CHAPTER 7
LENA AND BEATRICE
“Question.”
“Yes?”
“Can I call you Na-Na?”
Lena laughed.
“I guess I’ve never really had a nickname, so sure!”
“A nickname?”
“Yeah, like if your name is long, friends sometimes shorten it or call you something else.”
“Mmmm.”
Lena took a bite of her Sunday and wiped the extra chocolate clinging to her lip.
“Hey! You can call me Bea!”
“See, now that is much more fitting for a nickname. I like it! Bea, it is.”
Lena was already growing attached to this new friend. Her childlike nature was refreshing.
Beatrice was beaming as she watched a mother pushing a stroller past the patio they were eating lunch. Her smile widened when the woman paused to tickle the infant’s nose. The baby giggled and cooed, kicking its legs out under the blanket. In the process, it looked toward Bea and reached out a tiny hand opening and clenching as if to beacon her closer. She scrunched her nose joyfully and waved her fingers playfully. The toddler giggled again.
“Cute baby.” Bea smiled up at her guardian.
“Thank you, I sure think so!” She laughed happily and waved goodbye as they strolled along and disappeared over her shoulder.
Lena took another bite, enjoying the refreshing sweetness as the cold treat melted in her mouth. She watched the mother and child until they disappeared around the next corner.
“Can I ask you something?”
Bea nodded, taking a massive bite of her brownie and vanilla ice cream.
“I don’t understand anything about your situation. I would like to, but nothing seems to add up. I am a journalist.” She paused, “Well, I want to be, but I guess the stories I’ve been working on are ridiculous. It’s like, the powers that be don’t want real news. They would rather deal in fluff and character assassination. So stupid.”
Bea’s expression twisted into confusion.
She rolled her eyes, “When I was younger, I used to play detective, like, all the time.” She chuckled over the memories and Bea’s attempt to chew and swallow her too-big-of-a-bite gracefully. She was listening so intently to her new friend it was as if she didn’t notice the dribble making its way down her chin.
Lena blew up with laughter and offered her a napkin. Bea gratefully accepted but urged Lena to continue while she wiped at the mess.
“Well, I thought that life would be different once I was on my own and had a job in the industry, but honestly, I feel like news outlets these days are where journalism goes to die.”
Bea looked puzzled for a moment, then, as if a lightbulb went off in her mind, she brightened and nodded her understanding.
“But that has nothing to do with my question. I guess what I am getting at is there are so many memories and experiences that I’ve had that I would be lost if I didn’t have. I think I want to know how you can just wake up one day and not remember anything?
Bea’s shoulders drooped for a moment, her eyes widened, and she looked as if they might be on the verge of tearing up.
“I’m sorry!” Lena cried out, hoping to catch the statement before it offered further offense. “I didn’t mean anything by it, I….” She tried to find better words.
“I just want to understand or help if I can, but I don’t feel like I have enough details to do either.”
Bea smiled sadly. “It’s okay,” She wiped the last of the ice cream drizzle from her chin and brushed the brownie crumbs from the baby blue t-shirt she’d borrowed from Lena.
“It’s cool that you write,” she stated, looking into the distance while she finished chewing. “What do you like to write about?”
“Thank you,” Lena considered the question. She wasn’t sure she knew the answer anymore. She frowned. “I used to love writing about things that impacted me and the community and world around me, I guess.”
Bea watched her intently, waiting for her to continue.
“Uuuh, I don’t even know anymore.” She finally groaned. Stuffing her head into her hands. “I used to think that getting into the industry would give me some leverage or a better view to see it all from, but honestly, it just made me like it all less.”
Bea nodded slowly and said nothing.
“I used to think, as a kid, that I’d end up like, Lois Lane, I know that’s stupid, but still… I was a kid, so, whatever, and the image stuck.” Lena paused. Bea raised her hand as if she had a question.
“Yes?”
“Lois Lane? Is that your mother’s name?”
Lena laughed loud.
“No! My mom hated writing! She was more of a scrapbooker. And her name was Candice.”
“So… Who is Lois Lane?”
