Ralph slowed to glance in the window, not really interested in buying, but enjoying the smell of leather, the warm browns, tans and even a dark green of the jackets and coats on display. A dozen people passed by with casual indifference, the Holidays always a time of bustle and life... and loneliness.
Ralph took a deep breath of the fragrant smell and then strolled on, stands filling the middle of the hallway displaying everything from phone cases and calendars to remote controlled drones and perfume.
He let his eyes wander, not really shopping for something specific, but just to browse, to enjoy the illusion of being in the company of the crowd. A round mirror on a counter caught his eye, his dark brown eyes staring back at him beneath the unruly mop of black hair.
"We have a buy two, get one free special!" the young, bubbly brunette said excitedly when Ralph paused.
Ralph glanced up at the display of hair dyes in every shade imaginable and smiled at the idea of what he'd look like with green or platinum blond hair.
"No thank you," Ralph replied politely, "I'm just looking today."
"No worries," the brunette replied, her attitude shifting instantly to boredom when it was obvious he wasn't a potential customer as she turned away from him.
Ralph gave a tight lipped smile and bit back any comments while hurrying on. He passed a Christmas village set up between the escalators, a gingerbread house with Santa ensconced on a throne, two petite women probably still in High School in elf costumes to either side to greet a long line of moms and children.
More than one of the children looked less than thrilled at the prospect of meeting dear old Saint Nick, their mothers gripping and arm or hand to drag them along towards their impending doom.
Ralph smiled at how morbid and grim his mind seemed to be and took an escalator up to the second floor, a dozen different food vendors lining the walls. His eyes chanced upon a woman who seemed to be in her late 30's or early 40's, a tight bright red tube dress clinging to her curves as her black corset high heels clicked across the floor.
He tried to be as unobtrusive as possible, but still let his eyes follow her as she cut a path through the crowd with a selection of shopping bags draped over an arm, a small smile playing across his face at the sight of her too tight dress molding to her ass as it moved and swayed with every step.
In moments the woman was gone, the ebb and flow of the crowd sweeping her along the current of humanity and from sight. Ralph turned towards the food court with a smile, window shopping at the mall always entertaining with such a variety of things put so willingly on display.
He lay claim to a half a chicken and Caesar salad, ignoring how small the tiny chicken must have been or the rather wilted state of a few pieces of lettuce before working his way towards a table that would give him a good view of the passing crowd.
"Ralph?" a soprano voice said in sudden surprise.
Ralph jerked and turned, his eyes going wide in shock when he saw a woman sitting at one of the cookie cutter tables bolted to the food court deck.
She had on a knit Christmas sweater, one that would have done itself proud in many a holiday ugly sweater contest, her brown hair just past her shoulders, narrow, upturned nose and wide mouth just as he remembered. He barely glanced at the woman sitting next to her, his wide, surprised eyes staring into her blue eyes with a matching expression of amazement.
"Ja... Jamie?" Ralph stammered.
"I knew it was you!" Jamie said in delight, "Oh, my god, how are you!"
"I'm... I'm good," Ralph stammered and glanced at the woman sitting across from Jamie who was staring at him suspiciously.
She was taller than Jamie with a thinner build and tight top with a plunging neckline that her assets didn't need to draw the eye downward, and light blond hair cut in a page boy bob. A woman that Ralph was sure normally got the majority of glances of the two women at the table, although he found himself staring unabashed at Jamie.
"Oh... Ralph, this is Mirranda, my best friend. Mirranda, this is Ralph, my friend I told you about who I used to go camping and hiking with!"
"Hi," Mirranda replied noncommittally while Ralph tried not to flinch at the word 'friend'.
"Do you live here in Beaverton now?" Jamie asked delightedly.
"Ahhh, no," Ralph replied, eyes still wide while he gazed down at someone he hadn't seen in over ten years, "I... I have a place in Scappoose."
"Sit down!" Jamie said the moment he finished, Mirranda giving her a quick, disbelieving glance.
"No, that's fine," Ralph replied after noticing that quick glance, "These tables really aren't meant for more than tw..."
"Sit!" Jamie insisted and moved her tray that was littered with the remains of a bowl of chow mein, "Seriously, you are not going anywhere until you tell me what you've been up to!"
Ralph glanced at Mirranda who gave him a tight lipped smile before shifting her tray as well, Ralph smiling apologetically at both women before taking a seat in the hard, plastic chair.
