Lost in the Woods by Chris Page

Author:Chris Page [Page, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2020-12-27T22:00:00+00:00

16

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The diner was made new by Carrie’s absence, the little details coming back into focus after so many weeks. Months. She wasn’t sure how long it had been, but it appeared long enough to turn over the staff. She didn’t recognize the faces of the waiters, the host, the line cooks. She found herself watching them curiously, the smoke rising off the grill over their sweat drenched faces. They were framed by the counter that separated them from the wait staff. It was a thin rectangle that kept them caged in their positions, slaving over burgers, fries, chicken strips.

“I just…” Jackie’s voice pulled Carrie’s attention away from the kitchen.

She viewed her friend out of focus. Carrie’s eyes stared listlessly through her, letting Jackie’s features fall out of relief. There was the crooked mouth, her short, dirty blonde hair, her roundish face, but all were made fuzzy by Carrie’s indifferent gaze. At one point in their history, Carrie had considered Jackie chubby on her way to fat. Now, she looked normal. Even if she had gained ten pounds. Jackie was Carrie’s age, yet Carrie had always perceived her as older. She was more conservative, traditional, and suburban. Despite her ugly divorce and lack of children, Jackie exuded all the composure of a middle American, middle class mother. Maybe she’d been jealous of Carrie’s family. Carrie shrugged off the thought, disinterested.

Carrie sighed. She leaned back in the booth and let her body sink a little into its cushion. “Jackie, I know you’re concerned about me. I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Tell me why, Carrie. Why are you doing this?”

Carrie crossed her arms, half out of anger, half from exhaustion. “Doing what?”

Jackie lowered her head. “You’re spiralling. You keep going on these walks through the forest, you don’t seem to care about anything else.” Jackie turned her head to the side. “Certainly not your friends.”

Carrie wanted to roll her eyes. She wanted to question her friend’s sympathy. Instead, she reached a hand halfway across the table and laid it down between them. “Jackie, I care about you. I’m just…” She pulled her hand back and slumped, “...tired.” Her eyes fell to the picked over cobb salad resting before her. She had mashed up the hard boiled egg into the greens. She didn’t like the egg, but couldn’t help idly playing with it while she awaited Jackie’s conversation. Now it was ruined. She scowled. “I don’t care what you think,” she muttered.

Jackie’s mouth opened in shock. “What?”

Carrie lifted only her eyes, her chin resting against her chest. “I said I don’t care what you think. I don’t care what anyone thinks.”

She watched the muscles in Jackie’s face tighten. “You really think you know what you’re doing. You really think there’s a point to it. Carrie, you’re grieving, can’t you see that? I mean, for Pete’s sake, it’s been a year!”

“Eight months, two weeks, three days. From last physical trace of Benjamin.”

Jackie’s face went blank. Then she exhaled. “And you think he’s still out there?”

Out there.

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