By Ghostwalker
(My continued thanks to my editor, LarryInSeattle, for his insight and editing skills.)
“Hello? Is anyone home? Jen, are you here?” I called out. When she didn’t answer, I looked down at my watch and realized I was 15 minutes early so I took a seat on the couch thinking she was probably still getting ready for our get-away weekend.
While I sat there, I looked around her apartment, seeing little things that brought back memories of how we’d met during our first year in college and how quickly we’d become best friends, sharing interests in art and photography. There were even some little mementos reminding me about how we’d remained friends during Grad School where she’d continued to specialize in photography while I’d branched out into advertising. Yet, it hadn’t been until 4 months ago that we’d become ‘involved’ and that was only because her long-time boyfriend, Matt, had suddenly announced that he was leaving for Europe and that he was going alone.
She’d been devastated and it seemed only natural that she turned to me for support. Our relationship quickly blossomed after that and our friends whispered that ‘love was in the air’. Maybe that’s why I’d made plans to fulfill one of her life-long dreams and take her on a romantic get-away weekend… the destination a secret. The only indication that I’d planned anything was when I called her and told her to pack her bags and that I’d be at her apartment by 9:00 o’clock the next morning.
Looking down at my watch again, I saw that it was already after 9 and she wasn’t here… or was she? That’s when I noticed some luggage sitting near the stairs going up to the loft bedroom and heard the faint sound of water running.
As I climbed the steps, I called out, “Jenny? Jen, are you up here? We have to get going.”
When I still didn’t get an answer, I checked the loft and then, without thinking, opened the bathroom door, stepping in. “Jen? Come on, we have to get go…,” I faltered. There was someone in the shower but it definitely wasn’t Jenny. Instead of her slender body and blonde hair, the woman in the shower was full-figured with raven-black hair that hung almost to the middle of her back. “What the f…?” I muttered as I stepped backward and bumped into the bathroom door.
The woman spun around instantly, one arm crossing over her chest while the other dropped to cover the junction between her legs. Both of us stood frozen in place.
“I’m sorry,” I stuttered. “I was looking for Jen. I’ll… I’ll…” I didn’t finish as I turned to run down the hallway.
“ARE YOU DAN?”
Hearing her call my name, I stopped and replied, “Yeah. I was supposed to meet Jenny here.”
“I KNOW. WAIT FOR ME DOWNSTAIRS. I HAVE A MESSAGE FOR YOU,” the woman yelled as she turned off the shower.
Confused, I went downstairs, still in a daze. “What’s going on? Where’s Jenny? And who’s the woman in the shower?” I asked himself as I slumped onto the couch.
I was still sitting there a few moments later when the woman came down from the loft.
“Hello.”
I looked up slowly and truly saw her for the first time. Five-foot eight or nine, blue-green eyes, and black hair that was still slightly wet from the shower. She was dressed in a black dress with a white scoop neckline, and gray panels on the sides. She was wearing gold hoop earrings, a gold bracelet, and a delicate gold necklace that disappeared between her breasts. To top it off she was wearing smoke-colored stockings and black high-heels.
“Hello,” she said again.
“Sorry, I… mmmmmm…” I stuttered as I stood up to introduce myself while the image of what I’d seen in the shower filled my mind’s eye. The image of a body that most men fantasized about and women spent hours in the gym trying to get.
“Are you OK?”
“Yeah, I think so. I was looking for Jenny.”
“I know. She called me early this morning and asked me to come over here, that she had an emergency.”
“Emergency? Is she alright?”
“She’s fine. It wasn’t that kind of an emergency.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well, first of all I’m assuming you’re Dan, right?” She reached out to shake my hand.
“Yeah,” I answered, taking her hand in mine. The feel of a small electrical charge ran through my body at her touch.
“Well, how about we take a seat and I’ll try to explain everything to you?”
“Okay,” I mumbled as I sat back down.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, just a little…”
“I understand,” she replied, softly as she took a seat across from me. “But before we go any further I should introduce myself. I’m Jen’s older sister, Naomi.”
“Naomi?” I said giving her a quizzical look as she continued.
“You’ve probably never heard of me since I’m the black sheep of the family,” she explained. “Anyway, it seems Jen got a call from Matt after she talked to you last night. They used to be a pretty hot item from what she told me. He called to tell her he was back in town and needed to see her. She was pretty confused because she’s been seeing you and didn’t know what to do so she called me. I told her to forget about Matt… especially after what he’d done to her but I guess she didn’t listen because when I got here, she was gone. Instead, I found two envelopes on the table when I got here, one for me and one for you,” she said as she held out an envelope with my name on it.
“One of the things she asked me to do in my letter was to do her a big favor by staying until you got here. I guess she figured you might need someone around after you read your note. She also said the note would explain everything and that she’d call later.”
I looked down at the envelope and knew what the note inside was going to say before I even opened it:
Dear Dan,
I’m terribly sorry about this but I got a call from Matt last night and he’s back from Europe. You know how much you mean to me but I know, or at least think I know, who my heart belongs to and I have to go to him.
Please forgive me,
Jenny
I sat looking at the note as tears slowly filled my eyes.
“Bad news?”
“Yeah but nothing I shouldn’t have expected. She went back to Matt.”
Inside, I felt as if my world was collapsing in on me, while anger slowly filled the void. “Just goes to show that love is for fools and suckers.”
“You don’t really believe that do you?” she asked, the soft tone of her voice making me look up into her eyes. “I know Jen doesn’t, that’s why she asked me to wait for you. She asked me to give you something special from her.”
“Yeah, what’s that?”
She hesitated before replying, “Me.”
“What do you mean?”
Rather than trying to explain, she handed me the note that Jenny’d left for her. “Maybe this will help.”
Sis,
I need to ask you a huge favor. As you know I’ve been dating a really nice guy named Dan since my break-up with Matt. He’s probably the best friend I’ve ever had, except for you.
The problem is that Matt called last night. He’s back from Europe and says he realizes he made a big mistake leaving me here and wants a chance for us to get back together. I know it’s gonna sound crazy, especially after what he did to me, but I have to take a chance. I think I’m still in love with him.