Fading With Time

Chapter 12

Three Amigos

                Later that evening Elizabeth was settling in on the porch with a fuzzy throw and a cup of hot tea.  There had been so much going on at her house in the last few days that she felt like she barely had any time to herself.  She would be glad when ALL the projects going on were finally done and she could have her home to herself again.  She hadn’t minded the extra company that much really and it did provide her a distraction from her thoughts.  Although a nice quite night alone was definitely welcome. 

                Elizabeth gazed up at the sky while sipping her drink amazed at the blanket of stars that could be seen.  She had always lived in a larger city and a night view like the one she had there was not something she got to see.  If all the lights of her old home didn’t block the view the smog usually did.  She had never seen such a clear sky and marveled at the sight.  It was like she had her own personal seat in a planetarium at the moment and the wonder of it sparked her creativity.  Back at her old home she had thought that she had no problems finding inspiration but since coming to Crystal Springs she had discovered something else.  No longer did she have to try and find something to captivate her.  Everywhere she went in her new town was inspired.  It was her own hidden haven and she felt lucky to have stumbled upon the gem.  Perhaps it was fate that had guided her there.  Between her old friends and new, the counseling she had finally gotten into, and the pure nature all around her it was the first time she felt like she was going to be okay.

                Sighing in relief Elizabeth snuggled in with her blanket just enjoying being in the now.  What a funny thought that was.  Before she would have meant it as being in the moment but after her recent experiences she knew she had meant her current time.  She hadn’t gone back since her last meeting with Annabel, and while she missed the young woman that she was beginning to view as a friend, the panic over not knowing how to get home was not something she wanted a repeat of.  At least not any time soon.  Besides, she had too much going on in her life right then to drop everything for a trip to the past.  She still hadn’t figured out how she had gotten back or if she had really even been there at all.  It had all felt so real at the time, but she could have just as easily been dreaming as well.  After all she had seen their pictures in the album which would explain how she conjured up what they looked like.  Yet the more she pondered on it she realized that she had seen Annabel before she had seen the album.  That didn’t make any sense unless she really was somehow time traveling.  She was going back and forth on the subject trying to settle her mind on one decision but there just wasn’t enough to disprove either theory wrong.  Other than the fact that time travel is supposed to be impossible.

                Before Elizabeth could muddle herself too much over the possibilities her cell phone rang lighting up on the bench beside her.  Looking down at the screen she smiled as she saw Lauren’s name come across.  She wasted no time answering as she was dying to know how her trip back with Mikey went.  She knew how long it should have taken them to make it but who knew if they stopped anywhere or had unforeseen calamities happen.  Smiling widely, she answered the video call.

                “You made it home.” 

                “Of course, I did.  I’ve been back since the evening we set out.”  Lauren answered exasperatedly.  Elizabeth giggled but decided not to share what she had been thinking.

                “Then you should have called sooner so I knew you made it.”  She chastised her.  Elizabeth couldn’t be too mad at Lauren though.

                “So how are things there?”  Lauren asked acting like she was only putting the question out there to be polite, but Elizabeth knew better.  What Lauren really wanted to know about was the supposed ghosts.

                “All’s quiet on my end.”  She told her nearly laughing at Lauren’s crest fallen expression.  It was clear that her friend had really gotten on the ghost hunting wagon.  If Elizabeth had had to pick which of her friend’s that would have happened to, it wouldn’t have been Lauren.  They spent the next hour talking about the construction that was going on around her place lately, and the project she and Jan were getting ready to start.  Lauren was very intrigued by this.  Apparently the elderly class Elizabeth taught had made a lasting impression on her.  She hadn’t realized that Lauren had bonded with some of them having been too busy that day to really pay attention.  As they were talking Elizabeth couldn’t help noticing Lauren’s slightly disheveled appearance along with what looked like dried dirt in her ear.  She ignored it for as long as she could, but it was so unlike Lauren that Elizabeth just had to know.

                “What on earth happened to you?” 

