Terrapin Soup
The evening was cold, but clear. Josh pulled his car up in front of Juliana's building. Juliana lived in a nice part of Georgetown, where brownstones lined a street which was shaded by trees. Josh bounded up the front stairs and rang the buzzer.
"Hello?" Josh recognized Juliana's voice through the speaker.
"Hi. It's Josh." He paused for a moment, and when there was no immediate reply, he added, "Lyman. Josh Lyman."
"I know who you are silly. Come on up. Let yourself in, the door's unlocked. I'm just about ready."
Josh opened the door and chose to climb the stairs to Juliana's place. Just as Juliana had said, the door was unlocked and Josh let himself in. Josh paused just inside the door to take his coat off. He walked in a few steps and laid his coat over the back of the couch.
"I'm just finishing up! Sorry I'm running late! Just make yourself at home." Juliana called out from a back room.
"No problem. Take your time." Josh called out to her.
Josh took this opportunity to look around. He didn't want to think that he was one to snoop, but he was genuinely curious about Juliana. Her apartment was immaculate and expertly decorated. The front door opened into a spacious living room and dining area. Hard wood floors ran through the room from the door to a large bank of windows covering the back wall. Past the dining area, the hard wood floors turned into cool, dark grey slate and a large and open kitchen. Josh noticed that all the cupboards were open and Juliana's dishes and things were arranged with precision and taste. Off of the kitchen was an open doorway, leading to a darkened room. Josh assumed this was a spare room and didn't explore any more in that direction. Movement in the living room and small flashes of light caught Josh's attention. He walked into the living room and gazed at the fireplace which occupied the wall. It was a large, worn brick fireplace, but it was open in the back. Josh squatted down to stare through the fireplace into the next room with curiosity.
"Are you trying to sneak a peek into my bedroom?" Juliana asked, walking up behind Josh quietly.
Josh, startled, jumped and toppled backwards so that he was sitting on the floor looking up at Juliana.
"People like you should wear bells or something." Josh said as he got up. "That's your bedroom in there? I was just curious…Wow. You look, uh, you look very nice."
Juliana was dressed in a tight, black cashmere sweater. It's long sleeves hugged her slender arms and its high turtle neck ended precisely just under her jaw bone. A tan suede skirt with a wide belt hugged her hips and fell just below her knees. Juliana's attire was completed with black leather boots whose heels gave her the added element of height and which hugged her calves comfortably, but fashionably.
"Yes. That is my bedroom. And thank you…should we get going?"
Juliana grabbed her coat and headed for the door. She paused with her hand on the doorknob and turned. Josh was still standing in the living room, simply looking between the fireplace and Juliana.
"Josh!" Juliana called from across the room. "Come on. I'm hungry."
The silence in the car was almost deafening. Josh hadn't spoken a word since starting the ignition. He was gripping the steering wheel tightly, and staring straight ahead into the night. With Josh being so silent, Juliana was unsure about whether or not to strike up a conversation. Without a word, Josh leaned over and turned on the radio. It was preset to the local NPR station broadcasting out of American University. The voice was recapping the weekend headlines. Juliana sighed and looked out the window. Never one to sit still long, she couldn't stand this polite silence.
Juliana quickly lunged over and turned the radio back off. Josh finally turned his head to look at Juliana.
"Don't like the news?"
"We could talk instead, you know." Juliana countered. "We haven't said two words to each other since we left my place."
"I think that sentence counted as more than two words." Josh said with almost a snort. Juliana glared back at him good-naturedly.
"You know what I mean. I know you don't have a problem talking. In fact, at times I think you talk just to hear the sound of your own voice."
"What d'ya say we keep the insults at a minimum tonight, huh?"
Josh turned to Juliana and smiled, letting her know that it was all in good humor. Josh continued driving, making a right onto the Beltway. As they whizzed past traffic, Juliana stared out the window, taking in the familiar sights flashing by. Soon, the sights seemed less and less familiar.
"Josh? Where are we going?"
"To a little place I like. It has great soup."
"Josh!" Alarm and annoyance rang in Juliana's voice. "That was the state line! We're in…we're in …"
"Maryland?"
"Yes!"
"Good, for a minute there I thought you were going to say Virginia. And we definitely don't need to be in Virginia."
"Maryland? We couldn't have gone to dinner somewhere in the city we live in?"
"Calm down." Josh soothed. "We're almost there. There really is this little place and Giorgio makes the best soup you've ever had."
