Carved

CHAPTER 1

ELLA

“Thank you, Fate.”

I was sitting in the living room with my best friend Whisper. That is not a nickname. It is in fact her name.  Her parents thought it would be fitting since she was quiet when she was born. Her first cry was a mere whisper.  They said they were the envy of all the other parents with crying babies. Now they joke they are sure one of the parents put some kind of jinx, curse, or spell on them when they left the hospital. Whisper has done nothing but talk, yell and cry since. 

Of course, life with Whisper wouldn’t be interesting in any other way. I love her as is.  She has been there for me through thick and thin over the past few years. I met her towards the end of my junior year of high school.  We were both waiting to see the counselor after school and challenged each other how many times we could get Mrs. Greene to say ‘oh my’ during our sessions.  Whisper won and after her reenactment of her session I believed she was being truthful about her count.  

During college we started a girl band with two other friends.  We met Brittany and Amber at a bar near the college on karaoke night.  Amber jumped on stage when the microphone was free. She asked for volunteers to help sing a song that her aunt loved and brought good memories.  When she announced the song nobody stood up right away, I finally joined her on stage. We started to sing Carole King’s ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ together.  Brittany and Whisper climbed up on stage soon after to join us. That’s how we started a friendship and band with the girls that would always be in my life.    

Whisper shakes her head after taking another drink of her early morning mimosa.  She stretches her long legs and fixes the pants of her pink silk pajama pants. “Stop being sarcastic.  You can’t fight fate.”  

“Well, its fate's fault.”  I whine and know I sound like a child.  I mean I have to blame somebody for ruining my life.  Why not fate?  

She sits on the couch criss cross applesauce style and starts to braid her long blonde hair.  “I can’t believe he moved here to be with you. It’s…sweet.”  

“It’s wrong.  All wrong. I had this all worked out.  We were going to take things slow. He in New York.  Me here. We would get to know each other. Work up a long distance romance.  Fall in love. Let the distance work it's magic and poof," I mimic an explosion with my hands.  "No more bad luck. Oh, but no. He had to move here and ruin everything. The whole plan burned to ashes.  Almost literally."

"That's not funny."  She smacks me in the face with a couch pillow.

I keep the pillow to hide my face and cry out my sorrows.  "He never gave me a clue. I thought he was happy in New York.  One year. That's all I needed. One year.”  

"You can go without sex for a whole year?"  She sounds horrored by the thought.

"Whisper!  I haven't had sex for twenty-three years.  What's another year?" I hug the small blue couch pillow against me tightly.  “The way things are hping, I'll never have sex. Ever. I'll live a lonely life with a cat named Pickles, crossword puzzles, and the latest models of vibrators to keep me company."

"I thought he would be the one.  Guys don't up and leave their jobs for nothing."  She frowns in disappointment of not getting my love story.

"I knew he was getting a promotion, but he never said it was in Philly.  Whisper, the night started with me throwing him to the ground. It should have been a sign that the day was going to crash to the ground with him.”  I sigh.

“Were you both naked when you threw him to the ground?”  She beams and raises her eyebrows.  

“No!  That wouldn't even have been possible.  You know that.” I hit her with the pillow and hug it to me again.  “He showed up at Duck’s and wrapped his arms around me when I wasn’t looking.”