Fallen Elements

by Heather McVea

  Isaac helped me into the chair, and kneeling in front of me spoke calmly. “No. Do you think it an accident that I happened home all those times? Do you think it an accident that Goody Mabyn has been frequently visiting?” The man shook his head quickly back and forth. “No, wife. We have all been watching for signs of treachery.”

  Tears had begun to stream from my eyes, and I wiped at them with the back of my hand. I still found doubt in what my husband told me, and that alone stirred in me a great sadness for I had never questioned my husband’s judgment before, knowing he always had our best interests at heart.

  “I want to speak with Margery.” The words had left my mouth before I could think better of them, and I could see from the shocked expression on Isaac’s face he was uncertain what to respond. “I want to hear this from her.”

  My husband stood, and I could see from the set of his jaw that I had strayed over a line that perhaps I could not return from. “I will not have my wife and child exposed any further to that family’s vileness.”

  I was caught up by Isaac’s own tone, and standing, found a strength I had not imagined. “Until recently, that had not been an inordinate concern of yours. I do not see the harm in permitting me to speak with a woman who –”

  “Silence!” Isaac had practically hissed at me, and the courage I had found moments ago left me as swiftly as it had come. “I will not have my wife conversing with a known witch!” Without another word, Isaac turned and left the kitchen.

  My knees failed me, and I sat hard on the chair. I could hear muffled voices coming from the front room, and then the front door opening. Moments later the house fell silent. It was a silence unlike any I had experienced. The certainty of my life had left me. I had been unknowing and ignorant in my dealings with Margery, and hated that I still struggled to reconcile what Isaac had told be with the woman I knew.

  ***

  Ryan closed the diary and put it back on her nightstand. Glancing at her alarm clock, she jumped out of bed, grabbed her bathrobe from the back of her bedroom door, and headed toward the bathroom. The last set of entries in the diary had engrossed her to the point she was now running late for her outing with Leah.

  Turning the shower on, Ryan got undressed and took one of the quickest showers ever. It reminded her of her sophomore year in undergrad and rushing to make the dreaded eight o’clock in the morning Shakespeare class.

  As she lathered the shampoo through her short brown hair, she couldn’t help but think her ancestors – though clearly products of their time – were a cluster of superstitious idiots. To add insult to this, Ryan was disheartened that their ignorance was clearly costing Remembrance a relationship she held very dear.

  Stepping out of the shower, Ryan toweled off, and began brushing her teeth. In between counting brush strokes, an OCD habit she had indulged in since she was seven, Ryan wondered what was going on between Coleen and Margery. Coleen was clearly hot, so maybe the tension Remembrance was sensing was of a sexual nature?

  Ryan sighed as she cinched the tie of her robe shut, reminding herself these had been actual people and not a melodrama.

  Chapter 11

  “Are you sure you don’t want to drive?” Leah grinned at Ryan as the two women stood in front of Leah’s bookshop.

  “The restaurant is only a few blocks up on Main, right?” Ryan glanced up the Ellicott City street. The sun had just set behind the hills that surrounded the small town, and its main thoroughfare was teeming with cars and pedestrian traffic.

  “Yeah, but I remember my first new car. I wanted to drive it everywhere.” Leah nodded toward the new navy blue Honda Civic parked next to the curb.

  Ryan grinned. “I won’t lie, it’s great having my own car - even though parking in the city is a bitch.”

  Leah peered into the passenger side window. “It’s nice.”

  Ryan put the keyless remote in her pocket. “Thank you, but I think I can part with it long enough to walk over to dinner.” She had the Civic for over a week, having decided to finance the car instead of using any more of her inheritance. She still had only told Nicole about the windfall, and wanted to keep things as normal as possible. Most people didn’t pay cash for their first new vehicle.

  Leah and Ryan wound their way up Main Street with minimal conversation as the street noise made it difficult to hear one another. Ryan was thrilled to have the evening with Leah, and had been pleasantly surprised with how quickly the blonde had reached out to her for dinner after their uncomfortable exchanges on and after Ryan’s birthday.

