Chapter 7 - Winter of 2017

C’est presque Halloween!

“You doing alright?” Asked Lexi when she stopped for a red light. 

“Hm? Yeah, I’m ok. Why?”

She shrugged. “You seem off today.”

”I guess it’s just the weather, you know? It’s so dark out all the time. The sun sets at like, 4:30, and the air is really dry.”

”Yeahh, winter’ll do it to you. Have you been sleeping alright?” 

“Say yes, say yes, say yes,” Hudson encouraged. “Be independant.”

”To be honest, I never really do, so that’s nothing notable.”

Hudson pinched his brow in disapproval. 

”Actually, I think you told me about that one time,” said Lexi. She cruised straight through the intersection and turned right on Foyer Street, where Marco’s home was located. “If you need anything, just let me know.” 

It had been cloudy for weeks. A stationary front had settled down on Logtown, Wisconsin, and it was likely there to stay for a while. 

“Brother, I swear. If you start talking to her about all your problems.” An agitated ghost rasped, “You’re making yourself seem like such a loser.”

Marco suddenly decided that now was an awesome time to open up about his thoughts and emotions. “I think my issue is that I don't know how to feel,” he said. 

Lexi finished parking the car, and looked Marco in the eye. “I get that,” she said. “We’re all made to feel like we’re alone in our troubles and like everybody else has it all figured out, but I assure you, they don’t. Everyone is just making crap up as they go.”

”I mean,” he sighed. “I agree, of course, but that isn’t really what I meant.”

Lexi tilted her head. “Tell me more.”

“It’s like everything I do is a fabrication of whatever everybody else is doing. I repeat my routine over and over. Days all feel the same. I can’t break out of this cycle I’m trapped in. Years go by and I can't differentiate them in my mind. Maybe that makes sense? I don’t know how to feel, because feeling stuff would break the routine and the thought of that is terrifying.”

“ I… I dunno if there’s a proper response I could give you. I think I can understand how you feel though.”

”Sorry. Maybe that should have been an inside-of-the-head thought.”

”No you’re good. Have you ever considered talking to a professional about it?”

”Not really.” 

“Would you, if it were a possibility?”

“Maybe…” Marco sat there in the quiet for a moment. “I don’t really want to get out of the car,” he chuckled. ”Cold out there, warm in here, probably cold in my house. I guess I gotta eventually though,” Marco said as he pulled his scarf a little tighter. 

Lexi cleared her throat. “Would you have dinner at my place sometime?”

”Huh?”

”Next Saturday or something? Or whenever, really.”

”Uh yeah,” Marco stuttered. He hoped that she couldn’t hear his throbbing heartbeat. 

“Here, I can write down my address and stuff,” Lexi said as she found a pen and notecard from within her bag. 

“7pm, apartment 16, 7321 Gilmore Road, yeah?” Marco confirmed. “That isn’t far at all. I could walk that distance easy.”

”Great. See you there.”

”Course, yeah. Thanks. Uh, bye.”

Marco fluttered home in a soup of emotions. Lucien gave him a curious look when he passed through the front door. He could already tell that something had happened

“Dear me, you look lively.”

”Is Hudson around?”

”No. Though he seemed like he might not be eager to talk. To you.”

”Thank god, I don’t wanna see him either.” Marco sighed as he collapsed into the couch. “I don’t think I’ve ever told anybody that much about me in my life.”

”Do elaborate. You mean with Lexi in the car?”

”I just started talking because Hudson is way too easy to annoy, but I guess it didn’t even occur to me that Lexi was there, which sounds idiotic, I know. But she gave me this really concerned look, and she told me she didn’t know what to say, and I kinda panicked, so I changed the subject a little.” Marco sighed. “And then she invited me over for dinner.”

Lucien nodded along slowly. “Seems like a win then. Good for you.”

”No but what if it’s a pity thing. She asked me if I’ve ever considered therapy. That’s bad.”

“Either way, she’s your friend now.”

”I guess so?”

”For sure. Friends do things like that all the time.”

Marco gave a weak smile. “You know what? I’ll cave to your right-brained ideology. I’m no longer friendless.”

”No sir, you are not.”

Saturday came around, and Marco had prepared a Pyrex container of scones as a thank-you to his new pal. Lexi said that she didn’t want any money for the rides, so Marco made it a mission to pay her back in other ways. He arrived to her door at 7pm exactly. She greeted him inside with a quick embrace. 

“You can hang your jacket on the hooks, and�"oh my goodness what is this?”

