This is the
original first chapter of After The Ending,
which we chose to remove to get the story going faster . . . but in our minds,
this convo still happened . . . sort of. Enjoy!
~~~~~
Fumbling through the door, Zoe was
miffed that the house was quiet. Granted, it was three in the morning, but she’d been hoping for some sort of
distraction that might give her an excuse to postpone calling Dani. She was
dreading sharing the bad news.
After grabbing a mostly empty bottle
of tequila from the cupboard above the fridge, Zoe dragged her feet down the
hall and into her bedroom. She took a swig of the potent poison, then pulled her cell out of her pocket
and called her friend.
Across the country, Dani read the
name on her caller ID and excitedly hit the answer button. “Are you drunk
dialing me?”
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t
just say that,” Zoe said, her voice dry.
Dani laughed, “So . . . what’s the
news, Zo? When are you getting here?”
“Yeah, about that . . . I found
out—”
“No,” Dani interrupted. “Don’t you
dare . . .”
Squeezing her eyes shut, Zoe
blurted, “I have an exhibit opening in two weeks. I just found out about it.”
Zoe cowered mentally at the thought of missing her best friend’s birthday. With
Zoe and Dani, birthdays had been sacred from the beginning, and they’d never
spent one apart. “I’m so sorry, D.”
Dani twirled a crimson curl around
her finger methodically. “So you’ll be leaving right after my birthday—that’s what you’re saying, right, Zo?”
“Umm, that’s not exactly it.” Zoe paused, waiting.
Dani felt her heart sink.
When Dani said nothing, Zoe
continued, “I’m sorry, D. I don’t have a choice. I just won’t have enough time
. . .” Trailing off, she waited anxiously, biting the inside of her cheek.
“Oh.”
“I know, I’m a shitty friend.”
“It’s fine. I understand.” Dani
sighed. “I’ll survive . . . somehow.”
Zoe couldn’t help but smile at
Dani’s dramatic acquiesce; she missed her best friend. “This is so
frustrating,” Zoe groaned. “We’ll do something special when we’re both home for
Christmas. Sound good?”
“It’s a date. And it’s okay, really.
It’s just that . . .”
“I know, this’ll be the first time
one of us has missed a birthday.”
Dani sighed. “I wish we didn’t have
to grow up. Remember how simple life used to be? It was Zoe and Dani against
the world.” She made a disgusted sound. “Stupid life has to step in and ruin
everything. The ‘real world’ sucks.”
“Tell me about it.” Zoe sighed. She’d
just come off a night shift at the bar and was headed into the gallery in five
hours. “Working two jobs is kicking my ass. I’m not looking forward to this exhibit.”
Frowning, Dani said, “Why not? Is it
your work? It should be . . .”
“Nope, it’s not mine, but thanks.”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “I’m curating some local talent—some watercolors that look
like shit, to be exact . . . even your masterpieces back in Mr. Orville’s class
were better.”
“That’s pretty effing bad . . .
like, snake-bite-in-the-ass bad. And my ass doesn’t have enough padding for
that.” Dani hauled her aforementioned tush off the couch to refill her empty
wine glass.
Zoe lay back on her bed. “Snake
bite? Really?” Grinning, she shook her head at her friend’s ridiculousness.
“Uh, yeah.” Filling her glass
halfway, Dani paused before emptying the rest of the bottle into the glass. “It
could totally happen. Maybe in the desert . . . or in some dusty hills
somewhere. You know, places where you like to go for your hiking vacations.”
“Right . . .” Zoe chuckled softly.
“Anyway, you’ll like this little tidbit—one of the regulars at the bar gave me
a ride home tonight.” She frowned, furrowing her brow. “I think I’ve told you
about him. His name’s Andrew. He’s pretty cute, a law student I think . . . he
comes in a couple nights a week.”
“Oh, yeah,” Dani said, not sure she
actually knew who Zoe was talking about. There were so many men moving in and
out of her friend’s life that it was impossible to keep up. “So, did he give
you a ride home because you, ya know, had a few too many on the job? Or does he
fancy you a bit, m’dear?” Dani winked at her wine glass, thinking that maybe
she shouldn’t have poured herself the rest of the bottle after all.
“I’m not gonna lie, the few shots I
took may have impaired my judgment. I
mean, he’s cute, but he’s also sort of creepy. I’d never ride home with him
sober,” Zoe confessed.
“Zo . . .”
“It’s cool, D. He just drove me
home. He didn’t try anything.” Recalling how pale and quiet the usually chatty
Andrew had been, Zoe added, “He seemed kind of sick, actually.”
“Hmmm . . . all the sick people—it’s
weird, huh? It reminds me of Grayson’s horror stories about the Middle Ages and
the Plague.”
“Yeah, I guess. But, it is flu season . . .” Zoe stared at the
nearly empty tequila bottle sitting on her side table. She considered finishing
off its sleep-inducing contents.
“But a lot of people are sick. Like, a
lot a lot.”
Groaning, Zoe gave in and reached
for the bottle, her muscles laden with exhaustion. “True. Business at Earl’s
has been pretty slow lately,” she mused.
“Oh, that sucks, Zo. Low tips,
then?”
“Meh . . . not too bad. The ‘ladies’
have served their purpose well.” She paused to take another swig. “How are your
classes going?”
“They’re fine. Whatever. Grad school
. . . blah blah blah.” Dani waved her hand through the air, dismissing what she
considered to be a very dull subject. “Back to the ‘ladies’ . . . Cam has a
friend I think you’d like, and—”
“No, D.”
Dani ignored the mild protest. “He’s
tall-ish and plays on Cam’s soccer team, so he’s got a nice body. Or at least I
think he does. I mean, it’s not like I’ve seen it or—”
“Not interes—”
“He works at the restaurant with Cam
so he can cook.”
