Raindrops
Quicksilvre
Sorry for waiting so long to update again. School got crazy again, and just today I had a blood test, and I've had a lot of doctor's appointments...anyway, here it is.
)-)-)-)
Summer could hear the report of Sonn's hammer in the distance. She stood in the grove with a machete in her hand, hacking down bananas. It was the morning after Jai's rising, and, numbed, neither she nor Sonn knew what to do other than the usual. Sonn was up on the roof, replacing broken shingles, while Summer was in her usual spot.
Hack, hack. Thump, thump. Her machete and his hammer worked together, their blows perfectly timed with each other. They couldn't see each other–the grove was too thick were Summer stood, and it was probably a little far anyway–but their muscles twitched at the very same moment. Nails fell into place as bananas fell to the ground.
Hack, thump. Hack, thump. The dazed condition they were both in cleared both of their minds of all feeling and thought. The only thing that was left was the odd sensation that came to them right at the very moment Jai left.
Hack, thump. Hack, thump. It was as if the light had stayed on them, blanking out everything else.
Hack, thump. Hack, thump. Summer's arms ached, but they swung still with Sonn's. She looked up at the sky. The sun was getting pretty high; it was coming close to lunchtime. Summer decided the would shake the spell then.
Hack, thump. Hack, thump. But not yet.
)-)-)-)
It was getting awfully warm by the time lunchtime rolled around. Summer could both tell that summer was just about to start again. The sun was already beating down, and it was only going to grow worse during the afternoon.
When Summer approached the Tongau, Sonn was still up on the roof. He looked down at her as she went in.
"Could you start lunch today? I know it's my turn but I've got a few more that I want to replace here."
The first words since last night.
"Fine." Summer went inside without looking up, wishing he had said...she didn't know. She wished he had said anything else. Something more meaningful. Of course, she'd caught him at a bad time...it was just a bad situation. She tried to get her mind on something else.
She filled a pan with oil and put in on one burner of the stove. A second pan was lubed up and put down on the burner next to it. Grilled cheese and plantains–Summer's specialty. The right mix of the old life and the new afterlife.
As she waited for the pans to heat up, she sat at the kitchen table and held her head in her hands, as she listened to Sonn hammer on above her. She sat there, very still, for a few minutes, listening to the hammering. Something, something more than the work she had done in the garden, was making her so tired.
Of course, she knew what that something was.
She checked the pans–just about ready.
She sliced up the plantains and prepared the sandwiches for their greasy fate. As they always did, the slices of plantain sizzled fiercely as they dove into their hot bath, and the smell of frying filled the room.
It smelled a little too much like yesterday–it was too much like the smell of coconut oil, the scent that always clung to Jai. Summer went back to the table and laid her head onto it. She knew there was no way to forget, even for a second.
Yes, Jai deserved better. Yes, Jai was in a happy place. Yes, he had redeemed himself for every ill he had committed on earth, great and small. But I need him. And Sonn needs him too.
"Hey." Sonn walked in, the hammer still in his hand. Summer snapped out of her thoughts, then slid right back into them again. The night before had been dreadfully hard on Sonn; he had known Jai far longer than she had. They slept together on his bed after his rising, his head snuggled on her shoulder–a damp shoulder, by the time the sun rose.
"Hey." She looked at him and saw only a blank expression. "It'll be done in a few minutes."
"Okay." He walked back out, as Summer chastised herself for not speaking up. She took a deep breath, and thought of how she could start. Sonn, we gotta talk–no, too cliched. Sonn, I know Jai was–maybe a little too direct. Maybe I should ask him how he feels. Yeah, good as anything, I guess. Of course, he could just say fine and–
Sonn walked back in, sans hammer. He walked over to the plantain pan and peeked at the frying slices. "These are done for the first round." He took them out, put them on the draining rack, and started squashing them flat, preparing them for the second fry.
"Listen, Sonn...how are you?"
"I'm fine." Calmly he ran through the slices and put them back into the oil.
"Really?"
"Sure."
There was something about the way he said it that made Summer not believe him. It was too rehearsed, too normal sounding–it was as if she was asking him how the roof repairs were.
"Sonn, we ought to have a walk after dinner, okay? I want to talk about things. I mean, I know Jai was..." She let her voice trailed off.
Sonn just shrugged. We went back over to the table and took up the sandwiches. Tossing them onto the other pan, he said simply, "Okay."
Summer turned her head, still lying on her folded arms, to face him. "Okay."
"And forget about me owing you a lunch."
She looked to where the sandwiches had sat–she was too deep in her thoughts to notice him taking over the cooking. "Oh. Uh, okay. I'll do dinner."