  Vibrant Wine Bar and Restaurant was in a renovated commercial building that had previously housed a local print shop. The unfinished concrete floors, exposed red brick walls, and wrought iron bar shelving and sheet metal bar top gave the space an industrial feel.

  Ryan and Leah were seated near the rear of the restaurant, next to a large plate glass window that overlooked the Patapsco River. Though the tables were relatively close together, the space’s low lighting made it seem intimate. Ryan continued to feel fortunate, if not a little nervous, to have the evening with Leah.

  “Do you have a favorite red wine?” Leah asked as she scanned the wine menu.

  “I haven’t really got onboard with that whole wine thing yet.” Ryan took a sip of her water. “I guess I haven’t acquired the taste.”

  Without looking up, Leah nodded. “It can take awhile.”

  Ryan wished the tightness she felt in the pit of her stomach would go away. Her exchange with Leah outside the book shop after Ryan’s birthday had ultimately ended well, but had left Ryan uncertain if this was a date or another friendly outing. Ryan told herself it shouldn’t matter either way. Time with Leah was time well spent.

  “We can try the Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s fruity with only a little bit of astringency.” Leah laid the wine menu down on the table. “I think you’ll like it, and if you don’t we can order a couple beers.”

  Ryan smiled. “I’ll do my best.”

  The two women picked up their food menus. Ryan was grateful for the distraction as she felt the conversation was halting, and she wasn’t sure what to do about it. She decided to stick with what was safe and relevant. “I was thinking about getting the lamb cutlet. What about you?”

  Leah continued to concentrate on her menu. “Not a fan of lamb. I’ve had the pork tenderloin here, and it’s wonderful.”

  Ryan nodded. With anyone else, she might not think much of the absence of small talk, but she and Leah had always been masters of banter. The lack of it now made the air around them seem thick.

  “Have you ladies decided?” Their waiter was a man in his late forties. His black hair was meticulously parted and combed to the side. His white dress shirt, black vest, and black trousers were starched so severely Ryan imagined the entire ensemble could stand on its own in the corner.

  “Can we please get a bottle of the Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon? Then I’ll start with a Caesar salad, and then the pork tenderloin.” Leah handed the man her menu.

  “And for you, miss?” The waiter looked at Ryan.

  “I’ll have a Caesar as well, and then the lamb. Medium-rare, please.” Ryan gave the man her menu, and turned her attention back to Leah. “How’s business?”

  Leah smiled. “It’s going well. We’ve just began a partnership with three new auction houses; so the additional outlets will increase business.”

  Ryan nodded. “I imagine you lose a chunk of your revenue to auction house fees?”

  “It can range between five and fifteen percent depending on the type of house.” Leah unfolded the black cloth napkin that lay on the table to her right, and placed it in her lap.

  Ryan chewed nervously on the inside of her lower lip. “Are you okay?”

  Leah looked surprised by Ryan’s question, but before she could answer, the waiter had returned with their bottle of wine. The next two minutes seemed like an eternity to Ryan as the waiter and Leah discussed the wine before the man pour
ed a small amount in Leah’s glass for her to taste.

  Leah took a sip and smiled warmly at the waiter. “It’s wonderful.” The waiter poured Leah and Ryan a half glass of wine each and excused himself.

  “I’m fine.” Leah said just before she took a long drink of her wine. “To answer your question from earlier.”

  “Are you sure?” Ryan was usually an advocate for taking people at their words. She had never thought much of prying information out of someone, particularly when feelings were involved. As with most things that involved Leah, though, Ryan’s usual playbook seemed moot.

  Leah’s brow arched as she sat her glass of wine down on the table. “Why do you ask?”

  Seeing an in, Ryan cleared her throat. “We’re usually better conversationalists than this; so I’m checking.”

  Leah leaned back in her chair and rested her hands in her lap as she closely studied Ryan. “I’m still feeling awful about the comment I made to you the other day. I don’t want to pull you back into it, and force you – the offended – to console me, or convince me that everything is okay.”

