Ephemeral Reverie #1 - The Silence Between

Chapter Five - Harsh Words

Charlie wasn't really thinking as she walked the path towards town. She just felt this sudden urgency to leave the house—nowhere in particular in mind, just as long as she put as much distance between herself and whatever had just happened as possible. Tal's shop came and went, Charlie passing by without so much as an upward glance. Snapping back, she realized just where she had wandered: Astrals-damned JaeCo Films.

She did promise to drop by and speak to Griff, but was now really a good time? Reluctantly she trudged up to the doors.

Unlike the places in the city that were an instant assault on her senses the moment she walked in the door, this place had more of that small-town vibe she loved so much. Framed posters of current and upcoming films lined the walls, complimented by life-size cutouts of all the top actors and actresses. The double doors to the only viewing room had a marquis showing which movies played at which times. And at the concession stand, changing out the available snacks and drinks on the neon pricing boards was...

"Hey, Charlie!"

Griff descended the stepladder and turned towards her, stashing the leftover letters in the drawer with one hand and tugging out his earbuds with the other. He had a wide grin on his face, like seeing her was the best thing to happen all day. Though judging from the fact he was stuck behind a counter all day in a dead movie theater did seem pretty dismal.

Charlie forced a smile in return, looking anywhere but his eyes. She didn't want him to see how red hers most likely were. Instead, she flicked her gaze to the current list of playing movies. "Hey, back. Bossman know you're listening to music on the clock? Pretty sure he'd shit a brick if not."

Griff shrugged. "Eh, he can blow me. The same shitty music through the fifty-year-old speakers every night can drive even the strongest guys crazy. Didn't you work for Jaeger at some point?"

She immediately recoiled at having to recall the memories for a second time in one night. "No, but I might as well have. It was Jorgen Chase HQ. I worked as secretary to the CEO," she said, jabbing a thumb back at herself. "So basically, when someone pissed the Big Lady off, shit would roll down hill and I'd get the brunt of her attitude."

"That sounds...incredibly shitty."

"It was right next door to the JaeMart HQ and it was enough to make me never want to set foot inside one of their places again, regardless of what it was."

"Girl, same," he replied, rolling his eyes towards the neon JAECO FILMS sign on the nearby wall. "So, you finally feeling up to reminiscing a bit? I'm hitting the saloon tonight because someone ditched me in favor of his shitty girlfriend."

Charlie thought about it a moment. She didn't really want to go home—not right now. And without the sass and glares from the rest of the posse, it sounded like the perfect opportunity to settle her nerves. She'd been wanting so badly to talk to him, and this was the perfect time to let things go without worrying about catty remarks or cold stares.

"I'd love to, Griff."

He grinned. "Hell yeah! Meet up at six, my girl!"

"It's a date," Charlie said with some friendly flirting, and Griff grinned back.

‡ † ‡

While not a real 'date', Charlie felt it would have been the best one she'd ever been on. The beer was ice cold, Cal's pizza was absolute perfection, and Griff was everything Charlie feared he wouldn't be. In the span of an hour, they'd caught up and things were like no time at all had passed between them.