When Halia saw Jansuk for the first time a decade after their parting conversation, he was sitting on their bench wrapped in the stylish dusk of age, gazing across the dead riverbed.
Jansuk's spine was straight, his skin smooth, but his years swathed him in shadow. A cashmere scarf coiled around his neck and snuggled into his gray overcoat, hiding the tattooed remnants of youth. Even his perfect white coif spoke of professionalism and sobriety uncharacteristic of the Jansuk she had loved.
For many minutes Halia observed him from behind a tree trunk. She had expected to feel a flutter, some symptom of the heartsickness that had kept her mourning him for years. Nothing. Today, he was simply an old man, and one who had ground her bleeding heart under his wandering blueblood heel.
Relief steadied her steps, and she approached the chipped guardrail, peering down into the river. The falls were quiet these days, the water level cut nearly in half by the farm irrigation project. Riverside cottages had fallen into disrepair and the gala of boats and pontoons had evaporated.
Last time they were here, they had watched a trio of water skiers doing tricks. Halia had tossed rose petals over the rail and followed them until they drifted into specks.
She turned aside from the cloying nostalgia and sat on the bench, careful not to snag on the weathered wood.
"You have something for me?" She couldn't help looking into his eyes.
"A rare treasure, indeed." Jansuk smiled, and she found herself wondering at his meaning.
We've had some good times together, Hally. Remembering those last words made her cheeks hot, and she hoped he thought her winded rather than embarrassed.
"Your compensation was transferred five minutes ago." She maintained her business voice, the way Jordan would have done. "You should check. The other half will be transferred when I deliver the package."
Jansuk opened his wallet, nodded, and handed her a box small enough to fit in her palm. "You look well. Though I've never known you to wear red."
"Perhaps you've never known me at all." It wasn't the line she had practiced, but it would do.
"We could remedy that."
There was a pause while her shocked mind tried to get around the suggestion. "No. No, I don't think we could."
Tucking her objective into her pocket, she turned and walked away.
***
It was a small, sad triumph to turn Jansuk down, but hardly a victory at all after so many years. He still looked the same: keen eyes under wide eyebrows, sharp cheekbones, full lips. Back in college, she mistook him for laid back and lacking ambition. Today she thought she had seen the tension that held him together inside, demanding a level of performance he was never able to deliver. No wonder he ran an underbusiness instead of hiring himself out to a legitimate company.
And what was her excuse?
Pushing that question back down where it belonged, Halia thumbed her pad and left a voice message for Kieri. She wanted the payment before he flew off to Nexport for his annual month-long vacation. Then she ran a hot bath and sank into fragrant orange and violet bubbles with a bottle of wine on the side.
A knock tensed her shoulders, and Shel poked her head in the door. The rest of her slim body followed, a chiffon skirt fluttering around her enviable hips. "Hey, sweety, I just got back. Mark was a doll today. See what he bought me?" She stretched out a jeweled bracelet for Halia's inspection.