  Ryan was relieved at Leah’s candor, and felt something akin to their usual comfort with each other beginning to work its way back into the conversation. “I was hurt in the moment, but I wouldn’t be here with you now if I was still upset with you.”

  Leah frowned. “I’m having trouble forgiving myself.”

  Ryan took her first drink of the wine, and Leah’s description of it had been spot on. The fruity notes coated her mouth, and a slight astringency puckered on her tongue as she swallowed the liquid. Looking at the glass, Ryan nodded. “Not to seem insensitive to your mental self-flagellation, but this is really good wine.”

  Laughter erupted from Leah, and she quickly covered her mouth with her hand as diners at an adjacent table looked annoyed at her. “Sorry.” The amused woman whispered to the fellow diners.

  Ryan was thrilled the mood seemed to be lightening. “Are we cool?”

  Leah looked at Ryan, her eyes sparkling as they moved from Ryan’s eyes to her lips. “We’re cool.”

  Ryan wiped at her brow. “Thank god, because I’ve got nothing to follow up with once I take the word flagellation out for a spin.”

  The waiter appeared with their two salads. After crunching on a crouton, Leah smiled at Ryan. “Are you still wowing the public servants of Howard County?”

  “I don’t know about the wowing part, but I may be annoying the hell out of them.”

  “I seriously doubt that.” Leah looked suspiciously at Ryan.

  Shrugging, Ryan took a drink of her wine. “I’m looking at everything for the first time, and have the benefit of a fresh perspective.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?” Leah asked.

  “No, but it means I’m making and recommending changes to systems that have been in place for years.” Ryan discreetly picked with her tongue at a bit of romaine lettuce stuck in her teeth. “In some cases the processes I’m changing were implemented by my senior co-workers.”

  Leah nodded. “Back to the office politics?”

  Ryan, confident she had extracted the lettuce, smiled. “Exactly.”

  Leah grinned, and pointed to her own teeth. “Between your two front teeth. Lettuce.”

  “Damnit. I thought I got it.” Ryan shielded her mouth with her napkin and using her pinky nail, extracted the lettuce. “Gone?” She smiled at Leah, who carefully inspected Ryan’s teeth.

  “You’re clear.” Leah nodded, and the two women continued to eat their salads in what was now a comfortable silence.

  The waiter returned to remove their empty salad plates, and refill their wine glasses. “Your entrees should be out momentarily, ladies.”

  It dawned on Ryan that this was as good a time as any to learn more about Leah. Short of her limited knowledge of the woman’s history with the Myers, and her affinity for rare books, Ryan knew very little about the woman sitting across from her.

  “So, do you have any brothers or sisters?” Ryan’s stomach and thighs were feeling warm, and she realized that unlike beer, the wine was spreading warmth throughout her entire body, not just her neck and head.

  “My brother died many years ago; otherwise, no other siblings.” Leah’s tone was casual, and Ryan wondered if she and her brother hadn’t been close.

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Was he older?” Ryan didn’t want to open up an old wound, but her curiosity got the better of her.

  Leah nodded. “He was, but just three years. He died in a car accident.”

  Ryan felt a twinge of sorrow for Leah. “Were you close?”

  Leah shrugged. “Not particularly.”

  Given Leah’s relatively short responses, Ryan was sensing she needed a subject change. “Do your parents live near Baltimore?”

  Leah had been looking down at her lap when Ryan’s question caused her eyes to shoot up. “They’re both dead as well.”

  The frankness in Leah’s voice did not match the sadness Ryan saw in her eyes. Reaching across the table, Ryan turned her palm up, encouraging Leah to place her hand in Ryan’s. Leah hesitated before sliding her warm, smooth hand into Ryan’s.

  The waiter returned, and to make room for their plates, Leah and Ryan reluctantly released each other’s hands.

  “Ladies, if you need anything else, please let me know.” The man smiled and left the table.

  “This looks great.” Leah commented as she began cutting into the tenderloin.

  “Mine, too.” Ryan cut the lamb cutlet, smiling when she saw it was cooked perfectly.

