"Inventing the Future"
"Chapter 8: Nosey Neighbors"
Meredith was able to return home that evening after Dr. Dell was satisfied that she was well on the mend. Jaming was a little sorry to see her go, but he was very relieved to have the place to himself once more. They had both been uncomfortably open that morning, and he wished he had the life experience to know how to go on from there. She would be all right, but how would things be between the two of them after this? He could already tell that getting 'back to normal' would be difficult, if not impossible.
The best thing to do, Jaming decided, would be to finish repairing that air conditioner. Donny had been true to his word, and had come by to reclaim the working unit when he heard that Meredith had gone home.
When Jaming went to remove the canvas tarp, he spied something small and blue nestled among its folds, seemingly placed deliberately where he was sure to see it. "Hm?"
Jaming frowned and picked up the small object, holding it up in front of his eyes between his thumb and index finger, and he nearly dropped it again when he realized what it was. The Luna Stone. Meredith had left it behind for him, and there was no way she had done it by accident.
Turning on his heel, Jaming made as if to toss the stone into the waste basket. He halted just short of doing so, his face the very picture of ambivalence. He did not want the stone. He had not explicitly told Meredith that, which meant that her leaving it behind was not a direct contradiction of his wishes, but he would have thought that it was obvious!
This stone had nearly cost Meredith her life. Her misguided desire to help him had almost killed her. He could hardly stand the sight of it. But to throw it away would negate her efforts, rendering her injuries and her near-death experience utterly pointless. Jaming slowly lowered his hand, feeling the stone clenched in his fist, allowing himself to be aware of it. To throw it away would be shamefully disrespectful. It would be tantamount to spitting in her face. And, perhaps, Meredith herself had not known what to do with it and was afraid to ask him.
"Well...all right, Meredith..." he sighed, going over to his small filing cabinet and placing the stone near the back of his least-used drawer. He might not be able to get rid of it, but that didn't mean he wanted to see it.
The following three weeks, it turned out, were unpleasant weeks for both Jaming and Meredith. At first there were some half-hearted attempts to act as if everything was 'business as usual', but Jaming quickly found himself avoiding her, and she knew it. Before long, she stopped approaching him as she had before, thinking that he didn't want to see her anymore. And, unfortunately, Jaming took this as a sign that she didn't want to see him.
As senseless and illogical as it seemed, each was avoiding the other, and each was oblivious to the fact that their company was sorely missed. As sometimes happens when there has been a misunderstanding between friends, depression settled upon both of them like a soggy blanket.
In a town as small and isolated as Veniccio happened to be, it was impossible for their neighbors not to notice the change that had come over both of them.
"It's strange, isn't it?" remarked Claire, "He hasn't reached out to us much, but those two have been inseparable almost since the day they met. Why are they suddenly acting like they hate each other?"
Granny Rosa looked up from the cross stitch project that rested on her lap, looking troubled. "Oh, now, Claire, 'hate' is a very strong word. I think they just need their own company for now."
"I just don't get it," Donny said as he hacked at the tough husk of a coconut with his pen knife. "If they miss each other, why don't they go see each other?"
Pau, who sat on the edge of the dock, munched on a carrot as he dangled his feet above the water. He had a pretty good idea of the reason why Jaming and Meredith were acting so weird, but he had promised to keep his mouth shut about it. Ah, but it was tempting!
Julia, who stood watching the sunset a little removed from the rest of the group, was only half paying attention. She knew better than any of them, perhaps with the exception of Granny Rosa, that when certain feelings were involved things could get very complicated. Whatever the disagreement between Jaming and Meredith was, if it even existed, it was between the two of them. "Speculation isn't the same as knowing. I think we should let them work it out for themselves."
"Aw, don't be such a goody-two-shoes," chuckled Donny, starting on a new coconut. "I'll bet he has a thing for her, heh heh."
"Maybe..." Claire frowned thoughtfully. "What about her, though?"
Donny cracked up at this, and his next choice of words was unfortunate, because he couldn't hear Meredith's approach over the sound of his laughter, and he was sitting with his back facing that direction. "Man, I doubt it! Be kinda hard to kiss someone with teeth like that!"
Claire blanched, pointing over Donny's shoulder. "Uh, Donny?"
"And he's not the friendliest guy, either," Donny went on, "Besides, I don't think girls go for guys who don't comb their hair."
"Donny..." Claire, did a face-palm. "Turn around."
Donny did so, and he dropped the coconut, which rolled off the dock and fell into the water with a 'plop'. Meredith stood a few feet behind him, arms folded as she leaned casually against a metal building. "Uh...hi, Meredith."
"One," Meredith's voice was positively glacial, but her blue eyes snapped fire. "he does comb his hair. It just happens to stick up on its own. Two, in regards to his teeth, he can't help that. Three, I'm offended that you think I'm that shallow. And four, I never would have pegged all of you as the sort of people to be nice to someone's face but to trash them behind their back. On behalf of Jaming and myself, I'm insulted."
"M-Meredith, I'm..." Donny scrambled to his feet, then halted as she held up a hand.
"Save it. I've got nothing to say to any of you." And with that, she turned her back on them and stalked away.
"Ohhh man..." Donny hung his head, ashamed. He didn't dislike Dr. Jaming. None of them did. It had only been a joke!
Julia looked down, simply accepting Meredith's rebuke. She hadn't taken part in the unintentional slander, but she hadn't done much to put a stop to it either. Jaming might very well be rather unfriendly, but if this was a sample of how he was used to being treated, he probably had good reason to be!
None of them realized that Jaming had heard the whole exchange from his seat high above them near the Veniccio station. He had thought that the change in scenery might help get the creative juices flowing, and he was ashamed to admit it to himself, but he thought that it might be more difficult for Meredith to find him up there. She tended to spend more time on the beach and among the seaside vegetation than on the docks proper, and he figured that her turning up there would be unlikely.
Jaming was used to being talked about. Usually he found it more annoying than hurtful, and the things they were saying were actually quite tame compared to what he had overheard from others in the past. It was their speculation on his relationship (if any!) with Meredith, and Donny's derisive attitude about her possible interest in him, that set Jaming's teeth on edge and made his blood boil. At least Julia had politely asked the others to drop the subject, but it was already too late.
He couldn't very well leave the area to escape the gossip right then, because they would see him and realize he had heard! Also, Pau was there, and Pau had guessed the truth weeks ago. Jaming glowered down at him, just waiting for him to open his mouth for something other than a bite of carrot.
Worst of all, Meredith had heard it all as well.
'She'll join in. Or she'll be disgusted. Why did she have to show up when she did?'
But when she began to scold Donny, Jaming gaped in disbelief. Was she actually defending him? He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed that she felt the need to do so, and ashamed of himself for expecting the worst from her.
The exchange was so brief that it was over long before Jaming was through trying to analyze it, and Meredith was long gone when he came down the ramp and headed for his garage. Because he had arranged his face into such a look of calm disinterest, no one who saw him suspected that he had heard a thing.