Josh was right, Giorgio did make good soup. He also made delicious homemade bread. Giorgio's was a small restaurant nestled on a corner in College Park Maryland. Busy with a constant hum of people in and out, it was dark and cozy inside, providing an intimate setting despite the many patrons. Juliana had enjoyed dinner immensely. Both she and Josh had enjoyed soup, salad, and bread and shared a bottle of wine. When they finally moved on to dessert, their conversation was in full swing, with both talking animatedly.
Josh was completely captivated by Juliana. He admired her intensity and was fascinated by Juliana's personality – ambitious, honest, sensitive, carefree, charming and flirtatious. In Josh's mind it was only an added bonus that they had been together for a little over three hours and she hadn't hit him or left him yet out of irritation or frustration. Josh had decided early on that it was best to steer the conversation away from work and politics. As Josh listened to Juliana tell an animated story about how she hitchhiked to a political rally in Santa Barbara, only to be given a ride by members of Her Majesty's security detail, he caught sight of something glistening and was subsequently blinded by a flash coming from Juliana's hand.
"Wow! What was that?" Josh asked.
"What was what?"
"I was almost blinded by something. It was…my god! Is that thing real?" Josh almost shouted as he grabbed Juliana's hand to examine the ring on her finger, the glare from which had caused him temporary blindness.
"Josh, you do know that you sounded like a girl just then, right?"
"Huh?"
"It's just that asking if a ring is real is just something that I usually hear from women."
"Seriously, I'm still seeing spots because of that thing. It's huge. So I ask again, is it real?" Josh was still holding Juliana's hand, or rather her fingertips, pulling them towards him so that he got a better look at Juliana's ring and she was leaning over the table towards him.
"Josh, stop, you're causing a scene." Juliana noted as she looked around at the people who were beginning to stare at their table. "Can I have my fingers back please?" Josh looked up at Juliana and released her hand. He continued to look at her expectantly.
"Yes, it's real." Juliana relented and explained.
"That must be like….I don't know, 6, 7 karats?"
"You give me too much credit. Plus, that would be tacky. But, to satisfy your curiosity, the center diamond is 2.5 karats and the two side diamonds are 1 karat each, they're all emerald cuts. Anything else you need to know? Or can I stop playing the role of jeweler?"
"Wow. It really is some ring. It's beautiful."
"Thank you." Juliana said. "I'm surprised you didn't notice it earlier."
"There wasn't a spotlight on it earlier so that you could blind me with it. The conditions just happened to be right." Josh joked and dimples spread onto his face.
"Well, I'll just chalk it up to you not being a normal guy." Juliana tossed back. "Usually guys check the hand first to see if there's a ring on a finger, then they ask a girl out."
"Wait a minute. You're not….are you?"
"Are you sure you help run the country?" Juliana reached across the table to swat Josh on the arm. "It's on the wrong hand. Geez…you call yourself observant." Juliana smiled, paused and took a breath, looking at Josh before continuing. "It was my engagement ring. I just haven't been able to take it off yet. Not completely anyway."
Josh could tell that the moment had just sobered. "How did he pass?" Josh asked earnestly.
"It was cancer. A brain tumor." Josh didn't say anything, he simply paused and let the subject linger. He waited for Juliana to take the conversation anywhere she wanted. Josh didn't want her to feel pressured or to have to talk about anything she didn't want to. Juliana could tell from the look in Josh's eyes and the way he waited quietly and patiently on her words that she could trust him and that he wasn't going to force her to divulge anything she didn't want to.
"His death was completely unexpected. It was so quick, "Juliana paused and took a deep breath. She had been staring down at the table, but now she looked Josh in the eyes. "I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with him."
"Were you happy? " Josh asked curiously.
"It was the best 4 ½ months of my life." Juliana said with a knowing smile. "And in many ways, his passing gave me the resolve and determination to do what I've done since."
For a minute there was no conversation at the table. Juliana sat and studied Josh quietly. She was impressed with his quiet concern and consideration. Josh, in the meantime, was marveling at Juliana. Only the hum of the restaurant could be heard swishing about them.
Juliana broke the silence. "What about you? Any secret marriages that you want to disclose?"
"Nah. No girl has ever been brave enough to stick it out that long." Josh admitted.
Juliana laughed and their conversation resumed, focusing on lighter topics. Another hour passed and dessert was soon finished. Josh grabbed the bill from Juliana's hand and paid, denying Juliana's protests. The return trip to Juliana's house was nowhere near as stressful as the trip over state lines to dinner. Josh parked his car and walked Juliana to her doorstep.
"Aren't you just the gentleman? Walking me to my door."
"I try to make my mother proud." Josh said with a smile.
"We should do this again sometime. I enjoyed tonight."
Juliana turned and walked into her building. Josh turned and skipped back to his car.
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