by Nina Loard
“Raven, thank you for having me over tonight. You look amazing.”
“This? This is nothing.” She flitted her hand down the side of her dress and over the food that was bubbling on the stove. “I never get to cook my mother’s stew. It is nice, us all here.” She looked sincere. There was nothing in her attitude that made the others’ comments make sense. It didn’t feel like we were competitors. Perhaps we had both matured since we saw each other last.
“Well, it smells really good.” I stepped closer to inhale more deeply.
“Thank you. It is Ajiaco. Chicken Stew. Oh, and thank you for the wine.” She stirred the large pot and gestured to our Contino already laid out on the table.
“Do you want anything to drink?” Bounce was playing hostess as well. She had on a brown turtleneck and dark green cargo pants with ballet flats. She was more muscular than I’d thought, like an acrobat.
“Yes, if the wine is open, that’s perfect.” Bounce began pouring the glass as Finn caught my eye from the living area, past the dining table. He motioned for me to come and sit with him, Brinks, and a Viking god I didn’t recognize.
“Evelyn, this is Kierk. He’s Danish and a friend of Raven’s. Kierk, this is our friend, Evelyn.” Finn was speaking slower than normal. Kierk made an obvious effort to turn toward me and nod in acknowledgement. Finn smiled at me, amused. “Kierk here doesn’t speak much English.” Brinks snickered and turned away from our Danish friend, taking a sip of his beer.
The fact that someone didn’t speak English wasn’t funny, but everything about our friend Kierk made me think that if he could speak, he would declare us all inferior and storm out of the room.
“How is it that we know Kierk?” I asked as Bounce handed me my wine.
“Raven invited him. They’ve been dating for a week or so. He’s some kind of model.” Bounce clarified and smiled in his direction.
“Oh, well, they must have a wonderful time together.” I assumed most of their conversation was non-verbal.
Brinks looked at me expectantly. “Finn tells me we had a small breakthrough.”
“You mean remembering the name of his boat? Yes, it was a pretty great moment. The doctors said that in time some could come back.”
“Yes, whatever damage to the short term memory there is, time can cure it in some cases. My parents are both doctors, and I was asking them about the possibilities. We had a lot of good times. It would be a shame for you to lose them forever.” Brinks seemed very encouraged.
“What do your parents think you do here?” I asked, marveling that Brinks looked even less like he was built for a life of crime than me.
“I’m actually a technology and security consultant. I develop online content and web-based security systems, anything that can be done with a computer. My parents would have preferred me to be a surgeon, but I have a lot more fun this way,” he answered with a conspiratorial wink. So, Brinks got to keep his family life and not make up excuses for being in Europe. That was a clever cover. He was also definitely supportive of me being back, which reminded me that one of them wasn’t. Clearly, Ari did not want me to come back, but who was the other one? Finn had said two were against my return. It could only be Raven.
“Is Brinks your real name?” I asked.
“My name is Benjamin. Finn thought Brinks was funny since I’m in security, so to speak. Call me anytime.” He took a card from his pocket, handing it to me. Same scroll, naming him as Benjamin Hooks. Kierk, showing his complete disdain for all of us, got up fluidly and walked over to Raven in the kitchen, cradling her from behind and burying his face in her thick hair. She dropped her spoon and leaned into him, tilting her head to give him more of her neck to kiss. We all looked away.
“Not that I’m judging, but Kierk is really young, right?” I turned to my friends for assurance.
“Yes, he’s nineteen. Age is not important to Raven, and apparently he has no complaints.” Brinks gestured over to them in a deep lip lock. Kierk was extremely tall and willowy with very pale skin and close cut, chemically-colored white hair. His dark blue eyes and sculpted cheek bones looked familiar. Perhaps he was a more successful model than I knew.
Raven’s house was older than Ari’s, with intricate crown molding and wood floors that creaked. The main floor had high ceilings with a large living and dining area that shared space with the contemporary kitchen. Raven’s furnishings were an eclectic mix of antique, modern, Spanish art and animal print. On my way to the bathroom, I walked past a large bedroom with red walls and a white ceiling with a zebra print comforter upon an enormous bed. I assumed it was hers.
