Tilting my gaze away from the breeze, I shifted the phone to read off Mary's address. Yup, this should be the place. As the wind died down I slid my phone into its pocket and set my hues on a small, solitary building that happily took up its own side of the street. Half clinic, half home. Clamping itself on the city by its tail end, her business bloomed slowly from its few loyal clients. I had too many questions to feel comfortable in my own skin. That's why I came here. That's why I risked breaking Rose's trust. I needed to make things right, for both of us.
A few cars were parked to the side, which was to be expected, but I just hoped that I wasn't intruding on her job. I made plans to meet with her, of course, but getting her number was a whole other issue. Rose had Mary's number, which meant that I had to try and fish it out while she was making us dinner. God, I felt dirty for doing that. All this sneaking around...I hated myself for it. What else was I supposed to do? Rose wouldn't speak to me about anything, and then that weird girl showed up. Something bad was coming and it terrified me. I refused to sit in the dark any longer.
I shook away my procrastination to focus on the job at hand. Speak to Mary, learn whatever I can. Reaching for her buzzer, I nudged it softly but retracted my hand instantly when a muffled beep came from inside. For a while, the wind was my only company, until I heard her voice come through the machine, "Doctor Kalikov, what's up?" My brow raised and then I dulled onto my heels. Without much in the way of communication, I instead pressed my thumb to the buzzer in hopes that she would get the picture. After a few moments, her voice came through again and the tiny amount of formality she had was lost rather quickly, "Oh, Eve!? Come on in. Go through the lobby and then to the right. We'll talk there."
Cracking a smile, the door gave away and allowed me to enter. The place was small but perfectly sized for its function. To the left was her living area and the right led to the clinic where she worked. So, I followed her directions and steadily made my way to the right. I was expecting a cup of coffee and a long, serious, talk...but I was swiftly reminded of the type of person that Mary was. I shoved the door aside and a pink hue burned my cheeks. A woman was sitting on a massage bed with her shirt popped open, faced away from me. And there Mary was, blissfully groping her breasts and smiling as I walked in.
My eyes darted for safety in the corner of the room, taking very hesitant glances at them. "Hey, just give me a second, okay?" she motioned with her head towards a chair. The woman didn't seem to care of my presence in the room but had a rather concerned expression across her features. She wasn't worried about me, so I guessed that it'd be okay for me to come in. Besides, the walk to get to Mary's place was exhausting and the option to sit was very welcoming. Even with the initial shock settling, I tried my hardest not to stare as I shifted along the wall to find my seat.
"So...is there anything wrong?" the woman asked with furrowed brows.
Mary shook her head, "No, no, no. Nothing to worry about. It's common for some pain or discomfort in the first trimester," her hands waved casually.
The woman eased a little and started working her buttons together, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, you'll be fine. No lumps or bumps that shouldn't be there. Your body is getting ready for the baby, that's all," she responded with a wide, warm grin.
I cringed at her words, digging my digits into my thighs. A baby. It was wrong of me to feel this way, and I knew it, but that word was like a burning cigarette being mushed against the back of my neck.
"Oh...okay," the woman nodded slowly, some relief creeping through her stern exterior. "Thank you, um..." her words fell short and along came a subtle blush.
"Mary. Please call me Mary." she hurried to clear up the awkward atmosphere.
Nodding, the woman scooted closer to the edge and hopped off. "Well, thank you, Mary. If it gets worse then I'll drop by, if that's okay," she said shyly under her breath.
Mary placed a hand on her shoulder and led her towards the door. "Absolutely. You should be fine, but I can recommend you some exercises to help the discomfort. I'm sure your husband will enjoy them, too," she teased and stuck out her tongue. The woman's blush burned brighter but she allowed herself to giggle as she made her way out.
