Iron & Wine

Chapter Twenty One - Iron Worlder

Chapter Twenty One-Iron Worlder

parked my bike just outside of the gallery where I usually did. I glanced around, searching for Celadine's little white sports car. Besides Mona's car, the parking lot appeared empty, so I sighed in relief and headed toward the grand entrance. Mona sat at her usual station, eyes glued to her computer.

"Hey Mona," I greeted unenthusiastically. She peered up from the screen long enough to force a half smile for me. I must say, she was trying. "Um, is Celadine here?" I asked.

"No, Mrs. Danes is out with her brother tonight. She called and said to tell you that the freight already came in a day early and she took care of it. You are free to take the night off, if you wish."

Well, this sucked. I really didn't want to take the chance of running into either one of them, but I had been looking forward to the distraction of work for a few hours. Now I'd just go home and obsess some more. I let out a heavy and disappointed sigh and waved goodbye to Mona.

On my way home, I thought about what Mona had said and wondered if the freight really had come in or if this was Celadine's way of giving me some space from her and Jack. I could admit it to myself, I was a little relieved, but I didn't want to be this pathetic basket case to her, or Jack. God, no wonder I never dated, deep down I must have known that no good could come of it. The stress, the obsessing and insecurity, I hated it. And, technically, I wasn't even dating.

I dragged my emotionally tired body up the stairs to the apartment. When I entered, it only took me a second to realize that I was alone. Julie had a shift at the library and, when I checked my room, Lattie appeared to have gone off frolicking again. I grabbed the phone and plopped down on the couch to call Tess. She'd be able to keep me busy for a while. She'd talk for hours if I let her.

"Hey sweetie, oh it's so good to hear your voice. It's been way too long. You guys have only visited me once since school started," Tess accused on the other end.

"Yeah, sorry, Tess, things have been a little crazy around here lately." I thought of Julie's secret and our new roommate. And then there was the whole psycho fairy issue. But I would ever tell Tess about any of it.

"I'm real busy at the gallery and Julie has a boyfriend now, so that takes up a lot of her free time." I mentally punched myself for mentioning Will. Once Tess got on the topic of boys, suddenly my own lack of a boyfriend inevitably became the new topic. "Um, we're having a Halloween party here at the apartment this weekend, wanna come? You have to dress up."

"Oh, sounds like fun!" she squealed, obviously quickly distracted from the boy topic. "What's your costume?"

"Well, actually, I have a fairy princess outfit." I laughed. I never thought about how much Tess would love it too, like Julie and Lattie would. But, my announcement met with a long pause on the other end of the line.

"Well, that sounds nice, can't wait to see it," she finally replied weakly.