She got up and stormed off somewhere. Such a melodramatic and peculiar woman.
“Now I know why no one wants to fuck wit’ you, Jack. You’re an asshole!” he heard her holler from a distance. “I’ll be sleeping with one eye open tonight.”
“If anyone should be concerned about being around the other person, it should be me!” he yelled back. Got a psycho in my house… Great.
He finished the dishes, dried his hands, turned off the light and went to put out the fire in the living room. He was surprised to find her there, lying on the couch, the throw he kept there wrapped around her body. She was fully awake, despite having her eyes closed. She sensed his presence, too, for her eyes were moving beneath the lids.
“Go to the bed where it’s comfortable.”
“I don’t want your guest room. I don’t want any more of your food. I don’t want your wine. I don’t want your clothes, either. I’ll be gone soon as the sun is up. I’m calling a tow truck,” she stated without opening her peepers.
He stood there for a bit, staring at her.
“I don’t know what type of guys you’re used to, but I don’t really respond well to hissy fits, melodramatics, and manipulation.”
She slowly opened her eyes and glared at him. Anger spilled forth like milk from an overturned bowl.
“Lady, let me tell you something.” He cleared his throat and crossed his arms. “You’re beautiful. You may or may not know it.” He shrugged. “You don’t come off as conceited, so I honestly don’t know if you’re aware of your physical appeal, or how powerful you are, either.” Her eyes widened as if she didn’t quite follow him. “You enter a room, and it lights up. You’re feisty, and classy, and afraid. You’re different from most people here, and that is going to attract attention. Good and bad. You think you know more than you do, and that’s a flaw. Yet, there are things you know a lot about, although you won’t sit still long enough to think about those because you already understand life’s a shit show. That’s why I said you’re a runner. It wasn’t to take a dig at you.”
“You don’t know the whole story. You’re making assumptions.”
“If I’m wrong, I will admit that. But first, prove to me that I’m wrong about you. Tell me why you’re here in Alaska. I’ve asked you at least three times now, and you’ve been telling me everything else but that.”
She slowly sat up and looked at him. Her eyes glossed over, and the sight tugged at his heart. He hated her for that. She sincerely looked torn apart by that question. No acting. No Broadway show behavior… This was real. Genuine.
“I’m here because… because it’s the one place she won’t come to find me.” They stared at one another for more than a second or two.
“Who’s she?”
“Angelique. My adoptive mother.”
“She hates Alaska?”
“Yes. Her first husband was from here, and all of his family. She grew up in New York. She came here once to meet them, and they treated her horribly. They forbade him to marry her. They hated her. They got married anyway, but it ended a short while later. She believes they ruined her marriage. She’s hated Alaska ever since. Vowed to never return. She told me that when I was a kid…”
“Why don’t you want her to find you?”
“Because she…” She lowered her head and shook it. “She put me in a bad position… I lost everything because of her. My career… my friendships! She ruined everything! I… I can’t say much more about it.” Tears streamed down her face as she now rocked back and forth. “So now, I’m starting over. I have some money saved up, and I thought this would just be for a few months, you know, me living here…” She glanced at the fireplace, then back at him. “But I like it here. It’s beautiful. Therefore, my plans have changed.”
“Short term plans have turned to long term goals. I know a little about that.” He walked up to her and sat beside her. The couch sagged from his weight, forcing them to inch a bit closer. “You want to live here for a long while?”
“I do.” She nodded and smiled. “I want to eventually get a house, and work in hospitality. Own a nice hotel. That’s what one of my good friends did, and it worked out really well for her. She moved from New York to Connecticut and opened a small luxury resort. I used to work at a hotel way back when I was in undergrad, too, so I know what it entails.”
“Hotel? The type of talent you have though isn’t something you should just throw away because you’re in a new place.”
“I did have a great career, Jack, but I’m okay with starting over and doing something else.” She shrugged. “Sometimes, our passions don’t pay the bills. They did in New York, but they won’t here. No offense, but most Alaskans watch people like me on PBS, just like your ex-wife. Not the big stage.” She laughed dismally. “I loved dancing, and Broadway, but I can do other things, too. I’m more than a one-trick pony. Alaska is strange, but peaceful… I feel okay here. I’m really good at adapting. Like you said, I’m a runner.”