)-)-)-)
"So, what is it that you want to talk about?"
Summer looked sternly at Sonn. They were out on the beach at sunset, walking away from the Tongau Flats.
"Okay. I know."
"Sonn, I know how you and Jai were. I...don't want you to holding anything in on the inside, you know? I know how that eats at people."
"I'm fine."
"You weren't fine last night."
"I'm fine now." Sonn was more gruff than he had ever been toward her.
"No, you're not."
"Don't tell me how I feel. I know exactly how I am."
Summer knew he was only going to grow more defensive if she kept the conversation going the way it was. She didn't respond; instead, she looked out over the water, wondering what to say next.
The sky was a beautiful orange, unlike anything that she had seen in a long time. The only time she could recall the sky so colorful was when she first died, and she was out on the road, struggling. Getting rained on and eating ravioli out of the can.
"So, how was your father?" The words slipped out of her lips unconsciously. She didn't even how she was talking until she heard her own voice.
"Didn't see much of him, really. He was a bit of a gambler. He'd leave town, and he'd come back broke. Or he would come back with a mound of cash. Or whatever. Then, we'd spend a week at home and be gone for two months. You'd never know when he was around."
"Yeah. Mine was kinda the same way. Worked late, Saturdays too usually. But, it was nice when he was around. My mom, though. Left when I was..." Summer did a bit of thinking. It was getting harder to remember her California days. "Three. Fifteen years ago, now."
"Did your dad marry again?"
"Four times."
Sonn grinned. "A ladies' man?"
"Actually, after six months or so he and his new girl would be fighting. And all of them were alcoholics or lunatics."
"Oh." A pause. "Sorry."
"It's okay. Dad was there. Did you at least–"
"Yeah. My mother took care of me."
"Good."
They walked on, in silence. Coming upon a large, flat boulder, they climbed up on it and sat there, looking out at the sky. They spent a few minutes together quietly, before Summer spoke up again. "So, what are we going to do with the inn?"
"Open it back up, I guess. We can split up the duties Jai used to have."
"It's going to be hard with just the two of us."
"We'll get a replacement Jai."
"Think we'll find one?"
"No." He looked at her. "But I'll get a replacement Summer by the end of next week."
She laughed and playfully pushed him. "Do you really think it would be that easy?"
"No." Sonn's voice suddenly took a serious tone. "I'm glad I don't have to replace you.There's no replacing you, either."
She looked at him–right at him, straight into his eyes, and he into hers. They stared for a few seconds, and, without thinking or planning, their mouths were together. For a few seconds, Summer enjoyed the feel of his lips sliding against hers, and of his hands rubbing her arms, but her delight quickly faded.
She felt the wrong kind of love for Sonn. This was Cohen-love, and that was only for one person Not him.
Summer pulled away, gently. "No, Sonn. I'm sorry, this is...too weird."
He looked at her for a second. Summer thought she saw a pang of disappointment in his eyes, but it quickly vanished. He just smiled at her. "Okay."
"Is it?"
"Yeah. It just...happened, and it wasn't planned or anything–"
"Sonn." She cut him off. She took one last look into his eyes. No, she decided, he was telling the truth. It was curiosity, not romance. "All right."
They turned back to look back over at the horizon. Even though the sun was almost beyond visibility, the sky was still orange and as vivid as ever. It seemed as if nature was saving its best display for last.
It was an unknown number of minutes later that Summer first saw the speck out on the water. It didn't seem to be significant at first, but her eyes were drawn to it. The waves and the wind were conspiring to draw it closer to the shore, and each passing moment brought more detail. It went from a speck to a blob, then to a boat, then to a sailboat, a small one. And then...
"Oh my God." Summer jumped down, ran across the beach, and into the surf. The boat was only a short run away now, in waist-deep water by the time she reached it.
The Summer Breeze.
She inspected it for a few seconds, running her hand across the hull, before Sonn splashed up next to her. "What is–"
"It's Cohen's boat. This is Cohen's boat." She looked at him, then doubled back to the boat, and back to him.
"It's your time," said Sonn.
"What?"
"It's your time to go, too. This is a sign, Summer."
"What–are you sure?"
"Stay right there. I'm running back and I'm packing your bags. Don't say a thing. Get on and see if you're able to drive it."
Half-running and half-swimming, Sonn raced for the shore.
)-)-)-)
"This is all of yours that I could find."
"Thanks. Are you sure you're okay with me going?"
"Yes."
"Want to go with me?"
"No. This is your trip alone. Summer, I'll meet you on the other side."
"Yeah. The other side. See you then, hon."