Rooftops

Two

||Two||

Roaming the halls of Jade's new house, I take in every detail. She and Robert have been living together for the last three years; they moved in together two years after I moved to Texas. When she first told me she was moving in with him, I was shocked, but overall I was happy for them both. If anybody deserved to be truly happy, it was the both of them. After all the shit that they went through when they first got together, they deserved happiness.

The ceilings of their home were high, the walls were an eggshell white, and the interior décor screamed 'adult'. It was odd, how just five years ago, Jade had Star Wars towels in her bathroom, and now beautiful crème and soft green hand towels replaced them- towels that were just meant for show.

See, that was what our lives had come to. Towels that were just for show, and living rooms that were never used. It was a life we had created for ourselves. A life that we had always dreamed of- never having to worry about ends meet like our families did.

"So what do you think?" Jade asks me when I enter the kitchen- she's making dinner and drinking wine.

"Of the house? I like it." I tell her taking a seat behind the island counter. Jade steps away from the stove and pours me a glass of red wine.

Taking it from her, I take a sip before setting it down onto the counter. "So what are you cooking?"

Looking over her shoulder, J smirks, "The only thing I know how to make- spaghetti."

Chuckling under my breath I stare at my glass of wine. We sit in silence for a while, listening to soft hum of a song playing on the speakers throughout the house. Jade stirs the pasta with her left hand as she sits on the counter-top with her wine glass in her right hand.

"How are things between you and Rob?"

Jade smiles, "Great. He's in Atlanta right now- shooting a movie."

Raising my large glass up to my lips I mumble, "What's it about?" before taking a large drink.

J shrugs, "All I know is that it's an action film."

Silence falls after that and Jade jumps off the counter and walks towards the pantry. She opens the door and flicks the light on, walking into the walk-in pantry to retrieve a bottle of spaghetti sauce.

"Can I ask you something?" I ask her once she comes back out from the pantry. My eyes are still trained on the glass before me. I've never been a wine kind of gal but for the moment this would do. Maybe later tonight I'd raid Rob's liquor cabinet for something stronger.

"Of course,"

"How is he?" I don't say his name. I haven't mentioned him in five years and I don't think tonight is going to be the night I do, but Jade knows who I'm talking about. I know she does because her smile saddens when I look up and meet her gaze.

"He's good." She says after a few seconds of silence. She nods her head and takes a drink from her glass of wine, repeating, "He's good."