Almost Crimson by Dasha Kelly

Author:Dasha Kelly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Curbside Splendor Publishing
Published: 2015-06-29T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

GUT

“HI, BRIAN, THIS IS CECE Weathers. I got your message and wanted to let you know I talked with the agency that writes my renter’s insurance. They’ll be able to write the house policy, too. Thanks for the other number, though. I’ll send a copy of the certificate once I get it.”

CeCe placed the cell phone on top of the spreadsheets on her desk. She hadn’t gotten much work done after Kester popped into her office earlier and made her cry. Her office door was closed now and the hallway blinds drawn, both rare gestures in their office and universally respected as Do Not Disturb Unless You’re Kester.

CeCe picked up her tea and cupped the mug with both hands. She rested the rim against her chin, letting the steam scale her face. CeCe loved the ritual of tea, selecting new flavors, steeping the water, breathing in the exotic aromas. Her old roommate, Terri, had converted her from coffee to tea.

Terri.

CeCe scanned her phone directory for Terri’s number. They’d traded random texts from time to time, but hadn’t had a long, leisurely conversation since Terri’s birthday party earlier in the year. Terri had been busy with her new job as an art therapy instructor as well as planning for her own exhibit later in the year. Terri would always be CeCe’s unofficial big sister, something she desperately needed right now.

She answered right away with her usual cheer. CeCe could hear the wind flicking at Terri’s earphones. She had caught Terri on her daily walk.

“Call me back when you’re done?” CeCe asked.

“No, sis, this is good. I thought about you the other day,” Terri said, her voice strained but steady. “What are you up to?”

“Having a cup of tea,” CeCe said, looking down into her mug. She listened to the rhythm in Terri’s breathing.

“Really?” Terri said, her voice full of humor. “I just knew you would go back to coffee.”

“Nope. I’m hardcore, now,” CeCe said. “I even buy the expensive stuff.”

Terri laughed. “Your body thanks you.”

“And I thank you,” CeCe said.

“Again,” Terri said, a large truck rumbling by in the background, “what are you up to?”

“I’m moving out,” CeCe said.

“I thought you loved that place,” Terri said.

She was right. When CeCe had first moved into their apartment, Terri had been entertained to watch CeCe bask in a newfound independence. CeCe had been twenty-three, restless and dumbfounded by the reality of freedom.

“I did love the apartment. I mean, I do,” CeCe said. “I got a house this week.”

“A house? You bought a house?”

“No,” CeCe said, “Doris—remember Doris from the mall? She gave me her house in a kind of pre-bequeathing.”

“Get out of here!” Terri exclaimed, then CeCe heard her mumble an apologetic disclaimer to a passerby. “I guess that’s great news and terrible news all at once. What’s wrong with her?”

“Cancer,” CeCe said. She thought of Doris standing in front of the naked window then, filled with pride and illness. “Said she’s done with treatments. Gonna spend the remaining year or two traveling.”

Terri was quiet.

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