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Post by Todd Stephen Owens on Jul 13, 2011 17:45:25 GMT -5
Todd was on duty. He'd gotten a call from his mother while he was dealing with a minor traffic accident. Once it was settled, he sat down on a bench in the middle of the traffic circle, by the ancient rock that did something cool back in the day... What was it again? The promise rock? People wished for things in front of it, like a genie would pop out and make it true. Todd wasn't sure.
He listened to the message and frowned. Scarlett was in a terrible mood since her fainting spell, sad and listless. Todd had been busy working for a few days, mom seemed to think he should call her.
First ring. Second ring. Third ring. Fourth ring. Fifth ring. *click* "Hey Letty, its Todd." |
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Post by Scarlett Anne Owens on Jul 13, 2011 17:59:17 GMT -5
The one thing Scarlett could appreciate lately was the comfort of her bed. The memory foam mattress that she sunk into and the down blanket and enveloped her like a cloud. Softness all around her - she either slept, or just lay listening to her own breathing. If she paid attention enough, she could hear her heart. Strange to think it was a sound she had with her all her life.
The afternoon light made light patterns on her floor. Scarlett stared at the dust particles swirling in the beams of light, for however long it was. The phone rang, disturbing the silence. She didn't want to talk to anyone. But after the third or so ring, Scarlett had a thought: What if it was Todd? So she leaned across her and reached her arm to grab her phone off the desk. It was Todd.
"Hello Todd, how are you doing?"
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Post by Todd Stephen Owens on Jul 13, 2011 18:04:34 GMT -5
"I'm okay sis, how are you doing?" Todd asked her gently, trying not to be too prying or sound too much like it was a duty call. he had been wondering about her and how she was doing. "I've been thinking about you." Worrying about her mostly. |
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Post by Scarlett Anne Owens on Jul 13, 2011 18:11:13 GMT -5
"I'm fine." She answered automatically. Apart from the lack of desire to really do much, her day had actually gone pretty peacefully. It was a step up from crippling self-pity. She turned over on her back, but really, there was no way to comfortably hold a phone, especially lying down. Scarlett put him on speaker phone and rested the phone on her chest. And then she actually smiled a little, "If that was anyone but you, that would be really creepy."
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Post by Todd Stephen Owens on Jul 13, 2011 18:17:16 GMT -5
"Riiiight." Todd chuckled into the phone. He could think of exceptions, family, close friends, but he knew what she meant. But as fine as she seemed to think she was, Todd knew better. So maybe she wasn't totally down on herself, but she wasn't bubbling over like she did when she was really happy and well.
"Hey Letty? I know your down in the dumps about fainting, but I promise you, you will get well, soon. Good as new. You know, but not quite as new as say, a baby because that would be a step backwards I think."
Todd got this strange sensation as he spoke, and his eyebrows furrowed but he figured it would pass. |
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Post by MUSE on Jul 13, 2011 18:31:40 GMT -5
The sunlight filtered through the leaves overhead, leaving spots on Todd's pants. Birds chirped on the tree tops and the babble of crowds from the street cafes mixed to make an innocuous soundtrack. But for the briefest moment, it was as though the whole world took a breath and it was quiet.
And then it exhaled. A slight breeze carried the dust and leaves on the ground - debris tumbled gently past Todd's feet. The trees overhead rocked slightly, causing the dapples of light to dance across Todd's lap.
By pure coincidence, a young mother walked past pushing a stroller. Inside her baby laughed and made baby talk, and the mother cooed back. Both brilliant specimens of health.
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Post by Scarlett Anne Owens on Jul 13, 2011 18:40:51 GMT -5
Scarlett wished that everything Todd was saying would come true. It was bittersweet hearing his words because she was in between still really wanting all that but also in the process of giving up. None the less, it was comforting remembering someone cared enough to want the things that would be best for her.
She smiled - only a little bit sadly. It was absurd how much she loved him. "Ok - I'll try not to become a baby."
"Especially since you developed a thing for babies. I don't think I'd be safe."