Laughing, Zoe started shaking her
head. “I don’t think so.”
“C’mon, Zo! He’s nice, but he also has a little of that sullen bad boy
thing you like so much.”
“Now you’ve got my attention,” Zoe
joked. “But, seriously . . . the last time you tried to hook me up with someone
was a nightmare. Remember Toby?”
Dani cringed. “Oh, right . . . well,
that wasn’t my fault. How was I
supposed to know he was so hung up on his ex.”
“Dani, he was sexting her at dinner.” Zoe remembered reading his description of
maneuvering a select few body parts in a way she didn’t even think was
possible.
Dani exhaled heavily. “Well, Charlie
hasn’t had a lady friend for a while, so you won’t have to worry about that.”
Dani’s enthusiasm was unmistakable,
and Zoe didn’t have the heart to shoot her idea down completely. “I’ll think
about it.”
“That’s all I really wanted.” Dani’s
German Shepherd trotted up to the coffee table and stuck his nose in her wine
glass. She leaned forward, snatching the glass away and nearly knocking it over
in the process. “Jack!” she said, laughing. “You big goof—that’s my wine!”
Zoe laughed at the image drawn up by
Dani’s words. “Like mother, like dog.”
“Oh please, like you’re not drinking
right now, little miss sassy-pants!” Dani took a satisfied sip from her glass.
“So what is it? Vodka? Rum?” She knew that, whatever Zoe was drinking, it would
be the hard stuff.
“Actually, it’s tequila tonight,
thank you very much.” She raised the bottle, saluting Dani clear across the
country and took a final gulp. “So how’s Cam doing? Is he in bed?”
Dani sighed, thinking of her
handsome young chef. “No. He had the dinner shift today. He should be home
soon. Hmmm . . . I hope he brings some food.” Dani couldn’t cook to save her
life, but with Cam around, that didn’t really matter.
“How’s living together going? What’s
it been . . . a month? Still liking it, or have you gotten sick of him?” Zoe
hadn’t been sure Dani would ever get over her crush on Jason, Zoe’s older
brother, but her friend had been so happy the last few years, always smiling
and gushing about Cam. Zoe grinned. It was about damn time.
With an audible smile, Dani said,
“No . . . it’s good. Great, actually. And Callie really seems okay with it
now.”
Zoe rolled her eyes at the thought
of Dani’s roommate’s annoying voice. “So she’s finally gotten over her friend
hoarding?”
“C’mon, Zo, don’t be so hard on
her.” Thinking of the last three times Zoe and Callie had interacted, Dani
scowled. Mixing her lifetime best friend with her closest college buddy never
seemed to work out as well as she hoped. Oil and water were downright
compatible in comparison.
Zoe took a deep, calming breath, her
head fuzzy and her insides warm. “Fine, okay, whatever. Moving on . . .”
“Oh! Speaking of moving,” Dani said
in a slightly higher pitch. “Have you thought more about coming out here . . .
you know, permanently? Seattle would love to have you . . .”
Sighing, Zoe sat up. “I’ve been
thinking about it, but . . . I don’t know. I guess I’d like to find a gallery
that’s interest in my work before I make any decisions.”
“Well . . . I have this friend whose
parents sort of own a gallery. I could show them your work . . . ?”
Zoe shrugged, trying not to get her
hopes up. “Sure, that’d be awesome. I can email photos or you can show them my
blog. Just let me know.” She paused, feeling a burst of anticipation. “Thanks,
D.”
“No need to email, I’ll just use the
pics online.”
“Okay, cool. I love the
opportunities over here and everything—there’s a gallery on every street
corner—but the winters suck. If I’m stuck in another snow storm I might lose my
mind.”
Dani chuckled. Zoe’s dislike of all
things cold had always amused her. Checking the clock on the cable box, she
sighed. “Zo.”
“D.”
Dani glared at the basket of clean
laundry sitting on the end of the coffee table. “Don’t hate me, but—”
“You’re really a man? I knew it!”
“Right. That’s it. I’m a short,
skinny man . . . with boobs. But really”—Dani let out a deep, sad
breath—”Cam’ll be home soon, and I promised I’d finish up a few chores, so . .
.”
“You’ve gotta go. We finally get a
chance to catch up a teensy bit, and you’ve
gotta go.” Although frustrated, it was mostly with herself. Zoe knew her
hectic work schedule made keeping in proper contact nearly impossible.
“Well . . . we might get to talk
more if someone didn’t work all the time,” Dani said. She missed the
days when they would spend hours talking on a regular basis. Or better yet,
would sneak over to the other’s house for an impromptu sleepover. But real life
kept butting in.
“Sure, blame it all on the
struggling artist!” Zoe said, feigning irritation.
“Hellooo . . . starving student here,” Dani countered
Zoe laughed. “Alright, alright . . .
we’re tied.” She paused, then said, “By the way, I’ve got a date this weekend .
. .”
“Of course you do. Call me after? I
want all the deets, and I mean all the
deets.”
“Yeah, yeah . . . scout’s honor.”
Dani barked a laugh. “If you’re a
girl scout, I’m a nun.”
Completely amused, Zoe said, “I’ll
talk to you soon.”
“Damn straight, you will!” Dani
said, swirling her wine glass. “Get some sleep, Zo . . . you sound pooped.”
“Will do.”
After the goodbyes, Zoe ended the
call and dropped her phone onto her nightstand. She stared up at the ceiling,
deep in thought. The idea of leaving Salem made her both anxious and hopeful.
She’d made a lot of connections on the East Coast, but she missed her Dad and
Dani, and Seattle was a lot closer to Bodega Bay than Salem was. If Dani’s
gallery connection panned out, she thought she might just have to do it.
