Some of them Witches

Chapter 18

Marianne had been anticipating and avoiding this conversation for two years. She sat in the booth watching the little wisps of steam come off her tea, rather than drink it. Her nerves had discouraged any merry ordering of pastries and now her stomach was staging an angry protest. Checking the time and seeing it was still a little earlier than they had agreed, she contemplated going back to the counter but then the chime of the door being opened caught her attention, and there she was.

Virginia looked much the same in her impeccably tailored vintage black and white get-up and sober expression. The only difference Marianne could see was her hair, which she now wore close-cropped, giving her a Rosemary's baby look that suited her angular features, sharpening them. She spotted Marianne who'd chosen a booth near the back of the little coffee shop. As she approached, Marianne stood, managing a smile she hoped looked more sincere than she felt. Virginia... the Virginia was standing right before her, hands holding her purse casually in front of her. There would be no accompanying awkward hug to go with their silent greeting as she slid into the opposite side of the booth.

The silence bordered on grating until Marianne thought, "Sorry, I didn't order you anything. Do you want to grab a drink?"

"In a bit, maybe." Her voice rich like honey poured into Marianne, filling her with an almost overwhelming sudden warmth. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Happy to have it done with. I've only been back since Wednesday so it's still kind of weird. I'm sure you know the feeling." Shut up. "How's everything with you?"

"Everything is good. Violet and I started doing home renovations and Lily did her first spell."

"What did she burn?"

Virginia sputtered a nervous laugh at that. "Nothing, thankfully just some intuition offshoots so far but I'm sure she will soon."

"She always was a bit of a firecracker."

"Oh she still is, I assure you."

"So you and Violet ended up getting that business together?"

"Yes. It's actually going rather well. She takes care of finding and buying the houses, I take care of the renovations and we resell."

"Sounds like you're enjoying it."

Virginia shrugged her shoulders. "It's something to do."

Marianne thought back to all their long drawn out philosophical discussions and all-out debates. How did they become two people struggling with small talk in a coffee shop when neither of them drank coffee? "Why a coffee shop?"

Virginia looked around like she was only now noticing their surroundings. "It seemed like the appropriate venue for..." she trailed off, seemingly uncertain.

"For meeting someone you haven't spoken to in two years?" Marianne could see the color rise in Virginia's face across the table.

"You texted me. Why?"

Finally, the real Virginia. "I'd been drinking," admitted Marianne.

"Lovely," she said only mildly scornfully.

It was partly the truth. Miller had suggested celebratory drinks for her home welcoming celebration which at the time seemed like a great idea to technically homeless Marianne who was crashing on Miller's couch while his roommate avoided the living room. They drank until Marianne thought texting I'm back was as good a way to break the ice as any.

"I wanted to see you. Why did you ask me to meet you here?"

Because as bizarre as it was for Marianne to send her a text like that after so much silence, the only thing more bizarre was Virginia's reply of Can we meet?

"I thought it couldn't hurt to clear the air. I didn't like the idea of our last conversation being our last conversation, I suppose."

"You didn't like it?" The indignation was rising in Marianne who tried to push it down. She had been the one to leave, after all.

"I know I didn't respond the way you wanted me to, but you just took off. After everything, you just disappeared."

"I'm so sorry I didn't stick around to repay all your kindness after you rejected me." Marianne said it sarcastically and hated herself instantly for only being able to say the truth this way. She took a deep breath and exhaled a soft, "I'm sorry." Virginia's rigid posture softened somewhat, unsure. "You were always kind to me and I wasn't thinking about that when I left. I was too wrapped up in..." us. "Anyway, I'm sorry. That's what I wanted to say after I had all that time to think about it."

Marianne gave her a rueful smile and Virginia looked away out the window so it was her reflection in the glass that said, "What do you think you'll do now?"

"I'm heading out to Marfa in a few days."

Virginia's face whipped back to Marianne's. "Leaving again so soon?"

"Yeah well, I don't really live here anymore." She shrugged in what she hoped was a carefree gesture. "I don't really live anywhere. Seems like a good time to look around."

"Why Marfa?"

"Apparently they have a pretty cool art scene and not much else. Thought I might get inspired to make things again. It's all I ever really liked doing and I wasn't allowed a whole lot of creative freedom in the army."

"They aren't the most innovative bunch," she agreed.

"Figured I could start there and keep going if it's not for me until I find a place that is."

Their conversation wound down naturally from there. Virginia never did get herself anything to drink and when they exited, the idea of saying goodbye weighed heavily on Marianne though she was determined not to show it. She thought a hug might be more contact than she could handle but a handshake seemed unnecessarily cool. Virginia only winced at the sudden brightness, getting her designer sunglasses on with practiced ease. Marianne turned away from her so they were both facing forward on the curb and took her hand, giving it one squeeze before loosening her grip.

"Goodbye." She stepped down from the curb, expecting her hand to fall from Virginia's but it didn't. When Marianne looked from their clasped hands to her face, there were tears rolling down her cheeks from behind her dark sunglasses.