                “What are you talking about?”  Right away Elizabeth knew she was hiding something.  It was the only time that Lauren answered questions with questions. 

                “Don’t play dumb Lauren.  I have eyes you know.  If you didn’t want me to figure out something was up then you shouldn’t have video called me.”  Lauren sighed in annoyance giving in rather quickly.

                “Courtney happened.”

                “What did she do?” 

                “It’s so stupid and I can’t believe I fell for it.”  At Lauren’s confession Elizabeth’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

                “Details please.  You know I won’t stop asking until I get them.” 

                “It’s too embarrassing.”  Lauren whined clearly not wanting to talk about it.  Too bad Elizabeth wasn’t going to let her off that easy.

                “I could always call Courtney you know.”  She pointed out earning her a growl of agitation.  Whether it was due to her badgering or just the mention of Courtney’s name she wasn’t sure.  It could always be both.  She didn’t feel bad about picking on her however since if the tables were turned, Lauren would be doing the exact same thing to her.

                “Fine!  Courtney invited all of us out.  We were going to go watch wrestling.  It’s not really my thing but I figured since everyone else was going what the hell right?  Everything was going fine until amateur hour came up.  Apparently this month is women’s mud wrestling.  And wouldn’t you know it, but my name gets called as the first contender.  Courtney had set the whole thing up when she got the tickets.  I could strangle her.”  By the end of Lauren’s recounting of events Elizabeth was doubled over in laughter.

                “Was Mikey there too?” 

                “Oh yes, and he was all for it.  Between the two of them I couldn’t back out!”  Courtney had finally gotten her revenge on Lauren and it had been a whooper.  Elizabeth was suddenly glad that Court had taken her revenge on Lizzy early.  If she had had time to think it over it could have been so much worse than what had been done.  In hindsight pics to her boyfriend weren’t really that bad.  She froze at the thought.  Her boyfriend?  Elizabeth realized that Ryan and she had yet to talk about labels, but it was shocking that she just referred to him as her boyfriend.  Even if it had just been in her head.  She needed a distraction and fast.

                “Did you at least win, or did you lose horribly?”  Elizabeth teased causing Lauren to scoff.

                “Who do you think I am?  Naturally, I won.  Just because that imp entered me without my knowledge doesn’t mean I was going to lose.”  Elizabeth chuckled shaking her head as Lauren flipped her hair over her shoulder in a practiced ‘I’m better then everyone’ move.  She knew that Lauren really didn’t think herself better, but she also knew that Lauren had a competitive streak at least a mile long.  Her pride wouldn’t have let her bow out and she would have given it her all.  To do otherwise wouldn’t have been satisfactory.

                “That figures.”  Elizabeth shot back wryly while Lauren stuck her tongue out in retaliation.  “Has Courtney gotten her revenge on Mikey yet?” 

                “Not yet.  I’d hate to be him at the moment.  I’m going to guess she’s saving the best one for last.”  Lauren laughed as Elizabeth snorted.

                “You shouldn’t laugh at the pain he’ll suffer.  Aren’t the two of you a thing now?”

                “He laughed at me while I was slinging mud around, literally.  Once his happens I’m going to rub salt in that wound.”  Elizabeth shook her head at her friend.  Was it petty?  Most definitely.  Would he deserve it?  Probably.

                “You’ll have to call me the minute you know.”  Lauren promised to do just that excited to share in Mikey’s embarrassment.

                “You need to promise me that if you need help going through things you’ll call someone.”  Elizabeth waved her concern away acting like the task was no big deal.

                “Sure, there will be a ton of stuff to go through, but I’m up to the job.”

                “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”  Elizabeth sighed giving in and promising to call if the memories got to be too much for her to handle.  What would she do without friends hers?  She honestly didn’t know, and she never wanted to find out either.  The two of them bid good night with a promise to call each other soon.  As Elizabeth set her phone back down and went back to her star gazing she couldn’t help but wonder.  What exactly could embarrass someone like Mikey anyway?