Crashing Into Blue

Chapter 35

It's been a two weeks of radio silence from Davis since the dinner at the Conch Royale. I find myself wondering if he's still in town, or if he and Katherine packed up Oliver and headed back to the East Coast without saying goodbye. Not that I would blame them; I still can't think about that dinner without wanting to crawl under the covers and never come out. It definitely wasn't the scenario I pictured when I imagined our unlikely, yet in a way inevitable, reunion. In my head, it had a lot less innuendo and a lot more civilized small talk. But beggars can't be choosers, I guess.

With thoughts of Katherine's uneasy glances, Oliver's sticky fingers, and Davis's retreating form filling my head, the front door bell ringing barely registers.

"Space cadet! Have you not been hearing the bell ring?" Indigo yells towards me as she crosses the living room, where I'm lounging on the couch nursing an earl grey tea, making her way to the front door. She huffs annoyingly as she reaches towards the doorknob.

"Sorry," I yell out to her, "I was just thinking about- "

"Katherine?" Indigo says with disbelief in her voice.

"Yeah, how did you..." I stand up to see who's at the door, and as it registers I feel the words lodge in the back of my throat.

Katherine is standing on our doorstep, looking as apprehensive as I'm feeling, but she tries to hide it with a grin and small wave. She looks markedly different from when we last saw her. Gone is the formal black dress, and in its place are grey yoga pants and an oversized teal knit sweater. Her face is makeup free, exposing the dark circles under her eyes, which makes their green colour stand out even more. Her red hair is in a loose braid, with some pieces escaping the tail, the complete opposite to the chignon she was sporting at dinner. She's pulling at the sleeves of her sweater, making the small circular holes in the cuffs stretch into ovals. We stand, just gaping at each other, waiting for someone to break the silence.

"Do you guys have a quick minute to talk?" she asks while glancing between us quickly.

Indigo and I mumble some mixture of affirmatives while tugging self- consciously at our pajamas, and Indigo steps aside so she can come in the house. I put my mug down on the table, and the tea bag swooshes around the cup.

"Is it okay if we talk outside?" Katherine asks us. "I had to bring Oliver with me and he fell asleep in the car on the way over, I don't want to have to wake him up to move him, he'll be in one hell of a mood..."

Indigo raises an eyebrow at this, but goes out onto the front porch. I follow behind, and see that Indigo and Katherine are sitting on the front porch swing. I opt for leaning against our railing as I look out towards the driveway. It's the same car Davis was driving, and suddenly I picture the headlights retreating into the night, moving their spotlight off of me. I shake my head slightly, pushing the thought from my head. I can see Oliver fast asleep in his car seat in the back of the car, which has all the windows open, the light breeze ruffling his red hair, the same as his mother's. I turn my attention back to our unexpected guest.

"So..." Indigo starts, looking at Katherine quizzically.

"Oh, yes," she says with a small laugh in her voice as she runs her hands along her yoga-pant clad thighs. "I'm the one who showed up unexpectedly, I should probably explain why I guess." Indigo and I share a look, not sure what to expect. Katherine takes a deep breath before launching into her story.