Ecie & Esme III: Forever and a Day

Eight

'Hey E,' Esme said. 'How's it going with mom and Eric?'

'It's okay,' Ecie replied. 'What about you? What's been happening in LA since I've been gone?'

'I wish I could say there's loads of drama but there really isn't,' Esme replied. 'It's been pretty dull down here.'

'Right,' Ecie said. 'Mom and I went to this homeless shelter the other day and I just broke down completely. I could not hold myself together.'

'Did you meet any of the homeless staying there?'

'Yeah,' Ecie said. 'This lady asked us if we wanted to have a look around and meet some of the people. I'm telling you Es, it was the biggest mistake of my life. I wish that I hadn't of wanted to see it.'

'What sort of stuff did you see?'

'It wasn't so much what we saw, but it was everything the lady was telling us about homeless people in general and then all those personal stories too,' Ecie said wiping her face. 'It was so sad.'

'We've still got that big bag of clothes in the corner of the closet,' Esme said. 'Do you want to drop those off at the shelter sometime this week or something?'

'I'm not sure I'll be able to handle it,' Ecie said. 'You'll have to do it alone.'

'Okay,' Esme nodded understanding. 'So you've just been hanging out in the guest house?'

'Oh no,' Ecie sniffed. 'I'm allowed in the house.'

'Really?'

'Really,' Ecie said. 'I'm sat in one of the bedrooms right now.'

'Where are mom and Eric?'

'Mom is in New York and Eric is in San Diego,' Ecie replied. 'He's coming back tonight though.'

'So you're just at home by yourself now?'

'Yeah,' Ecie nodded. 'I am such a loner.'

'Have you spoken to anyone since you've been there?'

'Not really,' Ecie replied. 'I want to go to dads soon. I miss the beach.'

'Well if you tell me when you're thinking of going, I'll join you,' Esme replied. 'I miss it too.'

Ecie nodded. 'How are Verd and Lauren?'

'They're doing okay,' Esme replied. 'I think things will blow over soon enough.'

'What do you mean?' Ecie asked excitedly. 'What's happened?'

'Nothing,' Esme replied. 'Obviously they slept together and everything and it's a really big deal because Lauren was a virgin and everything, but I don't know.'

'Slow down Es,' Ecie said. 'Start from the beginning again.'

'Lauren said that she hasn't spoken to Verd since they had sex together,' Esme replied. 'I don't even think she's been round to the apartment since.'

'Okay.'

'And Verd is acting really depressed about everything,' Esme went on. 'I think it's a mixture of Lauren, you and his family. He's bummed that Lauren and Ethan are together, but he's not admitting it.'

'And what about Lauren?' Ecie asked.

'She's just acting as though everything is fine,' Esme replied. 'She told me she wasn't sure how to act with Ethan, so I think there might be problems there.'

'They must have known things would be awkward between them.'

'Ecie,' Esme said. 'You think about every time you've ever had sex with someone and you tell me if you've ever been thinking about what's going to happen afterwards.'