Falling-2
1399 Words
AROUND US FORMED A huge round room, wooden tongue-and-groove pine floor with windows on every side of those circular walls. Probably 16 or 32 flattened "sides" to that big circle, or some number in between. Some thin curtains on them, so that the sun was kept from shining in blindingly, but it was still before dawn and sunrise was not for some time yet. We had just enough light to see what was going on.
The ceiling overhead was timbered in sections right up to a central metal collar where they all bolted on. They didn't rise straight up, but curled up to meet it, flowing counter-clockwise. Concentric slats wound around, evenly spaced, and insulated in between with curving filler that could have been plaster or plastic or hand-laid fiberglass, regardless, it was a tannish off-white that complemented the clear-coated ceiling beams.
We lay in a huge bed, queen-sized, just the three of us. And from where we lay, there was nothing outside those windows but lightening sky. Which meant that we were probably at the top of some tower in the middle of nowhere.
I was in the center between these two girls I loved, with my arms around them and under them. Of course, that put me on my back looking up at this gorgeous, spacious room.
Sal raised her head with her to-die-for, all-natural, long wavy blond hair from her fluffy pillow with its white cotton pillow case. "Well, hello sleepy-heads. Good morning, I guess.”
Jude then batted open her eyes and raised her raven-haired head from my shoulder. "And hello to you, too." She brought a hand up to rub her face. "I think your idea of a pillow rather than a muscular shoulder might have been a better position. No offense, John, but you'd probably like to be described in your stories as having a great set of muscles than being soft."
I just smiled. It was great to be with them again. "No offense, of course. Your compliments are always welcome."
Jude pulled the sheets up and looked down at her body below it. "Darn, you are such a prude. You know I like to sleep in the raw. And you're even wearing cotton jammie bottoms. I never saw these in your cabin."
I glanced down. "You have to admit yours is a fetching black negligee, though."
Sal pulled up the sheet on her side and whistled in relief. "Ooh, white satin. Now that's a nice touch. Not as revealing as Jude's, but slinky enough to show..." And turned beet red, as she clutched the top sheet to her chest.
"Your choice of plaid could use some work though," said Jude, still looking underneath. "Red and green interlocked with light-blue, almost teal accent lines? And then you put a purple cotton pocket t-shirt on? You'd think it would be at least black and white with charcoal or light gray." She turned back to me with pouted lips and then grinned, dropping the sheet and putting her head back on my shoulder, her arm across my chest. "Doesn't matter, I like it. A lot."
Sal moved the sheet on her side around her top more fully, and rolled over toward me, covering Jude's hand with hers. "I'd have to agree about how enjoyable this is. Nice clean fun early in the morning."
I brought my arms up and hugged them both. "It's a great day to be alive and back at our adventures." I was smiling broadly and didn't let go for awhile. There's peace and then there is peace. The more you share, the better it gets.
"Oh, ladies, in case you were wondering, there was no 'before' to this picture. This is where we started." I said with a tease, knowing what was coming.
Jude pouted her lip and turned her head back to look at me. "Darn. You didn't even try to reach any bases at all. You are such a spoil-sport."
Sal eased one arm out from under mine and grabbed my hand with it, pulling a finger up and back to cause a little pain. "And just to let you know that it's a good idea not to try anything without first asking permission."
I feigned emotional and physical anguish. "Oh, OW. I'm hurt ladies, really. OW. You can both quit any time now."
At that both Jude and Sal sat up and turned toward me again. Sal continued to hold the white cotton sheet up in front of her, while Jude simply let it drop away, exposing perhaps far too much where the intricate patterns of the black negligee fabric covered little of the rest that was sheer. Both were smiling from ear to ear.
I just put my hands under my head and looked at them both. It was good to be alive and in such good company. But Jude was right. My horrid color combination were becoming more obvious in the brightening room.
Sal just rolled her eyes at all this. In her mind, it was time to get to work. She made a simple gesture with her free hand and shimmered into a standing position on her side of the bed. She was now dressed in her usual off-white, gold-pinstriped business jacket over matching slacks and polished brown block-heeled pumps. Her makeup was simple, all in light shades of brown and tan. She checked the ruffled, high collar of her white blouse, then pulled her sleeves down from inside her jacket to expose the ruffled cuffs. Her long blond hair was now coiled into a bun on the back of her head, with a pair of some sort of carved ivory hair pins holding it in place.
She then raised an eyebrow at her sister, still in bed at my side.
Jude sighed, and leaned over, pulling my head over to kiss me on the cheek. She brushed her top over my chest as she did. Then made a simple gesture with that same hand.
Shimmering into view on the other side of the bed, Jude appeared in her usual black Timberland lace-up boots, tight black low-cut jeans, a black high-collared bolero jacket. Today she wore a black v-neck knit crop top, that exposed a small bit of white midriff. Her wavy black hair cascaded over and well past her shoulders to mid-back, parted on one side to sweep in long bangs that nearly covered one eye. Dark lipstick and shadowed eyes completed the goth look she loved. Arms akimbo on her waist, she smiled at me.
Returning my appreciative look, Jude asked, "Well, are you going to lie about all day? Isn't there something we should be up and doing?"
I sighed. The party was over. Turning to her sister, "Sal, do you mind?" And gestured at what I was wearing.
Both ladies made a simple motion, and I found myself standing at the foot of my bed, in a typical pair of worn leather work-boots, work-faded dungarees, red-pocket cotton t-shirt covered in a work jacket. In one hand was my old worn denim ball cap, the other had a bandanna - with the same ugly color combination as my former pajama bottoms had.
"Nice touch, ladies." I held the bandanna up.
"The least we could do was to give you a reminder of the night we didn't have," Jude joked.
Sal smiled at that as well.
I just stuffed the bandanna in my back pocket and put my cap on the back of my head. "So, where do you think we are?"
IV"BEN?" I ASKED TO THE void.
Again, "Ben?"
"I'm here, John." A voice in the misty semi-dark/semi-light swirling gray that seemed to move around me.
"What's 'here'?" I asked.
"I don't truly know." Ben replied.
"How come I can't see you?"
"Something to do with your thoughts and mine. If it helps, I can't see you either. Just a bunch of swirling gray mist." Ben sounded calm, or more likely, a disciplined calm. "We wondered where you had gone to."
I worked to calm my own mind. "So how did you find me?"
Ben paused, "Or you found me? This is just a deep meditation state. And I don't even know that this is real, other than it seems we both want it to be."
I was silent for a time at this. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"Ben?"
"Ben?"
"John... Sorry... Some data... can't share... can't know. Must think."
Then, silence ruled again in the swirling mists.
Well, John, you certainly did it this time. Better get to thinking and sort this out. Ben would be back if he could...
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- Writer
