In This Wondrous Place

The condo was smaller than I expected. Chris and his friends had opted for something simple, or perhaps they didn’t have very much choice in this small town. Either way, I was pleasantly surprised and much less intimidated than I thought I would be.

As I slid off my heels at the front door, my phone began buzzing from inside my purse. Chris went ahead of me and started towards what looked to be the kitchen.

Lucas: where the hell are you? We can come pick you up.

I sighed and began typing back.

I don’t want to go back right now.

Lucas: Come on, Em, don’t stay out all night alone. Talk to me.

Chris picked me up, actually…we’re at his condo. Please don’t worry.

I started cringing before Lucas even responded. I knew he would be unhappy about the situation.

Lucas: WHAT. Emery, where are you? I’m coming to get you.

Lucas, I love you, but right now I want to be here.

I silenced my phone and slid it back into my purse.

“Want some tea?” Chris offered, still rummaging around in the kitchen. I nodded and walked over, hopping up onto a barstool. He then grabbed two mugs and set them down onto the wooden bar top with a thud. He selected an Early Grey black tea and put a kettle on the stove, clicking the heat on with his fingers.

“So,” he folded his arms on the counter and leaned over towards me, “what happened?”

I sighed and nervously twisted the end of a thick strand of hair. I wasn’t prepared to address everything Mason had divulged at the bar. He’s never been so angry at our father.

“Our parents divorced when we were younger, for reasons I never quite understood, and I decided to stay with my father, while Mason stayed with our mother. Tonight he decided it was a good time to tell me that my father cheated on my mother and that was the reason they divorced.” I glanced down at my fingers, now twiddling around themselves.

“Do you believe him?” Chris grabbed the kettle as it began to whistle and poured the water carefully over the mugs.

“I don’t know what I believe.”

He nodded and accepted that answer.

“Here,” he handed my mug over to me, “Do you want any sugar?”

“No, I’m fine for now.”

Chris motioned for me to go sit down on a sofa in front of the stone fireplace. I began to eye the stonework admiringly as I walked over, looking at the uniquely uneven pattern of multicolored bricks lined up to the ceiling. It was an impressive feature to the condo.

“Are you cold at all?” He interrupted my thoughts.

I realized that I had automatically grabbed for the blanket laying on the couch and wrapped it around my legs. It was something I normally did at my own house that became a bit of a habit since I was always cold in the evenings here.

I nodded my head to his question and gave a sheepish look.

Chris chuckled and set his mug down on an end table. He then picked up a few logs that had been laying neatly beside the fireplace and placed them on the metal rack inside of it. The fire was lit with ease and I watched him brush the remnants of the wood from his hands and stand up from his crouching position.

“Better?” He smiled genuinely and joined me on the couch. I noticed that he placed his arm casually on the back of the sofa, nearly touching my bent arm.

“Much. Thank you.” I leaned the side of my head in my hand and lazily sipped at my tea.

A comfortable silence rose between us as we drank from our mugs and watched the fire flicker and crackle in front of us. It gave me a moment to think about what I wanted to say and how much I wanted him to know about my family. Ultimately I decided to ask him about his life and distract myself from my own.

“How long will you be here?”

He shrugged his shoulders before replying.

“We just finished filming for a project and I have a premier for another film coming up soon that I will need to attend. Until then, I’m going to relax here.”

“Which projects?” and then after a beat, “If you’re allowed to tell me the names. If not, I understand.”
Chris rolled his eyes and throatily laughed.

“We filmed The Huntsman this summer and the premier for In the Heart of the Sea is coming up.”

“Ahh, ‘call me Ismael’. I heard they were doing a movie based on Moby Dick.”

His eyes lit up as I mentioned my favorite novel. Chris seemed to be the type to get deeply involved in his characters and the films, so I hoped he would’ve read the book itself.

We began an intricate discussion of Moby Dick and he explained how the movie was a fresh perspective on the classic story. I was happy that he was as interested in the characters as I am and the deeper meaning behind the work. Grace and Lucas were not nearly as into classic books, which made it hard to share my passion with them, so this conversation was kind of a relief in a way.

“The ending is the most extraordinary part, to me,” He ran a hand through his dirty blond hair, “it wouldn’t have meant as much if he didn’t drown.”

That struck a chord in my heart just then. I thought about what he had said once more and tried to force the thoughts of my father from my head, to no avail.

“Are you alright?” Chris reached out and laid a concerned hand on my knee. If I hadn’t been distracted in my own thoughts, I would’ve been more affected by the move.

I couldn’t bring myself to answer him. Nothing was okay at the moment. So I placed my hand atop his and let it sit there for several comforting moments. Chris turned his palm upwards in response and grasped my hand, rubbing soothingly at my knuckles. It was a nice moment shared between us, one that I wanted to last forever. He knew just how to comfort me.

“My father drowned.” I said quietly, still not meeting Chris’ eyes.

I felt him shift beside me until he was seated much closer than before. His arm reached around my shoulders and pulled me gently to him. As I curled my legs up and nuzzled my face into his shoulder the dam that held back my emotions and tears suddenly broke apart. I began to sob into his shoulder, probably soaking his shirt in the process, while he spoke lowly words of consolation in my ear. I wanted so dearly to stop crying, but it was the most difficult thing to do at that moment.

Eventually, though, I cried everything out that I could and exhausted every last bit of energy that I had. I simply kept my head on his shoulder while his arms wrapped around me like a security blanket. He kissed the top of my head as I sniffled pitifully, making me want to cry all over again, but there were no more tears left.

I felt a buzzing suddenly come from Chris’ pocket and he adjusted slightly so that he could reach down to pull out his phone without moving me in the process. He apologized before answering the call.

“Hey, it’s me,” a moment went by, “yeah, she’s here. How’s the cantina?....oh, nice….who’s driving you to the airport tomorrow, again?....okay, well, have fun and, uh, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

He pressed the “end call” button on the phone and placed it on the coffee table.

“Everything alright?” I mumbled tiredly.

“Yes, your brother and his wife went back to your house and Grace and Lucas are with Kit and my brother at a late night sandwich joint. Apparently it’s really good.”

I smiled at the thought of the four of them casually eating sandwiches together at this time of night. I could only imagine the conversations that Grace was initiating.

As much as I didn’t want to leave Chris’ arms, I was beginning to get very sleepy and knew that eventually I would need to make it to bed. I yawned and rubbed lightly at my neck.

“Are you tired? My bed is yours if you want it, I don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”

“No, I couldn’t kick you out of your own bed…” I shook my head.

“Please, I insist.” He carefully hooked his arms under my body and stood up while holding me. I positioned my hand on his chest to steady myself.

“I can stand, you know.” I joked half-heartedly, but was secretly grateful.

“I know, but my bedroom is right here and you look exhausted.” He laid me down on the bed and pulled back the sheets and duvet on the opposite side. I climbed in and was immediately tucked in by the sleepy Australian man in front of me.

He crossed the room and began pulling clothing from a cherry wood dresser.

“What are you doing?” I asked, perching my head up on my bent arm.

“If you don’t mind, I was just going to take a quick shower and then go set up on the couch.”

I nodded and rolled over onto my back. It wasn’t too long before I once more was consumed by nightmares of water.