When I returned to the kitchen, Kierk was gesturing angrily toward Finn.
“What’s going on?” I asked Raven.
“Finn pushed, as usual. Kierk doesn’t speak great, but knows when someone pokes fun. Finn was fake modeling behind him.” Raven went on to show me what she meant by mirroring Bounce’s lean against the counter and adopting a silly, far off look on her face for the pretend camera. She threw up her hands and went to Kierk, encouraging him not to pay attention. I looked over at Finn, who smiled sheepishly like a guilty five-year-old.
“Sorry, when he started flexing in the mirror, I snapped,” Finn explained and then went over to the stove to taste a spoonful of the stew.
Raven pounced, slapping his hand away from the pot. “Aye, no. Finn, go outside and chase cars or something. We’ll be ready to eat in five minutes.” With Kierk sitting back over in the corner with a sour expression, and the others busy in the kitchen, Finn grabbed my hand and led me up another flight of stairs to a much more neutral-toned third floor. Towards the front of the house I could see a light blue bedroom, which I took to be Bounce’s. To the left of the stairs was access to the roof. Finn opened the door and held it for me, waiting.
The night was brisk and everything was damp from the unavoidable rain that blankets London throughout the day. The sky was full of stars, some obscured by random wisps of gray. Raven’s townhome, like so many others in Notting Hill, backed to a private park area with tall trees, boxwoods, and wonderfully manicured grounds that rolled slightly. The dark wood benches and meandering path were all empty in the night.
“It’s lovely here,” I commented, wrapping my own arms around myself for warmth. Finn stood beside me, staring out over the park. I sensed we were on the roof for a reason, so I quietly tolerated the cold.
“It was hard to be together like this — all of us — after you were gone. I just want you to know… it wasn’t easy. None of it was easy. We’ve hardly worked together since.” Finn spoke quickly, still looking out over the park.
“I don’t know what to say. I hate I caused this.” I looked up at the stars, trying to hide the way he had moved me. I hadn’t known anyone before who had missed me that way.
Finn took my hand and turned me to face him. “Evelyn, there’s one thing I have to try.” His eyes told me exactly what he planned to do. With one hand he stroked the curve of my face, while the other found the small of my back and pressed me forward until there was no night between us. He lifted my chin up, searching my face for any hesitation. There was none to see. Whether or not I had done this a hundred times before, I wanted to kiss him once and know for sure he was real. I closed my eyes.
His lips were as tender as they looked when they touched mine. As he kissed me, his arms encircled me protectively, warming my body from the inside out. Kissing him back, feeling my own passion for him grow, it was just us in the moment. The past and future meant nothing. It felt fresh like a first kiss, but our mouths fit together as if they had known each other well. My body instinctively deepened the kiss, my arms wrapping around his neck with my fingers gently spreading through his short, soft hair.
With a low moan he hugged me tighter, kissing me harder, as if I may be lost if he let up even a fraction. I felt my heartbeat accelerate out of excitement, and fear that I may be doing the completely wrong thing. As if he sensed my hesitation, he stepped back to exami
ne my face, securing a stray piece of hair behind my ear. I inhaled slowly, opening my eyes wider to put everything back in focus. I placed my palms against his solid chest to ground myself.
“Anything?” he asked breathlessly. I wasn’t sure how to respond. There was most definitely something, but it was all new and unexpected.
“Have we done that before?” I tried to concentrate, breaking some of the magic of the moment.
“Yes,” he sighed, letting his hands drop to his sides. He turned from me and stared back towards the door.
“I’m sorry.” I felt immediately regretful. Though the kiss was breathtaking, it was too soon. I could tell by looking at him that my lack of memory hurt him more than I could know.
