Chapter Fourteen: Blind Brushstrokes

A month passed by slowly after the girls had agreed to talk less frequently, totaling two months of being in Austin. For weeks one and two, they'd made a call every five days, but now in these last two weeks they'd had zero communication at all, and Riley often found herself going back to read through old text messages they had shared. She was missing her friend even more than normal on this day, and being stuck in the house all alone was a constant reminder of everything the young woman had left behind. Riley craved familiarity—her family, her friends, Maya. Things had been going exceptionally well with Lucas lately, the pair had been growing closer than she ever thought imaginable after being in a relationship for seven years, but as it turns out there's still a lot to learn about someone once you live together…a whole new exciting world to discover. The only problem was that Lucas left before the sun rose to go to work, attended classes from lunch until evening, and then finished off his routine by returning back to the Vet's office to help clean up and shut down. He didn't make it back home until well after the sun was already setting. So though the time they were able to spend together was cherished, it was also very limited.

Currently half past five o'clock, Riley walked outside in time to see the sky change from the blue of day into the purples, pinks, and oranges of twilight. It really was beautiful there, and watching the sky transform was her favorite part of each day, however aside from that there really wasn't much else to do. Their land stretched out with numerous pine trees creating a barrier between her and civilization—as the couple only could afford one vehicle, it felt like she was stranded on an island. Many days she had contemplated phoning for cabs to take her back and forth into Downtown Austin. At the very least she could find a Starbucks to lounge in and write. However she knew if she were to make that a habit, costs would add up very quickly…so she didn't.

Amazed by the gorgeous view, Riley couldn't help but think that it would be a perfect portrait for Maya to paint, knowing her friend would more than do it justice. She reached into her back pocket instinctively and pulled out her phone wanting describe it to the girl, but then halted before making the call. The last couple of calls they'd had were awkward—forced. Perhaps that's why it had been two weeks since pursuing another. Neither girl really knew what to say, or how to tiptoe around the painfully obvious elephant in the room. They'd fallen so out of sync and were a far cry from the two girls that grew up getting lost in time when they'd talk for hours about everything important as well as nothing significant…She wanted that back.

Riley set nerves aside and lowered her lanky body onto the top step of the porch, lifting the phone up to her ear. Only one ring echoed against it before she heard the lines connect. "Maya...is this a good time?"

"Of course, Riles," the blonde was fiddling keys amongst her free hand, as she attempted to lock up the gallery. "Any time is a good time. What's up?"

"It's just something completely random, I mean if you're busy and can't really talk right now, it's no big deal," she promised. She didn't mean it though, as it felt so good to hear Maya's voice and who even know how long it would be before they'd call again. "You probably have a lot going on, it was stupid of me just to call and expect you to be available…I'm sorry, seriously we can just redo this again later."

Maya let out a tiny laugh at her neurotic friend, amused by how the girl's brain never failed to overthink every single thing. "RILEY. I assure you that I desire nothing more in all of Mayaville than to talk to you right now. I'm not too busy, this isn't a bad time, zombies aren't taking over New York, and Godzilla isn't rampaging the city. All is good on this end…so just talk."

Relieved, the younger girl nodded, as if someone would actually be able to see it. "I thought of you just now," second-guessing her word choice, she corrected, "I don't mean to imply that I don't normally think of you, I think of you every day. I just meant that I saw something that I really wanted to tell you about—something that I know only you could appreciate as much as I do."

"Oh?" Maya expressed curiously. "Well what is it?"

"It's a sunset, Peaches, by far the most stunning one I've witnessed since we moved here. There are so many different colors, all contrasting each other, but flowing together at the same time. When I saw it, it reminded me of that painting you did—the one that you submitted for your senior project. Do you remember that one?" Riley stretched her legs out, crossing feet and leaning against the wooden post behind her.

Sifting through all of the jumbled memories of the paintings she'd done in high school, the artist finally landed on the one. However, she was baffled by how it could even remotely relate to a sunset. "Um…Widow's Quilt?"

"Yes!" Riley surged, happy that for the first time in a long time they seemed to be on the same page. "Okay, so I was with you when you were finishing that one, we were in your bedroom and I was laying on your bed, watching you at your easel. But when I saw what was on the canvas, I was confused—confused because you'd told me you were painting about a widow, though the woman in the picture had smile on her face…she looked happy. I didn't understand."

Smiling, Maya recalled the night vividly. She had informed Riley earlier that day that she needed to be alone so she could focus on finishing her project, and naturally Riley assumed that 'alone' meant no one else except for them. So she sat the entire night, alternating her attention back and forth between small brushstrokes and Riley's never-ending line of questions. As frustrating as it was to be distracted, there was still no other way Maya would have preferred it. "Well it wasn't about what she'd lost, it was about what she had."

"I know! You explained to me that the quilt she was swaddling herself with was one that had been made up of her late husband's clothes. It didn't match, all of the colors seemed to clash, but looking at it as a whole, it was beautiful—it was beautiful because it was exactly who her husband was, each square encompassing a single memory being sewn together to display the man's entire life. And with just that quilt, the widow was comforted. In her darkest period, she was able to find peace, even if it was just for a fleeting moment." Riley gazed out in front of her, feeling wholly swaddled by the sky. The wooden steps she sat upon would, in any other circumstance, be uncomfortable. Though with the view affront, and the phone to her ear, she only felt cozy.

