Page 107 of Cross My Heart
“Of course you can borrow the car, Jules, but I don’t really need anything right now,” Lanie tells her.
“Maybe not today, but soon you will, just wait and see.” Julia sings across the kitchen.
I toss her the keys, “I just put gas in it, you’re all set,” I tell her.
“Great, be back soon,” she says.
“What do you think she is up to?” I ask Lanie.
“I have no idea, with Julia, it’s better not to try and even guess,” she laughs.
* * *
An hour later,I am sitting in my office when Trevor comes busting through the front door, Julia-style.What is it with these two?
“She’s here? Julia. She’s here?” He asks hysterically.
Raising my eyebrow, I look at him quizzically. “With as much as you guys text, I figured you knew.”
“No, no, I didn’t know. I’ve been in the lab day and night finishing something. What the hell is she doing here?”
Not understanding his agitated state, I tell him, “Yes, Julia is here, just not right at this moment, she went out to run some errands. Come on, let's grab a beer,” I suggest, hoping the alcohol will calm whatever storm is brewing. In the kitchen, I ask, “What is the big deal? You knew she was Lanie’s best friend, you knew you would run into her at some point. Are you telling me you are still only texting? No phone calls? No, Facetime?”
“No, strictly texting, it’s the best for everyone,” he says.
“What’s best?” Lanie asks, walking into the kitchen.
I look to Trevor, who replies quickly. “Nothing, Lanes. How are you feeling?” he asks, changing the subject.
“So far so good,” Lanie tells him, coming to sit next to me at the island.
“La-aine, I’ve got just what you need, babes,” comes Julia’s voice walking down the hall.
Glancing up, I notice Trevor has gone completely pale and is tilting his head like he recognizes the voice. Julia enters the kitchen, her tiny body entirely covered by a grocery bag and a five-gallon pail of ice cream in one hand and what has to be a three-gallon glass jar of the biggest pickles I have ever seen in my life in her other hand.
“Can you believe I had to go to five different stores for these pickles, Lanes? But trust me, they are so…” she breaks off as she lowers the bag to look at Lanie.
I quickly realize her eyes are not on Lanie but on Trevor, who has turned completely green. “Angel?” He questions.
Julia can only get out, “Charlie?”
Completely confused, I turn to Lanie, who has also become pale. “Holy shit,” is all Lanie gets out before a loud crash catches my attention.
Looking up again, I realize Julia has dropped the jar of pickles and everything else in her hands. She is backing up when I realize there has to be glass all over the floor.
“Julia, don’t move, you’re barefoot, and there has to be glass everywhere,” I warn her, jumping up to get a broom.
“N-no, I have, the groceries, they, but, you, not, Charlie?” she says, making no sense but visibly shaking. Before I can reach her, she turns and runs down the hallway with keys in hand.
Trevor moves to follow her, but Lanie holds him back. “Hold on there, Boston, this is my fault, let me explain while Julia gets her thoughts together. She won’t be able to talk to you until she has cleared her head.”
“What do you mean, this is your fault? What the hell is going on, Lanie?” Trevor yells.
“Hey,” I say to Trevor, “calm down, yelling at Lanie isn’t going to solve anything,” I say, getting angry at his raised voice.
Sighing, Lanie says, “Come on, let's sit in the family room, this is going to take a while.”
* * *