  “What about your father, Ryan?” Leah asked as she lightly peppered the risotto that came with her pork.

  Ryan finished chewing one of the most tender cuts of lamb she had ever had, and took a long drink of her wine before answering Leah. “He and my mother divorced when I was three, and the families didn’t get along; so I never really knew him.”

  Leah frowned. “Where does he live?”

  “Somewhere in New York, but he was never very interested in me.” Ryan felt her throat tighten as she listened to the words, realizing how terrible they must sound. “And my mother and grandmother made certain my interest in him was kept to a minimum.” Ryan cut another bite of lamb off the cutlet. “I don’t even know if I have half-siblings or what he does for a living.”

  “What’s his name?” Leah asked, her brow furrowed as she considered Ryan.

  “Nathan.”

  Leah nodded. “Have you ever wanted to get in touch with him – you know, as an adult?”

  “Not really.” Ryan paused as she weighed whether she wanted to continue this line of conversation. Ultimately, she knew she had started the family talk, and who was she to deny Leah her questions? “I do know that my mother was pregnant with me before they were married. I guess it was more a marriage of convenience than anything else.”

  “I think that happens more than people care to admit.” Leah picked the nearly empty bottle of wine up, and poured the last of it into Ryan’s glass. “Should we get another bottle?”

  Shaking her head, Ryan blushed. “I’m already feeling hot, and I still have to drive back to the city.”

  “Maybe I should take this one then?” She reached for Ryan’s glass, and paused, waiting for the younger woman’s consent.

  “Please. Have at it. I’m clearly not used to the effects of wine.”

  “There’s no shame.” Leah grinned as she took a drink from Ryan’s glass. “We’ll work on that tolerance of yours.” She winked, and Ryan felt a skitter of heat shoot through her body that had nothing to do with the wine.

  Ryan had thought she might steer the conversation toward Karen and Leah’s relationship. It seemed natural given the topic of conversation, but Ryan’s courage had faltered. The moment had slipped away, and Ryan was oddly relieved. She selfishly wanted to cling to the fallacy that Leah was entirely hers.

  ***

  Leah held the bookshop’s front door open for Ryan, and then walked in after her, the
tinkling sound of the bell spilling out into the night.

  “How long have you owned the shop?” Ryan scanned the bookshelves. She had been in and out of the space so quickly before, she hadn’t taken the time to look closely at the inventory.

  “Marty and I bought it from the previous owners about ten years ago.” Leah shut the door and flipped the deadbolt.

  “So this is the retirement plan?” Ryan grinned, remembering her and Leah’s first conversation. She let her eyes wander over the rows of books. In some cases, the leather on the spines was so worn she couldn’t make out the titles.

  “Part of it anyway. The shop is less than a quarter of our business. Most of the work happens online with the auction houses and private collectors.” Leah started toward the rear of the store. “Come on back to the office. I can make us some tea.”

  Though the shop verged on cluttered, Ryan felt cozy in the space. She followed Leah through the stacks of books to a narrow wooden door that had been painted dove gray to match the adjacent walls.

  “Are the renovations done?” Ryan asked, not seeing the plastic tarp anymore.

  Leah cocked her head to the side, and then, realizing what Ryan was referencing, nodded. “Oh, that’s right, you saw that mess last time you were here.” She unlocked the office door. “It’s all done. We just needed to have the subfloor repaired, and then new hardwood laid over it.”

  Ryan looked at the floor, but whatever work had been done was now covered by the bookcases. “It’s –”

  “Completely unnoticeable, and still as expensive as hell.” Leah chuckled as she opened the office door.

  “Exactly.” Ryan laughed.

  The office had a single window, and a door to the right of the main entrance that Ryan assumed was either a closet or a small washroom. The space was furnished with a tattered leather sofa, a narrow wooden end table, a roll top desk with a closed laptop on top of it, and a series of shelves lined with books and papers.

  “Earl Grey, right?” Leah was standing in front of a small oak table that had a Keurig coffee maker and several ceramic mugs on it.