I remained inside, keeping myself extremely busy by staring at the wall. They spoke a bit outside, a door closed and then Mary came into the room with me. "Sorry about that," she strolled on by, fighting with her hair band, clearly flustered. Coming to a halt, she pulled her hair loose, allowing those multi-colored feathers to bounce free. "She came by out of nowhere, and business is slow these days, ya know?" her chest heaved with a sigh before she turned to properly address me, as well as the issue at hand. "So, you're here for a reason. Speak now or forever hold your peace," she smirked.
Nodding, I hurried to retrieve my notepad secured safely inside my hoodie. It flipped open in my lap and with it came a pen. There was only one reason why I was there, but it was so important to me. A question that was lingering around me, a bad odor, a potent aftertaste, a bruise on my neck. I swallowed hard at the thought and tenderly rubbed the side of my throat. That's why I was here. Pen to paper, I showed her the message, 'I want to know more about Rose.'
She tensed for a moment before releasing a long exhale. Maybe my request was asking for more than I thought. "Well..." she shrugged in defeat, "...I don't really know much about her. But why do you care anyways?"
The pen flipped from finger to finger as I juggled my next response. Do I tell her the truth about everything? No, going behind Rose's back was bad enough so I'd rather not say something that could potentially hurt her. 'She's important to me.'
"Figured as much," inching backwards, she sunk down onto the spongy bed to get comfortable. "Rose isn't the type to hang out with people off a whim, so I was kinda surprised to hear that she was bringing a friend to the cafe. You must mean a lot to her, too." Falling silent, she thought for a moment and then opened up, "Like I said, I don't know much about her, but I can tell you everything that I do know. She probably hasn't told you anything, just like me."
My chest warmed and I quickly wrote another word, 'Please.'
Pushing herself further up onto the bed, she crossed her legs and found my eyes. "Alright, but don't tell her I said any of this. She's a good friend of mine, so don't go fuck it up, ya hear?" she tensed and eased, her entire vibe slowing to a halt. "It's been a few years since it happened and I have the memory of a radish, so bear with me. This is how I met Rose..."
- 4 Years Ago -
Mary sighed in relief as the cleaner air filled her lungs. Finally free of that rotten stench and that fear always looming over her shoulder, the subtle terror around every corner. It was all gone and far behind her, along with that small patch of hell people called a city. She couldn't complain too much, though, since one of her most wealthy clients lived there and she paid very well. One quick checkup every once in a while was just about as much as she could tolerate of that place. Nothing bad had ever come her way, but she knew the stories of what went on inside that city were true. Women and children being raped in broad daylight, murder being a common day-to-day thing, drug trade and gangs controlling the streets. Only the strong survive while the weak get used and consumed by everyone around them.
But man, that fresh air was great. Rolling open her window a little, the occasional drops of rain would find their way onto her arm. The drive was gonna be long. Shifting in her seat, she tightened her grip on the steering wheel but paid no attention to the road. She'd driven out this way enough times to realize that no one went to that city, they only left it. Keeping her gaze to the side, the dead and empty fields became greener with every passing minute, soon sprouting trees and crops as she neared the local farms. Eventually her vision was blocked entirely by rows of produce and so she turned forward to see the road, and a dark object lying in the center of it. It took her a second before the rest of her body was able to respond. She kicked the brakes down and cringed as her wheels skidded through the mud but not slowing enough. Throwing the steering wheel across her, the car spun out of control, only to ram a few rows deep into the fields where it came to an abrupt halt.
Silence. Some time passed before her frozen fingers loosened themselves from the wheel. What the hell was that? A body? Relinquishing a shaky breath, she reached for her handle and popped the door open to take a look. There's no way. Why would someone be out here? She parted the foliage carefully, anxiously approaching. It came into view, a young woman in tattered clothing, a red backpack being hugged to her chest, blood running down the knuckles of her right hand. How far had this girl traveled before she dropped dead in the middle of nowhere? At least a three or four hour walk from any kind of building and trying to do it in the rain was just stupid...or desperate.