“Evelyn, you’ll remember when you’re ready. Please don’t apologize for my impatience. I’m sorry, but after today on the boat, I had to see.” His smile was back on too quickly, and I worried that I had put the closeness we shared in jeopardy. I didn’t have anything clever to say, so I walked over to the edge of the roof, looking out over the park. After a couple of quiet minutes, Finn broke the silence. “We better go down. I’m sure Raven is ready for us.” I heard him open the door behind me as he waited for me to follow. I paused as I walked past him, looking up into his beautiful face to make sure everything between us, the easy friendship and the growing trust, wasn’t spoiled.
He gazed back at me with a gentle smile and said, “You can’t blame a man for trying.” He kissed me swiftly on the forehead, guiding me over the threshold. I didn’t blame him, but being intimate with him didn’t feel like a good thing to repeat until I understood who I was to him. I didn’t want to unintentionally cause more pain like I’d seen glimmer across his face. After stopping in the bathroom to make sure my heated blush had a chance to cool, I joined everyone as they stood by the table.
Bounce raised her glass and said, “Evy, none of it was the same without you. We are so glad you’re back where you belong.” She smiled to gloss over not being able to go on. The rest of the table raised their glasses as well, even Kierk, and toasted my return. It was hard for me to speak and express my gratitude properly. I was touched, but my mind and body were still reeling from the kiss with Finn. I smiled, thanking everyone, and drank my wine. I watched my friends over dinner. They listened to each other and poked fun like siblings. They were criminals too, so I knew the picture could never be as wholesome as it looked, but there was no denying that they were close.
Finn regaled them with the story of our attackers from the evening before and my whistle, taking a few liberties with the details for entertainment purposes. Each gave me feedback on my performance, even Kierk who followed enough of the story to advise me to, “Kick the balls.”
How Ari fit in was yet to be seen. My stomach sank remembering he was to return the next day. I was about to learn firsthand what kind of person he really was, though all signs pointed to cold. After coffee and apple pie that Bounce had defrosted, declaring it as a nod to our side of the pond, we started putting away dishes and tidying up. Raven turned up some music and swayed around the room as she cleaned. Kierk watched her, mesmerized. Bounce was doing the real work at the sink.
“Can I help you at all? Dry or something?” I asked her, holding up a plate.
“No, it goes quicker this way. Listen, my room is upstairs at the end of the hall. On my bed is a box of things from our old apartment that I kept when I moved. They were yours. Go through them and see if there is anything you want to keep. I’ll be up in a minute.”
The box was neatly placed in the center of the bed, with a framed picture of us on the top. Green velvet encased a black and white photo booth shot of us with pony tails, laughing hysterically. From the odd angle and lack of pose, it looked like we hadn’t been prepared for the snap of the lens. There were a few books from my classes I vaguely remembered, some CDs I had in college that I was glad to see again, and an unfamiliar, black lacquer jewelry box, covered in mother of pearl and glittering stones. It held a few tarnishing silver bracelets and an unstamped postcard from the Amalfi Coast of Italy with nothing written on the back. There were some letters from my mother addressed to my dorm and a train ticket stub from Edinburgh to London. I looked closer at the date. It was from the day before my accident in Boston.
“I always wanted to write her after you died… well, you know, went away.” Bounce came in and sat down beside me while I held the letters and the ticket. “It felt so wrong, you being gone. I wanted to tell her we were friends, but I never got up the courage. I figured you wouldn’t have wanted her to know the truth, and it would be wrong for me to have to lie to her. If we’d found your money, I’d like to think we would’ve gotten it to her somehow. Fake contest winner or something.”
“Was this my train ticket from Edinburgh?” I held up the stub and showed it to her.
“You were there for our last job together. When we were done, we all had to scatter per protocol, but it worked best if you stayed in Scotland for another week until everything quieted down. You were posing as an assistant to our client. You were always set to go home to Boston to see your mom after, so your cover was tight. You left Edinburgh and took a train back to London, and then a flight to Boston the next morning. None of us were here when you left since we were off on our own covers. We’d all said goodbye in Scotland. I found the stub and just wanted to keep it.”