Getting farther away from her gallery, Maya was heading back to her apartment, paying little attention to the busy streets surrounding the walk. She was still trying to relate the painting to the sunset, wondering what kind of intriguing explanation the other girl could have for this. "That's right…but what does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm like the widow, Maya," Riley respired. "I've been kind of down, and feeling lonely lately, and I miss you a ton." It was the truth; life didn't seem complete without her best friend. She'd gotten so used to having those phone calls to look forward to at every 7PM, and now being without them gave little to anticipate apart from when Lucas would arrive. "I mean my life has been turned upside down…I've lost so much. But tonight, I came outside and looked up—I saw the colors all clash together to form something unbelievably beautiful, and could only think of it as being something you'd love to paint. I saw you in the entire sky…and standing underneath that sky, just as the widow did in her quilt, I felt comforted."

"Wow…" the blonde was speechless. Partly because it was very unsettling for hear her delicate friend admit that she had been so sad, and partly because that same girl had just made her heart pound firmly against her chest as she listened to the insightful interpretation. "Can you describe it to me, Riles? Everything you see right now, can you describe it in full detail, big and small?"

Riley peered around, taking account of every aspect in her atmosphere. The colors were beginning to transform as it was nearing dusk, but there was still enough remaining to take on the task. "Okay, tell me when you're ready."

Reaching her front door, she walked inside, "I'm ready." Discarding all belongings onto the table, she took her place upon the stool in front of the easel that she'd recently relocated into Riley's former room—after all, she'd needed her own widow's quilt as well. Listening vigilantly, Maya relinquished all power over her brush. She let her hand flow according solely to Riley's description, as this was Riley's vision, and it was the only one Maya wanted to shine through on that picture.

For over an hour, the two girls sat going over all of the colors above, the textures within, the trees below, and the house behind. It had gotten dark long ago, but Riley was still able to retain the scene well, as it had been something worth holding close—just as her friendship with Maya was. Once finishing their endeavor, Riley went back inside of her home. She had been bitten by many mosquitos (another downside of Texas) and scratched her arms the entire trek to the medicine cabinet. After rubbing calamine lotion on each raised bite, she set back towards the kitchen to heat up dinner before Lucas arrived. As the young woman pre-heated the oven and prepared a pot of tea to boil, she couldn't get that phone call out of her head. It had been perfect. It had been so needed. Conversation flowed so easily, just like it had before everything fell apart. She didn't want to go another two weeks without it. She didn't want to go even one week without it. Maya was a vital part of what made her happy; thereby this arrangement they'd constructed was just not going to work.

Like clockwork, Lucas entered forty minutes later just as the timer on the oven began to beep. Riley silenced it, and slipped on an oven mitt to remove the lasagna. As she placed it gently on the stovetop, she felt two strong arms wrap around her slender waist and was graced with a tender kiss to the cheek. "That smells delicious," he whispered into her ear. "I'm starved."

"Well then starve no more, my dear." She twisted her body around to hug him tightly before fixing plates and joining the boy at the kitchen table. "How was your day?"

Mid-bite, Lucas chewed and then swallowed. "It was really good," he said, already dipping his fork down for the next. A busy schedule made it difficult to keep up with meals, so it wasn't uncommon for him to come home on an empty stomach, ready to devour anything at all that Riley presented onto a plate. "I aced that test in Immunology and Anesthetics that I had been worried about, so that pretty much made the rest of the day seem like cake. Thank you for going over those flashcards with me so many times, I know that had to be really annoying."

"It wasn't annoying at all, I actually enjoyed doing that. Plus I learned a lot...how terrible is it that one in one thousand cats die under anesthesia each year? Lucas, you have to promise me that when you're a vet, zero cats will die under anesthesia with you!" Riley shivered at the idea, sympathetic for all of those cats that had never returned to their families.

"I'll do my best, I promise." He reached across the table, and squeezed the girl's hand, knowing exactly how tenderhearted she was. It was something the couple had in common, a love of all living things, no matter how small that thing may be. He was beyond proud to share his life with a person that valued the preciousness of animals just as he always did. "How about you? How was your day?"

She stared down at the meal, unsure of how much of the day she should recount—how much she could disclose about what she'd been feeling without this turning into an argument. Timidly situating the dirtied fork to the right of her plate, Riley realized that lying was not something she ever wanted to do; and that if her and Lucas were to have a strong relationship, she'd need to be honest on all occasions, even if that meant saying something he wouldn't want to hear. "My day was great, actually—I talked to Maya all afternoon, and things felt normal again; there was no awkwardness or long silences, it was just us being us. We painted the sky, Lucas…" Riley wavered, before continuing, "I've missed her so much."

Plate emptied, he averted his gaze across the table. Riley was slumping coyly and she'd already begun tearing away at a defenseless paper towel. "I'm glad that you had a great day, Riley. But what are you trying to say, exactly?"

A/N: Did a final outline today, five remaining chapters for sure. I'm sorry you have to wait so long for the end, but I'm not one to rush to conclusions-I prefer to space things out naturally :)

-Lauren