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Post by Todd Stephen Owens on Jul 13, 2011 18:50:16 GMT -5
"Of course you'd be safe, I love babies," Todd chuckled. Too bad he would never have any kids of his own... but he could adopt. He wasn't sure how he felt about sperm donation, he'd want to be in that kid's life. Could a surrogate carry a baby for him? That so wasn't the topic right now.
"You'll be great soon, it just has to suck before it gets better... When you're feeling up to you, I'll take you to a movie or museum or something." Todd offered cheerfully. "I totally want a board game tournament sometime too." They did that a lot as kids. Maybe it would cheer her up, and she could stay in her pjs the whole time if she wanted. |
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Post by Scarlett Anne Owens on Jul 13, 2011 19:00:01 GMT -5
Todd was clearly magical, Scarlett was feeling loads better already. Then again, she was the kind of dork that would get excited about going to a museum. "Could we drive down to New York and spend the day at the Met?" She wondered out loud. Having the phone on speaker on her chest, gave her the impression that she was talking to the room.
But the room answered back, so it was all good. "It'd have to be monopoly." Scarlett was strangely very good at monopoly, even though she hated the idea of practicing business or real estate. But she liked Monopoly ever since she flattened Todd after he got three unlucky chance cards in row. Two of which, ironically, sent him to jail.
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Post by Todd Stephen Owens on Jul 13, 2011 19:04:09 GMT -5
"Sure, we can do whatever you want, I'd have to make sure I could miss work though," He said, nodding his head, not like she could see that, but it didn't matter.
"And alright, but if I keep ending up in jail again I'm hand cuffing you to the table." |
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Post by Scarlett Anne Owens on Jul 13, 2011 19:28:08 GMT -5
Scarlett laughed. "That's seems a bit extreme - I didn't know you could be such a sore loser."
There was a strange tingling in Scarlett's fingertips. It was difficult to pinpoint what kind of sensation it was, but Scarlett held her hands up to inspect them. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Same slender fingers. Same neglected nails. Same blue-purple veins just beneath the skin. She brought her fingertips to her face. Apart from a warmth there was nothing unusual about them. Scarlett disregarded it - clearly there was nothing good about staying in bed all day.
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Post by Todd Stephen Owens on Jul 13, 2011 19:37:25 GMT -5
Todd laughed. "Maybe, and you're my sister so I'm allowed to be a poor loser." Of course, Todd was a great sport and the only tantrums over winning or losing were totally in jest, and Scarlett knew that. But they regularly chatted in sarcasm in such a way that on lookers might be confused.
"So monopoly tonight or another night?" He asked, feeling like everything was still around him, like the universe was processing something that took too much energy to both with wind and chirping birds and crazy afternoon traffic. |
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Post by Scarlett Anne Owens on Jul 13, 2011 20:02:46 GMT -5
"I seem to be too lax around you." Scarlett joked.
There was a moment of silence where Scarlett thought about seeing Todd tonight. Her smile faded into a thoughtful, quiet expression. It wasn't that she didn't love seeing him...
She turned her head towards the middle of the room, where the dust still swirled in the light. The silence of the room seemed strange now that neither of them were talking. "Another night." she said finally, sounding as if she gave up on something. She appreciated Todd checking up on her, but she didn't want to pretend that everything was better now that he cheered her up. The same concerns were still plaguing her mind.
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Post by Todd Stephen Owens on Jul 13, 2011 20:06:31 GMT -5
"Okay, well keep me posted," Todd said with a little smile. Then he heard a beep from his phone. That meant one of two things, incoming call or his phone was running out of battery. Since he charged his phone the night before, he assumed it was a call. He checked. "Hey Letty, boss is on the other line. I'll call you back later, okay?" |
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Post by Scarlett Anne Owens on Jul 13, 2011 20:15:07 GMT -5
"Sure thing." Scarlett answered casually. "Bye, Todd." Not bothering to end the call herself, she let the phone rest on the chest. For a long time afterward the phone beeped and the lady started telling that if she wanted to make a call, she should hang up and dial again. Eventually she mustered the effort to raise her hand and turn off the phone. But it was a long time until she actually got up and out of bed.
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