"You're living in Scappoose, where are you working?" Jamie asked the instant he had sat down.
"Just... getting by," Ralph replied evasively, Mirranda giving a slight sniff.
Ralph ignored her and focused on Jamie's beaming smile, her cheeks dimpling while she grinned at him.
"How about you?" Ralph asked, "I thought you were still living in Seattle!"
"Oh... I moved down here a year ago," Jamie replied with a shrug, "Remember I used to work for Fred's?"
"Sure," Ralph said with a nod.
"I was offered a promotion to work in product sourcing, but I had to move down here to take it," Jamie explained, "I mean... duh... it's cheaper here than in Seattle and I was going to be making more money too... so yea... I moved down here!"
"You still get out camping?" Ralph asked.
"The coast," Jamie replied with another shrug, "Mirranda and I stayed at a KOA if you can believe that! I mean, there was a cool shipwreck on the beach across from where we were staying, but yea... nothing like we used to do.
"What about you?"
"I've been doing bits and pieces of the PCT, sailing on the Columbia, kayak camping on the islands. This year I managed to hike from Timberline all the way north close to Troute Lake where we used to go camping at," Ralph said.
"Timberline... like Mt Hood Timberline?" Jamie asked in surprise, "How long did that take?"
In minutes Jamie and Ralph were talking as if ten years had only been a day or two, Jamie glossing over any of his questions on past boyfriends while Ralph simply left it at his having just ended a long term relationship when Jamie had asked if he were dating.
"I can't believe you two used to go camping and skinny dipping and hot springing and you never dated!" Mirranda said almost thirty minutes later, Jamie turning a bright red while Ralph choked on a sip of coke he had just taken, "Jamie, we need to get going if you want to run to Tannasbourne."
The mood between Ralph and Jamie seemed to pop with the slight glare Mirranda cast in Ralph's direction.
"Oh... yea, I'm sorry, but we really do need to get going," Jamie said apologetically.
"No," Ralph replied, "That's fine, it's been really good seeing you again!"
"Yea..." Jamie said while looking at him and then suddenly reached for her purse to dig through it for a moment.
When she came back up for air she had a red marker and reached out to seize Ralph's hand and pull it towards her. Ralph tried to ignore the feel of Jamie's cool fingers holding onto his hand and watched her scribble a number onto his palm.
"Call me tomorrow," Jamie said as she stood up with a smile, "We can go get lunch and really catch up!"
"Yea... sure!" Ralph said while Mirranda stared daggers at him before they both hurried away.
Ralph stared off into the crowd for several minutes without seeing a single person after Jamie and Mirranda had sunk feet first out of sight when they took the escalators down, Jamie giving him a final glance and wave just before he lost sight of her.
Ten years before he and Jamie had been almost inseparable, hiking and camping around Greenwater, Mt Rainer, Corral Pass and Snoqualmie, two years of adventures... which on occasion had included a few cold mountain lakes and a hot spring or three without much in the way of cloths.
He coughed back a laugh and smiled while admitting to himself that going skinny dipping was probably a bit more than 'much in the way of clothes'.
"Or would that be a bit less..." he said under his breath, a passing couple giving him a glance before hurrying away.
The smile faded and he glanced down at the palm of his hand, the clamminess already making the red marker bleed and smear. He used his off hand to pull out his phone and awkwardly open the lock screen. A few more awkward moments and he had the number entered.
Two years of adventures for him to realize that men and women couldn't be 'just friends'. That he hadn't wanted to be 'just friends'. And Jamie hadn't wanted more.
He made a fist, his fingernails digging into the palm of his hand and stood up, chicken and Ceaser salad barely touched, threw away his trash and made for the nearest restroom. As soon as he entered he headed for a sink and reached out to the soap dispenser before hesitating.
He stared at the palm of his hand, the ink smearing even more.
"Hey bud, mind if I use the sink," a voice said from behind.
"Yea... sure," Ralph replied, repeating the same inane words he had said earlier and walked back out of the restroom without even glancing back to see who had spoken.
Ralph didn't even register the drive home, the traffic on 26 or Corn Pass normally so aggravating not even piercing through the turmoil he felt. He took a right just as he was entering town before finally parking in a spot across from the moorage. Even the walk from the lot across the road and onto the docks until he reached his boat didn't really make an impression.