“Supermans’ lady friend?” Beatrice cocked her head.
“Oh my gosh!” Lena laughed. “Okay, well, Lois Lane is the most badass fictional character ever to exist. Always willing to do whatever it takes to find the truth and follow a story, sometimes it gets her into trouble. The point is I used to read the comics, watch the movies, and it wasn’t the superhero that caught my attention. It was her! I felt like I wanted to be just like her when I grew up.”
Bea’s face lit up as Lena continued talking. She nodded and leaned in. “So because of that, I used to pretend that I could find stories that would help to catch the bad guys and save the good ones. I didn’t know I had this glorious image of writing things that would change the world and make people like each other more but the only things I ever seem to write since I got this latest job do the exact opposite.”
She rolled her eyes and looked at her melting Sunday. She watched as the cherry on top slid down the side of the ice cream mountain at a snail’s pace.
“I sound like a broken record. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’m not sure what that means, but I’ve enjoyed all of this. Thank you.”
“Me too.” Lena smiled.
They finished their desserts and talked about all kinds of things. Bea told Lena about her pet hummingbird. It wasn’t like Bax, the cat, it came and went as it pleased, but it found her at least once a day. She told her about funny and sad and strange things she’d witnessed while in the park. By the time they were ready for the check, Lena had waved down the waitress.
“I’ll take the bill, please, all on one, thank you.”
The waitress smiled. “No need, your tab was picked up by a gentleman about twenty minutes ago. He said to tell you both thank you for the entertainment.”
The girls looked at one another. Lena blushed, trying to remember what was said and realizing they’d been talking maybe too loudly in public for the first time. Bea smiled joyfully. “People can be so nice!” She exclaimed.
Lena picked up her purse and slung it over her shoulder, they thanked the waitress, and she left a five-dollar bill under her cup as a bonus just in case he hadn’t tipped quite enough.
“People aren’t always like that. That was a pleasant surprise.” She tried to think of who the man might have been. Her curiosity dug its claws in with each step toward her apartment.
Bax met them at the front door, the sun was riding low over the horizon, and for the first time, Lena realized she was exhausted from the activities behind them. She yawned. “I don’t know about you, but I’m going to sleep like a baby!”
“I was under the impression babies slept horribly.” Bea stated, “I met a mom at the park once who said the first year is hell? I wasn’t quite sure what she meant, but I got the impression it wasn’t a good thing.”
Lena laughed. “It’s a saying, just means. I am going to sleep soundly.”
Beatrice nodded thoughtfully. She seemed far away, and her expression was more solemn than it had been all day.
Lena grabbed her phone from the counter. “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe it. That’s the first time I’ve ever left my cell at home!” She exclaimed as if proud of herself. “I didn’t even think of it once. Thank goodness we didn’t run into any trouble.” She scrolled through her notifications. Ten missed calls.
“Hey, Bea, I have to make some phone calls. I’ll just be a minute.” She pointed toward the small balcony outside the sliding glass door. Bea nodded again.
Lena closed the door quietly behind her.
Bea watched from where she was sitting on the couch. She looked down at the borrowed clothes and felt the soft material of the shirt fondly. The smile dropped from her face. Her lips drooped down as she watched Lena’s animated hand motions. She hadn’t been so carefree since she’d found Jerry’d discarded in an alley dumpster. She felt sad it couldn’t last forever.
She got up quietly from her seat and moved toward the bedroom. Soon after she returned to the living room in her old clothes, she looked out the sliding door, contemplating knocking on it and waving goodbye. She watched Lena fling her head back, laughing heartily, before deciding better of it. She made her way to the front door and slipped soundlessly from it.
Not long after, Lena flung the patio door open. “Sorry, that took me so long.”
Meow. Bax answered.
“Hey, Beatrice?” She frowned and walked around the space. Making her way to the bedroom, she found Bea’s borrowed clothes folded neatly with a folded piece of paper on top.
She moved to the bed and picked up the note, unfolding it, and she found a beautifully handwritten note.
Thank you for everything…
-BEA