The Events on Mt. Mitchell- Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Annie Kowalski sat at the round glass top dining table in her older sister’s downtown loft. Her curly hair was gathered in a messy bun on top of her head which had a gray colored pencil stuck threw it like a chopstick. Her tee-shirt was so old and worn that her silhouette was visible through the white cotton and her sweatpants were rolled up to her knees. She slid her thumb down the flint wheel of a lighter twice before the flame ignited. She brought the fire to the end of a marijuana cigarette rolled in cotton candy paper. She held the joint between her index finger and middle finger and brought it to her mouth while she stared out a wide four-paneled window at Atlanta. The sun was beginning to set and streams of orange and pink weaved in between the buildings. Marijuana was just one of many tools in Annie’s arsenal when it came to drawing her cartoons. Annie graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in graphic design, she didn’t have to endure the whole struggling artist thing for very long before the Atlanta Sentinel newspaper picked up her comic strip entitled “Annie Get Your Gun” about a modern day version of Annie Oakley.
Colored pencils and blank paper were spread out over the table. She held out her hand over the pencils and wiggled her fingers. She decided on the gray pencil wedged in her bun, brought it to the paper to form an oval. The concrete hallway outside the loft echoed and Annie watched the wooden door to the loft slide open.
Alice Kowalski had five shopping bags made of organic hemp on each of her arms as she frantically entered her loft.
“I can smell that shit out in the hallway, woman” Alice said as she shook her arms free. She immediately began to distribute her co-op groceries into the fridge and pantry. Alice had always given support to local farms and businesses. In college she used to only wear clothes made of recycled materials or ones purchased from a thrift store. Her main mode of transportation was a Schwinn road bike with a red frame and white seat, Ol’ Bessie she called it. Ol’ Bessie was Alice’s contribution to saving the planet not to mention saving her from car insurance payments and gas prices. The pains from road rash and a nearly severed tongue from the many tumbles she had endured were a small price to pay for the environment. As she got older her vehicles also matured to a motor bike then finally to a hybrid she bought brand new when hired by the law firm of Gilliem & Pallardy, P.A in Atlanta.
Annie got up and stretched her arms over her head and exposed the skin between her shirt and sweatpants. There was a keloid scar, about five inches long that ran parallel to the top of her pants.
“Sorry dude” she yawned. She moved her pear-shaped body toward the kitchenette to get a better look at the new inventory.
Alice moved effortlessly in her black peep- toe heels and her red wrap dress sashayed along with her wide hips. She stopped in front of Annie and said, “Mr. Gregson across the hall will be happy you’re wearing his favorite tee shirt today.” Annie’s breasts were clearly visible through the worn out fabric.
“Oh, it’s cold out too. I’ll make sure to blast him my nips later” Annie smirked and the two sisters laughed.
Alice and Annie had an identical build, which made most people assume they were twins. A slender top half that developed into full hips and thighs; a perfect pear. They both had a round head that sat upon a long graceful neck and their noses were thin and slightly turned up at the end. There was four years between them and the only thing that was different was their hair. Annie had wild, long curly brown hair and Alice had a straight dark blonde A-line cut. Alice loved her hair cut because she thought it looked sophisticated, but Annie thought it made her face look fat.
Annie watched her sister as she hummed the tune of some song while she put the baby spinach in the crisper. “Is she humming Crazy Little Thing called Love?” she thought.
Alice seemed to be happier than her average somber disposition. Working as a “baby lawyer” was a struggle and Alice was more often than not in a foul mood. She whirled around while she stocked her pantry with the organic food she purchased from Bluebird Natural Foods which was three blocks from her loft. Alice smiled at a box of whole grain pasta as she boogied it into the cabinet. Her cell phone vibrated in the pocket of her dress, she pulled it out and beamed at the screen before she typed a response.
Annie pulled a tin of strawberries out of the cloth bag on the counter and Alice grabbed the tin from Annie, “Take a look at this”, she held a berry up in front of Annie’s face and cooed, “Isn’t it beautiful?”
Annie laughed and grabbed the strawberry from her sister. She bit into the monster berry and red juice exploded out of the corners of her mouth. “What’s going on with you?” She chuckled, “You’re quite jubilee today.”
“Actually,” Alice patronized, “the word is jubilant and yes I am.” She finished putting away all her groceries, picked up her purse and headed back toward the door.
Annie made an unattractive face at the back of Alice’s head. “Well excuse me, normally you’re a glass half empty sort of gal” Annie defended herself against her sisters know-it-all attitude. She popped another strawberry into her mouth and chucked the leaf covered top into the sink.
Alice stopped, turned back and scoffed, “I’m not a pessimist, I’m a realist”.
“That’s just something that pessimists say and pessimists aren’t jubilant” Annie antagonized.
“Jesus Ann, if you must know” she paused a moment, “I have a date”. Alice checked her watch and added, “That I’m late for.”
Annie’s eyes grew into dark saucers and she could not release judgment right away because her mouth was full of fruit. After she swallowed, she asked “With Ryan? That’s not a date, that’s an affair” and before Alice could respond Annie continued, “Al, that’s all kinds of trashy. Not to mention, the kicker, you share a mutual friend with his wife! Remember Rebekkah? She would be totally devastated if she found out.”
Alice did not have a retort for that because it was all true. She knew what she was doing was harmful, not only to her but to the marriage she had poisoned and to her friend Rebekkah as well. It was supposed to be a one time thing, but it spiraled into sixteen secret trysts. Alice was starting to really fall for Ryan, whom she met through his wife, Nan. It was hard for Alice to feel guilt over what she was doing to Nan Bell because Nan was the personification of everything Alice stood against. Instead of coming up with a defense, something she was a professional at, she simply said “When are you moving out?”