”Lemon poppyseed scones. You said that’s your favorite flavor, right? I made them yesterday.” 

Lexi placed the box on her counter gently. “Thank you.”

”Please, it’s the least I could do.”

”I already made dinner. Lentil soup and some bread and stuff. Please, sit down.”

The pair seated themselves at the table. The soup was remarkably creamy and the smoothness was consistent throughout. It paired kindly with the other elements of the meal: a salad with cucumber and onion, and bread that was lightly toasted on top. Marco took a moment to take in the apartment. The room was scattered with unlit candles that smelled like pine or perhaps vanilla. Across a divider separating the space, there was a sage green couch, and a cushioned wicker chair that surrounded a hardwood coffee table. None of the furniture matched, but in an odd way, it all did. Every element of the house was pleasing to the senses.

”The food has been delightful, thank you,” complimented Marco shortly after sipping his last spoonful of soup. 

“Psh, it’s nothing. Honestly, it’s easier cooking for two people than just one.”

”You live by yourself? I thought you mentioned a roommate once.”

“Yeah, she moved out some time ago. She was actually my ex-girlfriend that I was still living with for a while. It was a complicated situation. It’s over now though.”

”Oh, I didn't know that you’re a lesbian.”

”No, well…” Lexi trailed off.

”Sorry, I didn’t mean to be intrusive”

”It’s no issue. I’m bi, I guess”

Lexi’s hands had been quietly tossing around a deck of playing cards. 

“Can you do any neat tricks with those?”

”Ha! ‘Course I can do tricks.” Her fingers melted two stacks into one smoothly. She spread them into a fan. “Pick one, but don’t tell what it is.”

Marco chose a card at random. It was the seven of spades. 

“Place it back into the deck anywhere.”

With Lexi’s eyes closed, Marco slid the card in somewhere near the bottom. She cut the deck in two, and observed the top cards of either stack.

”Can’t have been these two. Statistically, that’s near impossible.”

She divided the halves in half. “Probably not these four either then.” Lexi arranged the deck back into one part, and pulled a card from the very top. 

Marco’s jaw dropped. “There’s no way. That isn’t possible.” It was the seven of spades. “How?” 

“Come on, a magician never reveals her tricks.”

”That’s crazy though. Color me thoroughly impressed.”

Lexi grinned. “I suppose I will.” She slid the cards back in their sleeve. “You don’t have a roommate, do you?”

”No. I live alone.”

”Thought so. It’s a duplex though, right?”

”Yeah, somebody lives downstairs.” Marco patted his knees, unsure of what else to add. “Yep. I’m single, and I don't have many friends, if I’m being honest.”

”Well duh you’re single. I wouldn’t have asked you out if you weren’t”

Marco was taken aback for a moment. “Is this a date? Is this a romantic thing?”

“I was hoping so? Sorry, I could have been more direct about it. I understand if you only saw it as a friends thing though.”

A smile crept along Marco’s face. “I was kinda hoping for this, but I never would have asked you.”

”I’ve been trying to be flirty this whole time, have you not noticed?”

”Oh. I thought you were just being nice.”

”I mean sure, that too but…”’

Lexi couldn’t help but cackle at the situation. With a laugh so infectious, Marco couldn’t help but join in. 

“What should I do with my plate and silverware?”

”Just give ‘em to me. I’ll do a big round of washing stuff later,” said Lexi as she escorted both of their utensils and dishes to the sink. Marco stretched a little and sat down in the living room. “Boy am I glad that I’m not the only one with feelings.”

”Yeah, I mean, you’re a really great friend and all,” Lexi joked as she settled down next to the other. 

“Oh, wow.” Marco rolled his eyes. “You wait till I confess to put me in the friendzone. Classic.” 

The woman scooted a little closer. “You’ve just been such a nice pal, you know?” Lexi brushed a hand down his face to his neck. “You’re a real one.” 

Marco’s ears were hot with nerves. He wasn’t sure what to do with himself. It was over four years ago now that he left his wife, and he hadn’t so much as held hands with anyone since. The nervous man let it all wash over him when his anxious grin collided with Lexi’s far more confident one. As her shoulder nudged up with his, Marco let himself lean into the kiss. It would be improper to enjoy it too much, but a little fun never killed anybody.

Reviews

[RomaJ]

This chapter is sweet and full of quiet excitement -- Marco navigating his nerves while connecting with Lexi feels very real -- I liked how the chapter balances his internal anxieties with the light humor from the ghosts -- the ending leaves a hopeful, heartwarming note with the kiss.