Chapter 6
BEATRICE AND LENA
“Alright, anything in the closet is yours.”
“Anything?”
“Anything.”
Beatrice looked around the packed walk-in. “can, can I have a minute?”
“Of course!” Lena chirped happily. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“Um, yes!” Beatrice lit up. “I mean, yes, please.” Her smile widened as if pleased with herself.
Lena laughed. “You don’t have to be so polite. You’re in good company. What would you like?”
Beatrice didn’t take her eyes from the colorful contents of the closets. “Um, I’ll have what you are having.”
“Well, I was just about to make a pot of coffee.”
“Oh yes! I love coffee. Jerry got it for me once!”
Lena leaned on the door jam. “You are so strange.” She giggled, shaking her head.
Beatrice turned at this. “Oh, I’m, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be.”
“No! No, no, it isn’t a bad thing. It’s kind of refreshing. Hold on, let me get the coffee started and give you a second to look through that stuff.” She turned to leave, pausing at the loft room door. “Wait a minute… would you like to use my shower first?”
She noticed for the first time since they’d met, her new friend’s hair looked matted.
Beatrices’ back tightened, pulling her head down with it like a turtle drawing into its’ shell.
“Not because you, like, stink or anything. You smell like the park! But, sometimes before I change clothes, that’s like the best feeling in the world!”
“Thank you.” She mumbled, her shoulders slumped in perfectly with her sad smile. A pang of regret touched Lena.
“Yes! Of course, and you don’t have to, but I will grab you a towel in case you change your mind.”
Beatrice nodded. “I don’t mean to be difficult. Showers haven’t been the best experience for me. I prefer the rain.”
Lena suppressed a laugh. This new friend was like a child. She wasn’t sure what life had been to her, but she was becoming more curious by the minute.
“Can I ask you a question, Beatrice?”
She nodded.
“What happened that made you not like showers? I love them. They are so refreshing, so I guess I just want to understand. If you are willing to share.”
“Well, I’ve only had a few that I remember, and they were just uncomfortable. I was recently in jail.” Her upper lip lifted in disgust.
“Jail?!” Lena cried. “What could have possibly landed you there.”
“Well, it’s a long and short story, my, Jerry, well, they thought I might have killed him, but I didn’t.”
“Wait… What?” The questions just kept coming. “I can’t imagine you hurting a fly.”
“Well, to be fair, you just met me, but thank you. I’d never had a shower before, and I had to take off my clothes. It was cold, and the guards were watching the whole time to be sure I didn’t try any funny business. I felt. It was different than when Jerry found me that way. They made me feel so guilty and gross. I felt dirtier getting out of the shower than before I was in it.”
“So, but they let you go, so they must have found enough reasonable doubt to realize you hadn’t been the one to do such an awful thing.”
Beatrice nodded.
“I’m so sorry, Beatrice. I’m so sorry you’ve had such a rough time of it.” Lena swept over the bedroom floor and placed a hand on her shoulder. The T-shirt fabric was warm, verging hot.
A zap of electricity shot up through Lena’s fingertips as she came into contact with the fabric. She pulled away quickly, rubbing her hand. Static. She thought. She slowly reached out again. The sensation didn’t happen again, but the heat was still there.
Beatrice looked up and smiled with the same warmth. “Thank you, outside of Jerry; you are the only person who’s been kind for no reason.” She grumbled the last part. Her lip shot up as if she’d tasted something gross.
Lena shook her head. Beatrice was an enigma. Nothing but a big question mark. The inner investigator, who’d been snoring earlier in the day, came to life. “Let me go make that coffee. I hope my style isn’t weird to you, but please take your time looking through stuff!”
Beatrice nodded. “Thank you, Lena. I don’t know how to tell you enough. It means so much to me.”
“For now, your company is plenty. You have no idea how boring it gets around here sometimes. I think I drive poor Bax crazy.” She frowned, looking around the space. “Speaking of where is that little tyke? Bax!” She called in a sing-song voice. “Bax!” She called again and then waved her hand. “He’ll be around,] but I think you will like him.”
“Bax? Is, is that your roommate?” Beatrice said as if testing the word out for the first time.
Lena laughed. “You could call him that. He’s more like the captain of the ship, but he’s my kitty cat.”
Beatrice lit up. “Oh, like, a pet?” Her smile widened.
“Exactly! I’ll be right back, but don’t be surprised if he comes up to inspect you. You don’t have allergies, do you?” She asked.
“I don’t think so?”
“Okay, great! I’ll be right back. Do you like cream and sweet stuff?”
“Um, I’ll take it however you like it.” Lena smiled and gave a thumbs-up before exiting the room.
There was a childlike quality to Beatrice. She seemed genuine, authentic, and yet, something was overshadowing it all. Lena couldn’t put her finger on it, but there was something different about the girl. It was just the kind of quality that screamed this one could be my new best friend.
Lena smiled wide and reached for the coffee grounds. And to think. I thought today was going to be awful. She’d all but forgotten the meeting with her boss.
She dumped the old grounds, tossed in some new ones. While she waited for the pot to fill with fresh water, she pondered the days’ events. How quickly things can change. She smiled at the clue. It was true. She filled the hopper with water and propped herself on the barstool, waiting for the liquid gold to percolate.