Annie pointed the tip of a strawberry at Alice and said “Hey, don’t be a bitch to me I’m just looking out for you because you and I both know that Mrs. Bell is not someone you want as an enemy.” Annie frowned a little and continued, “Anyway, Kuno asked me to move in with him. And that Germanic hunk is hotter than hell, but I cannot stand his obsession with heavy metal music.”
Alice chose to disregard what her sister said and demanded, “Open the damn window if you’re going to smoke pot in here.” She slid the door closed behind her, satisfied she got the last word in.
Annie bit into another berry and realized there was something she forgot to tell Alice. “WAIT!” She ran after her sister and caught her just before the elevator door closed, “Mark Dennehey-”
Alice pressed the door open button repeatedly and stepped back out onto her floor. “What?”
Annie repeated, “Mark Dennehey called the apartment late last night.” The elevator door slammed shut which made Alice jump, but not as much as that name.
“What did he say?” Alice’s voice became low, almost like a whisper, “What did he want?” Her stomach churned and she realized she had become anxious the instant she heard his name.
Annie smiled because she enjoyed it when her sister showed a lack of composure. “He asked if you would call him back. He sounds really good. Did you know he owns a brewery in Asheville?”
Alice swallowed hard and put a hand over her stomach, “I-uh-had heard that, yes”.
In an effort to make her sister even more frazzled, Annie pressed the elevator call button and grabbed Alice by the shoulders. She walked her backward into the car as she said “You’re going to be super late for your date, sis. Better get going!” When the doors closed again, Annie patted herself on the back.
The elevator ride seemed to lag and the muzak brought a faint memory to the surface of Alice’s mind. She remembered Mark knelt down, grabbed her hand and said, “I wrote a poem for you…want to hear it?” Alice beamed and nodded furiously.
“Every time you call my name, I heat up like a burnin’ flame, burnin’ flame of desire, kiss me baby, let the fire get higher”.
Alice pulled her hand from his and said, “That’s lyrics from Steve Miller Bands Abracadabra. Nice try.”
When the elevator doors open, she stepped back into the present. The streets were bustling and the wind had picked up. Alice felt the cold air sting her bare skin and she cursed herself for not bringing a jacket. Just as she had grown impatient, a sleek black Mercedes pulled up outside her building.
Dinner with Ryan happened without Alice even realizing it. She nodded when he spoke, answered short if he had asked a question, and even mindlessly rubbed his hand across the table. All the while she was thinking about Mark. What was his reason for calling? Why now, after four years? The length of their separation had exceeded the time spent together. When she was twenty-one, she had convinced herself that Mark was her match. She also thought she would be a die hard feminist forever and rock hairy arm pits until the day she died. Time changes even the best of things and now the riot grrl wears pantyhose. Things went south for them when Mark dropped out of school and experienced a quarter-life crisis. He was frustrated and depressed because he lacked direction and craved motivation. Alice worked as a barista in a coffee shop when she was not in class or studying and Mark stayed home, got high and played video games. Their issues bubbled over when Mark accused Alice of deliberately holding him back because she enjoyed the gender role reversal. Alice could deal with the fact that Mark was an underachiever but she could not handle him blaming her for it.
Before Alice knew it the check was being placed on the table. The waiter set the leather book down in the middle of the table and normally Alice would make an attempt to reach for it, but she was still in the past.
“Ike Severson is in Los Angeles with the team. That means his house in Norcross is empty.” Ryan leaned closer to Alice as he dropped the hint. When she did not respond, or even acknowledge he spoke, Ryan cleared his throat loudly.
Alice snapped back into reality, “Ahhh-I’m so sorry, Ry. I’m somewhere else tonight.” She cupped his left cheek in her petite hand.
He smiled and leaned back from the table, “My being an agent to wealthy sports stars has its perks. So, what do you say? Help me take advantage of them.”
Ryan saw the answer in Alice’s eyes and prepared himself for the let down. He instantly became frustrated, but kept his composure.
“I want to, but I’ve got a hearing coming up next week that I should prepare for.” It was not a complete lie, so the tinge of guilt only a stung a bit. Truth was she knew she couldn’t perform well in bed with thoughts of her ex boyfriend swirling around in her head and the whole point of sex was for both people to orgasm.
“And I understand, but it’s not every day we have a giant house to freely fuck in. I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you next. Things haven’t been great at home and…” Ryan trailed off hoping that his argument was enough to sway her vote.
Alice went on the defensive, “Wow, you make an excellent point. How foolish of me to put myself and my work before your cheating schedule.” She pushed back in the chair, picked up the white cloth napkin that was on her lap and threw it on the table.
Ryan’s blue eyes flashed cold and disapproving. He put both hands flat on the table and growled, “Don’t.”
“I guess I’ll just have to go without for a while, I hope I can manage.” Alice stood, picked up her handbag and turned away from the table. She knew Ryan was too proud to follow her and for once she was thankful for it.
Alice arrived back home to an empty loft. Without thinking, she pulled out her legal research and case preparation materials for her client Mr. Sandon. After two hours of hearing preparation work, she started wrapping by writing memos to the file. She wrote “tickle for follow up” on the outside of a manila file folder and noticed the remaining bit of Annie’s baby pink joint sitting on the window sill. She picked up the half consumed joint, found a lighter and purged all men from her mind.
