Cape Crossed

Chapter Seven

The microwave went off like an alarm, shaking Jake from the stupor he'd started to fall into. He let the door open and dipped a finger into the cup of tea waiting inside. Lukewarm water greeted him. "I swear this thing makes stuff colder," Jake whined as he added more time before leaning back on the cold counter.

"You can't make tea in the microwave," Hannah huffed on her way in. "I don't know what horrible nightmare you dreamed that up in but in the real world, we use a kettle." She looked around his cramped kitchen disapprovingly. There wasn't a kettle in sight, not even an electric one. Instead of giving in she yanked one of his cabinets open and pulled a saucepan out.

"Hannah, this works fine. See?" Jake pulled the cup out and pointed at the singular plume of steam rising from the cup. His entire face scrunched up on the first sip. "Perfect peppermint."

"That's disgusting," she argued, still going about filling the pan with water to boil. Halfway through she took the mug from him and tipped the contents down the drain. The soggy tea bag dangled from the handle by the string. "Why do you keep drinking it if you hate it that much?"

Jake shrugged and untangled the bag from the handle. "It wasn't that bad."

"I should just bring over my kettle for you to use if you're this insistent about having tea." She draped her arms over his shoulders and leaned against him. "I only use it when you're over anyway. It'd be so much easier if we just had everything in one spot."

Goosebumps spread over Jake's arms like wildfire and he laughed dryly. It seemed to him that the key under the floorboards in the other room was screaming like the tea kettle she wanted to bring over. "Or I could just buy my own and then we'd both have one. Besides, I don't like the way yours sounds. It's too shrieky."

Her arms fell away slowly and she quickly sidestepped him when he tried to pull her back. "Water is ready. Did you want the peppermint again?" Tea bags spilled across the counter in her haste to find the right kind. The blend of smells washed over her and turned her stomach. Eventually she was able to pull a peppermint bag free and dropped it into the water still in its sealed back.

"Hannah, wait. Don't be like this," Jake pleaded.

"Like what? I'm fine, I just remembered I have something to do. So I'm gonna go," she said quickly. "I'll see you tomorrow right? Love you." Sweat trickled down the back of her neck under her hair. The cold air outside latched onto it and made it feel like a snake made of ice was slithering down her back. Her thoughts turned to Claudia and her feet turned in that direction without thinking.

It took two buses to reach the tattoo shop tucked into the corner of a shopping center. Stark white buildings stood to either side of it, making the dark gray bricks stand out like ash on snow. A narrow eye with a line extended off the back and a loose swirl hanging from beneath was painted on the window. Claudia had a matching eye in a faded tattoo on her ankle. Hannah spotted the tattoo and the attached ankle resting on a stool inside.

When Claudia spotted her she waved and hooked another stool with her foot. It rolled across the floor of the small space and stopped when it hit Hannah's knees as she stepped inside. "Need something?" she asked, skipping straight through the pleasantries.

"I can't just drop by to see you in the middle of the day?" The stool swiveled easily while she swung her feet slowly.

"You hate dropping by unannounced and you hate it when people do it to you. I think I've known you long enough to know that," Claudia countered. She took in the red tinge to Hannah's eyes and her unbrushed hair pulled into a haphazard ponytail. "What did he do?"

It took twenty minutes to pull the information from Hannah and get the full story in much more detail than was strictly necessary. Claudia was used to it by now. She was so practiced in predicting Hannah that she had a bag of way too salty chips open and resting on the table nearest to her elbow.

"I just don't get it. He talks about us like he has plans for the future but he won't talk about sharing one apartment. Does he think people just magically create money when they finally decide to spend their lives together? One place means one set of bills, less money on gas going back and forth. What is so bad about me that he doesn't want to have me around all day every day?" she ranted. Crumbs bounced off her shirt as she shoved a new stack of chips into her mouth.

Claudia waited, letting her reach the end of the bag before offering a full cup of water. The second she took her first sip Claudia spoke. "So you hinted at moving in and he pulled away. Let's take a second to realize that's a big step for anyone. You can't drop an idea like that and think he'll have been thinking the exact same thing."

Water sloshed over the edge of the cup as Hannah turned back to her sharply. "But why isn't he thinking about it?" Her voice wavered and she sat back down. The stool rolled with the momentum from how she'd dropped herself into it.

"Guys just don't get it sometimes, but I don't think you have to worry," Claudia assured her. The bell over the door jingled as a petite woman in a red dress walked in. "Hey, I've got an appointment but we could do drinks later, horror movie with some good limb tearing."

Hannah waved at the woman and pulled her coat back on. "Can't, I'm on shift tonight. Solo patrol," she told her.

"I thought sunshine was with you.

Hannah shook her head, trying to smother a laugh. "She's nursing some bruised feelings after that little article," she told her. "I don't think she'll be up for any partners for a few days at least. Lucky me."

"Call me after. We can always egg his apartment if we need to," she offered before the door could fully close behind her.