"So I have to ask..." the old man trailed off as he sat down beside the black suit on a park bench.
Flicking ashes off the end of the burning cigarette, Jake turned to look to his oldest friend, Edward. "What is it?" As if he didn't know what the old man was about to bring up. He was biding the time till he was finally asked.
"You wore a white tie yesterday," recalling and looking down to the now black tie Jake wore. "Why?"
Having waited long enough to say anything, Jake answered without any dancing around the question. "I saw Reva again for the first time over a week ago."
"I see." Edward nodded as he watched the man, silently prodding him to continue on.
Finishing off his cigarette, he continued on. "It was unexpected, I'll admit. I mean, I've always known that she was around and I knew she was there. But that didn't change the fact that seeing her surprised me. And it was enough of a surprise that I dropped a bag full of black tourmaline stones all over the porch of the inn."
Jake shifted on the bench and straightened up, flicking the cigarette off to the waste bin alongside where they were seated. "It was almost as if nothing had happened. Almost."
"What do you? She did not pretend she did not know you, correct?"
"No, nothing like that. I mean it was as though there were not five years that passed between us. It was like the world stopped and it was just the two of use again."
"Probably why you dropped the stones. You did get all of them right? Don't really want those rolling around for just anyone to find. They were the ones from the juice guy?" The necromancer wasn't very strong, but if an activated one fell into the wrong hands. Well, Edward started to worry before he shrugged it off.
"Yes, I found them all. They were." Reassuring him before continuing on with his story. "Well I kept going back there, and saw her nearly every night. You know, Cooper is staying there for now and she's been going by to check in on him."
"Right, I remember the black eye." Amused and letting out a chuckle. "How is he doing?"
"He'll come around. I think. I'm pretty sure. He needs to get a bigger room or a place. There's not enough space in there for us,"
"To horse around?" Laughing now. "You boys..." Shaking his head with a grin.
"You know he threw one of his shoes at me last night! I had to let it hit me square in the face since I was in the middle of the bar on the first floor of the inn surrounded by strangers. And he's got big feet, that wasn't small shoe!" Complaining.
Edward was laughing harder now.
"But it was a football, so it was pretty easy to throw... Anyways," going back to his story. "Reva asked after the club and how it was doing. Asked if she could come by on Friday night and sing."
Laughing subsided for now, he just smiled as Jake continued on.
"But I mean....I couldn't say no to her, right? It made me nervous as hell to know that she was coming."
"Did you want to tell her no? Why?"
"Well, no. I don't think so. I suppose I was just more nervous knowing that she was going to see the new set I'd been doing. Considering I'm basically up on stage telling everyone that I've got this darkness inside me and she's the only thing that can show me how to come out, that I can't keep learning the same things over again and I never want to let her down. That I've never changed, not after even 5 years."
Jake continued, "I mean, some things have changed. The set was a completely different style of music. I've got the brownstone. Lucy." Listing things off.
"Your promotion." Edward added to the list.
Jake waved at the mention of that then. "That's old news. It's been nearly 4 years."
"It's what changed in 5 years time though."
"Yeah, so....Some things have changed. But some things still remain the same. I just... I thought it would be easy after all this time to see her, but some memories are harder to relive...for lack of a better word."
Jake let out a slow exhale. "Sunday she asked if I was seeing anyone. And I tried to play it off and dance around it because... Well I guess I wasn't sure what to say. She was serious though, so I had to come up with something. I just...I had to think a bit I guess to find the right words."
"What did you tell her?"
"The truth. That I had to know just what exactly she was saying, maybe why she was saying it because I couldn't go through all of that again. That I was scared. And we're going to take it slow. But a part of me just wants to say that I don't care about the past five years or what happened, just kiss her and never let her go before saying...I don't know "I love you, marry me" " Gesturing to the old man.
"Well Jake, thank you. I care for you too, but I am going to have to decline." Chuckling.
"You know what I meant." He shoved at the old man on the bench before standing up and brushing the suit off. "But I can't. She's changed and I haven't so, I'm taking it slow. But I did ask her on a date to the carnival." Confessing at the end.
