Ink and Shadows by Ellery Adams

Author:Ellery Adams [Adams, Ellery]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2020-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Only cowards torture women.

—Patricia Briggs

“I know you’re in there!” shouted the woman on Nora’s deck. “Stop acting like a child and open the door. It’s just me. Bobbie. I used to be your best friend. Remember? I miss you, goddamn it. I’ve missed you so much. You have no idea. We were friends for twenty years and then, poof! You were gone. I would have given anything to have heard from you just once after you left. Just once.”

Nora pressed her back against the door as if she expected Bobbie to break it down. And though it kept Bobbie out, her words got in. As Nora listened, her eyes filled with tears. Abandoning her defensive post, she opened the door.

“I go by Nora now,” she told the woman on her welcome mat.

“I assumed it’s after the Nora from Ibsen’s play, though I don’t see why. You can explain that to me, among other things. Or you can tell me nothing.” Bobbie held out her hands. “Just let me come inside so I can give you a hug.”

Nora stepped back as Roberta Rabinowitz, aka Bobbie, walked into her house. Bobbie dropped her bag on the floor and threw her arms around Nora.

“I can’t believe it’s really you,” she whispered. “Gawd, it’s been way too long. Let me look at you.”

The two women broke apart. They studied each other’s tear-and-mascara-streaked faces until they both dissolved into laughter.

“Two hot messes in a pod,” said Nora.

“You got that right.” Bobbie pulled a bottle of wine from her bag and pointed at the kitchen. “Nora’s a fitting name for a woman living in a dollhouse. Do you drink out of thimbles, or do you have big girl glasses?”

Nora didn’t stop to consider her actions. She just opened a cabinet and took out a pair of wineglasses. “Remember our rule. No heavy talk until after the toast.”

Bobbie smiled. “It’s a good rule. Like a couple agreeing never to go to bed angry.”

As Nora twisted the corkscrew into the cork, her eyes strayed to Bobbie’s ring finger. She was happy to see a gold band. Bobbie’s marriage was still intact.

The cork came out with a muffled pop. Nora tossed it in the bin while Bobbie poured. When she was done, she picked up her glass and said, “‘Ho! Ho! Ho! To the bottle I go.’”

“ ‘To heal my heart and drown my woe,’ ” Nora said, completing the Tolkien couplet.

The women clinked rims and drank.

The wine, a fine Cabernet from Napa Valley, filled Nora’s mouth with a bouquet of summer flavors. She tasted plum, cherries, rich earth, and dark chocolate. The wine was full-bodied and smooth. It flowed down her throat and seeped into her blood, soothing her frayed nerves.

“You look different,” said Bobbie. “But I still see the old you.”

Nora stood up and pulled her sweater over her head. Stripped down to her white camisole, her scars were on full display. She pivoted, letting Bobbie see exactly how much she’d changed.

“My face was burned too,” she said.

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