probably just his cologne…" Grace murmured.
Carol shook her head, "no…it's just him…he always smells like Summer…"
Grace played with the slushy ice-cream. Twirling her spoon around the white, sticky cream, she looked up at Carol and nodded. "Eli smelt good…"
Caro shrugged again, "see…that'll do it…a good smell is hard to forget!"
Grace smiled, and let out a slight giggle; "yeah…it is!"
"Almost as hard as the man…"
Grace's laugh heightened.
"Grace…?" Carol tried, but she only threw her head back, and held her stomach…tears started to stream her eyes as her laughter intensified.
Carol tried to join in, with a meek chuckle…but she really couldn't see what was so funny.
"Grace?" she tried again.
GRACE I am never going to forget him…am I?…That's the irony of it all, isn't it?…the ones you want to forget….you cant!
She died down, wiping at her tears of laughter… she focussed back on Carol, who was looking at her, bewildered.
"He smelt so good!" Was all Grace said.
GRACE …you just can't….
"Sorry Eli!"
"…Tough break…"
"I thought you had it!"
Eli nodded and forced a smile as he walked back to his office.
Monica had gotten the position…
He was partly disappointed. But mostly thankful. He didn't really want it. He didn't even want this job…he never did! What good would it do to only promote him?
"Mr Sammler?"
"Not now Peter" he replied, calmly.
"…I have an envelope for you…" his assistant pushed.
Eli swivelled around in his chair, motioning for Peter to bring it to him.
He was handed the envelope; "thankyou…" he said, and Peter left.
It was from Jessie. Delivered by Fed-Ex.
Eli tore it open. Inside was another envelope, from Kodak. It was the pictures from the wedding… and a single note that read; 'it meant a lot to me that you could be there'
Eli smiled, and started rifling through the pictures.
There were tons of Jessie and Katie. Getting ready, during the ceremony, and dancing one another around the dance floor as newlyweds.
There was his mother and Henry. Lily and his father. Zoe…looking stubborn and tough in her leather jacket, in a vain attempt to hide her awful gown….Judy and Sam Blue. His father and Jessie sharing a father-daughter dance. There were also a few of Eli. Dancing with Karen, Katie and Jessie. Standing by himself, smiling awkwardly.
There were only two photos of Grace in the whole pile.
There was the one of her and Zoe, dancing wildly. And a candid shot of her, looking to the crowd…a blurry figure that Eli recognised as his own, was the object of her intent stare.
He smiled sadly, and rubbed his thumb over the picture. He turned it over, not so surprised to see Jessie had written something on the back; 'she sees you'. Such a simple message…that made Eli smile from ear to ear.
After two buckets of Pralines n' cream, an in-depth talk about men and their signature scents, and watching breakfast at Tiffany's until 12:00…Grace was more than ready for sleep.
She lay in bed, waiting for Carol to come back from the bathroom. The door opened, a stream of light from the hall hitting Grace's face.
"There's something here for you…" Carol said, tossing an envelope onto Grace's bed. It was from Jessie. A Fed-Ex.
Carol closed the door again, tossed her toiletries bag on the floor, and snuggled into bed, "The courier was looking for our door…what is it?" she asked, unable to see Grace in the now dark room.
Grace shrugged, and tossed it onto the floor; "Don't know…I'm too tired to look…" she murmured, bringing the blanket over her head. "Goodnight Carol…" she mumbled.
"Night Gracie" Carol replied.
"And Carol…."
"Hmmm?"
"Thanks…"
"I told you…that's what I'm here for!"
GRACE (smiles) I'm going to be ok…. I think… I hope….
"…I was so terrified that you would see the man I had become over those 5 years….I was afraid you would see the man I am now…and hate him…"
Grace opened her eyes quickly…she had heard his voice so vividly…but it had been a dream…a terrible dream.
She sat upright, and looked around the dark room. She looked to the clock, it was 2:15, and she knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep.
Carol was sleeping soundly, and she didn't want to wake her. Quietly, Grace switched on her little reading light, filling only her half of the room with a soft glow.
She spotted the Fed-Ex envelope on the floor. She stared at it for a moment, thinking it was probably a hand-written letter from Jessie saying why she and Eli were meant to be. Grace didn't feel like reading it…but, curiosity got the better of her. She bent down and picked it up, tearing it carefully. A single note fell out, and a Kodak envelope. The note read; 'thankyou for being there. Love, Jessie and Katie'.
Grace rifled through the pictures. Smiling as she studied the happy faces. Jessie, Katie, Rick, mum, Zoe, Judy, Sam, Karen, Henry…and, Eli….
There were a few of him, each one making her smile. There were a few goofy ones of him standing, smiling awkwardly in his 'monkey suit'.
Grace blushed when she saw the two of her…she couldn't believe she was showing so much chest!
"…I came back here with no intention of letting you get close to me…because I was so afraid that I would let myself take back what I missed….I was so terrified that I would fall back in love with you…"
Grace blinked as she stared at a picture of Eli. Standing to the side, watching Katie and Jessie dance. His words rang in her head…and they wouldn't stop…she kept hearing his pleadings over and over again. And suddenly, she felt empty.
GRACE he made a mistake…
Grace stared into the photo. Her heart was pounding so defiantly… she knew what she had to do….
GRACE ..and he regrets it…
She tossed the covers off herself. The photo's that were scattered on her bed fell to the ground.
GRACE …I don't want to regret the mistake I made…
She ran to Carol's bed, and started shoving her frantically; "Carol!" she murmured. No response. "Carol!"
"What! What! What happened…?" Carol asked, groggily.
"I…I have to go…I have to tell him…" Grace said, her voice filled with passion and excitement.
Carol opened her eyes, not really listening to Grace's babblings.
"Go where? Tell who?" she asked, disinterested.
"Eli!" Grace exclaimed, making Carol jump slightly. "..I have to go to Philadelphia, right now and tell him that I don't care!"
"Don't care? What?" Carol struggled to sit up.
"I don't care who he was!" Grace said, standing. She scanned the room. Spotting the jeans she'd tossed on the floor a few hours ago. She raced to them, picking them up; she started squirming out of hr pyjama bottoms, and pulled them on.
"And…who was he?" Carol asked, rubbing her eyes.
"…He was trying to be someone he wasn't…he made mistakes…and I forgive him! Because…we all make mistakes…"
"Whoa! Whoa! Grace…what are you talking about?" Carol asked, flinging her own blanket off. Watching as Grace pulled on a white jumper, sneakers, and rummaged through her wallet- looking for cash.
Grace looked up for a moment, a smile on her face. "He made a mistake…and so did I!"
"What?" Carol asked.
"….I left him!" Grace shrugged, feeling her eyes water.
Carol stared at her for the longest time. Happy that she'd come to her senses…and partly disappointed that she'd come to them at 2:20 in the morning!
"So? Are you going to drive me to the airport?" Grace asked, her voice croaky.
Carol bit her bottom lip. "Of… of course I will! Just let me get a jacket!"
GRACE leaving him was my mistake.