Flicking ashes off the end of the burning cigarette, Jake turned to look to his oldest friend, Edward. "What is it?" As if he didn't know what the old man was about to bring up. He was biding the time till he was finally asked.
"You wore a white tie yesterday," recalling and looking down to the now black tie Jake wore. "Why?"
Having waited long enough to say anything, Jake answered without any dancing around the question. "I saw Reva again for the first time over a week ago."
"I see." Edward nodded as he watched the man, silently prodding him to continue on.
Finishing off his cigarette, he continued on. "It was unexpected, I'll admit. I mean, I've always known that she was around and I knew she was there. But that didn't change the fact that seeing her surprised me. And it was enough of a surprise that I dropped a bag full of black tourmaline stones all over the porch of the inn."
Jake shifted on the bench and straightened up, flicking the cigarette off to the waste bin alongside where they were seated. "It was almost as if nothing had happened. Almost."
"What do you? She did not pretend she did not know you, correct?"
"No, nothing like that. I mean it was as though there were not five years that passed between us. It was like the world stopped and it was just the two of use again."
"Probably why you dropped the stones. You did get all of them right? Don't really want those rolling around for just anyone to find. They were the ones from the juice guy?" The necromancer wasn't very strong, but if an activated one fell into the wrong hands. Well, Edward started to worry before he shrugged it off.
"Yes, I found them all. They were." Reassuring him before continuing on with his story. "Well I kept going back there, and saw her nearly every night. You know, Cooper is staying there for now and she's been going by to check in on him."
"Right, I remember the black eye." Amused and letting out a chuckle. "How is he doing?"
"He'll come around. I think. I'm pretty sure. He needs to get a bigger room or a place. There's not enough space in there for us,"
"To horse around?" Laughing now. "You boys..." Shaking his head with a grin.
"You know he threw one of his shoes at me last night! I had to let it hit me square in the face since I was in the middle of the bar on the first floor of the inn surrounded by strangers. And he's got big feet, that wasn't small shoe!" Complaining.
Edward was laughing harder now.
"But it was a football, so it was pretty easy to throw... Anyways," going back to his story. "Reva asked after the club and how it was doing. Asked if she could come by on Friday night and sing."
Laughing subsided for now, he just smiled as Jake continued on.
"But I mean....I couldn't say no to her, right? It made me nervous as hell to know that she was coming."
"Did you want to tell her no? Why?"
"Well, no. I don't think so. I suppose I was just more nervous knowing that she was going to see the new set I'd been doing. Considering I'm basically up on stage telling everyone that I've got this darkness inside me and she's the only thing that can show me how to come out, that I can't keep learning the same things over again and I never want to let her down. That I've never changed, not after even 5 years."
Jake continued, "I mean, some things have changed. The set was a completely different style of music. I've got the brownstone. Lucy." Listing things off.
"Your promotion." Edward added to the list.
Jake waved at the mention of that then. "That's old news. It's been nearly 4 years."
"It's what changed in 5 years time though."
"Yeah, so....Some things have changed. But some things still remain the same. I just... I thought it would be easy after all this time to see her, but some memories are harder to relive...for lack of a better word."
Jake let out a slow exhale. "Sunday she asked if I was seeing anyone. And I tried to play it off and dance around it because... Well I guess I wasn't sure what to say. She was serious though, so I had to come up with something. I just...I had to think a bit I guess to find the right words."
"What did you tell her?"
"The truth. That I had to know just what exactly she was saying, maybe why she was saying it because I couldn't go through all of that again. That I was scared. And we're going to take it slow. But a part of me just wants to say that I don't care about the past five years or what happened, just kiss her and never let her go before saying...I don't know "I love you, marry me" " Gesturing to the old man.
"Well Jake, thank you. I care for you too, but I am going to have to decline." Chuckling.
"You know what I meant." He shoved at the old man on the bench before standing up and brushing the suit off. "But I can't. She's changed and I haven't so, I'm taking it slow. But I did ask her on a date to the carnival." Confessing at the end.