“How did you hear I had died?” I hadn’t wanted to hear this part as it felt like it would hurt everyone and me to think about it, but now that we were discussing my disappearance, I ripped off the bandage.
“We got back to London, and, when we didn’t hear from you, Ari made some calls. He got a copy of the accident report from Boston declaring you were dead along with the driver. Of course, now we know he eventually found out you were alive, but without any memory. We could barely be together in the same room after that. All of us without you made your loss feel even worse. Finn was drunk half the time, Ari was always gone doing other things and Raven worked with another group off and on.
“Eventually, we got back together, focusing on the job, and things got easier. I swear though, I missed you every day.” Bounce picked up the photo of us in the frame. “It was taken on your twenty-second birthday. We went to Paris to celebrate. Raven knows the whole place like the back of her hand, though her French is horrific.” I laughed with her at the thought.
“I’m sorry, Bounce — for not trying harder to remember, and for what Ari did. After the accident, the thought of coming back here felt like a waste of time. Maybe I was afraid I would be disappointed in the truth. Pretty ironic really, I dreamed about dating Prince William or something. All of this is far more interesting.” I put my arm around her shoulders.
“Evy, it’s like you to apologize for being in an accident.” She smiled and turned her attention back to the items. “The lacquer box and jewelry were just cheap stuff we bought by the Thames one Saturday. The post card is a place you talked about wanting to go. Finn had told you how beautiful it was. I hate to say it, but you left some clothes behind, too. Not a lot, but I gave them away.” She looked at me apologetically. I remembered my fashion sense from college, no big loss.
“You two okay?” Finn hovered in the doorway.
“Yes, just catching up.” I smiled and held up the old Calculus book.
“Hey, you can get money for those if you sell them back.” He tried to lighten the mood.
“Great, that is totally just as good as a quarter of a million dollars. Thanks for cheering me up,” I responded with fake enthusiasm.
“I’m getting the distinct feeling that Kierk and Raven are ready for us to leave. They may be engaging in the forbidden dance, and Brinks and I are running out of places to stare.” Finn encouraged us to get a move on.
“Thanks for the box. I’ll take it back to the room with me if that’s okay?” I gave Bounce a hug without thinking about it first. Maybe some people you always love, no matter how much time passes.
“
Sure, it’s your stuff.” She hugged me back and put our picture on top. Once downstairs, we saw that the kitchen scene had become more rated R and Kierk had his shirt off. Brinks waved excitedly to us from the corner of the room, glad to not be alone anymore. I tugged on Raven’s sleeve to get her attention.
“Raven, thank you for a great dinner. I should be going.”
“It was my pleasure. I will see you at 7 AM tomorrow in the lobby. We are going running.” Raven responded while she danced.
“What? No, I’m not in shape to run right now.”
“Perhaps, but you will be. See you then.” Just like that, she forgot I was there, and moved in to cling to Kierk. I tried to wave goodbye to him as well, but gave up when I couldn’t get his attention. Finn and Brinks joined me in the waiting car. After dropping Finn and then Brinks off, I tried hard to feel excitement for a morning run and Ari’s return. I failed miserably.
Chapter 11. Unexpected
“Raven, I have to stop. I’m either going to blow a knee or a lung,” I yelled, using what little oxygen was left. She was two car lengths ahead, down the path of Hyde Park, running with perfect form. Upon arriving back to my room the night before, I had comforted myself thinking her mention of a morning run was just talk. After the cooking, dancing, and what I was sure was a tiring night with Kierk, how could she possibly be up for it?
Like clockwork, at 7 AM, the rapping on the door started. After she threatened to pick the lock, I let her in. With her passionate insistence, I was ready in five minutes, with a sloppy pony tail, capri-cut gray sweat pants and a faded blue sweatshirt. I was sure my walking shoes were not going to appreciate the pounding they were about to receive. She, of course, was in a black fitted running shirt and matching leggings with a hot-pink, zip up jacket. She was starting to annoy me.
“Evelyn, it has barely been a mile. Speed up.” She ran back to me, bending down to look in my eyes.
