The next day I set out to do some shopping. The previous night still had me a little rattled but jesus, getting off had done me a world of good. I'd thrown my sheets in the wash after breakfast and headed off into town to get some things. Back home in Botaka my family did most of our shopping in bulk by driving to the nearest town with a Walmart or occasionally buying stuff online. Feltville was large enough to actually had some specialist shops rather than just the big box-marts and I knew one or two items I knew I wanted. First, I wanted a table cloth to cover up my ugly, cheap kitchen table and I found an adorable blue one with a floral pattern. Second, wine glasses, which was easy enough -- and I decided to get a bottle of wine, too, while I was at it. I picked up some assorted items for my kitchen, too, although by now I was getting quite heavily ladened down with bags and my credit card was metaphorically weighing me down, too. I probably didn't spend more than $50, but back then that was a lot. I decided to head back home. Halfway back to my apartment building I felt my phone buzz, and I fished it out while shuffling bags around. It was a text from Jamie.
>Hey hun, u in?<
>Out shpping atm, whats up?< I waited a minute for a reply, but it didn't show up until I started walking again. Re-shuffle the bags, phone out:
>Need to talk about last night. Please, I don't want any weirdness< My heart froze and I barely dared move. I walked home with my legs feeling like lead, like I was walking to my death. Had I fucked up my only friendship in town? Had I just made myself a pariah? Jamie seemed to know so many people, was she going to tell everyone I was pervert? I walked up the stairs to our floor slowly, dreading what was to come. I dropped my bags inside the door, took a deep breath and wrote:
>in now<
>Want to come over?< I didn't really know what to do, what I wanted was to sink through the floor and disappear from the face of the Earth. But I just replied 'ok' and went over. I knocked and she opened the door, smiling at me but not as cheerily as I was used to by now. She let me in and a little surprisingly she walked into her living room and sat down on the sofa -- the same sofa we'd sat in and drunk wine together the night before. Would we ever again, I wondered as I carefully sat down next to her.
"So..." she said, finally. I didn't know what to say so I said nothing. I was mortified. "I... just want to know if you're..." that was as far as Jamie got before I started crying. I couldn't help myself, the tears just started flowing and I couldn't stop. I started bawling like a child. Jamie looked horrified.
"Hey, hold on there, hun- schh, schh, it's okay!" she suddenly had her arms around me and held me tight as I wept openly. Her perfume smelt of pine and lavender.
"I- I'm so sorry" I said as my breathing got back to normal and Jamie got me some tissues to wipe my face with "I've never done anything like this in my life before!"
"What, you've never eavesdropped before?" Jamie asked, her tone flat.
"Not like that -- I'm so sorry I know it was wrong, I never meant to-" she suddenly brought her hands up and smiled.
"Honey, I'm not upset about that." I stared at her.
"You're not?"
"...well okay, yeah maybe a little, but I'm assuming your bedroom and mine are wall-to-wall?"
"Yeah."
"Right, so really, how could you not have eavesdropped?" I mean, I wish you'd have come talked to me and asked me to keep it down or...." she grinned "or at least subscribed." I blushed. "I just want to check if you were planning on telling Rob."
"Rob?" I asked.
"Yeah. Rob, our landlord?"
