Chapter Six Excerpt- Lovely Greens, Unpublished
Marina woke the next morning in a painful, disgruntled daze. A looming feeling of death coursed through her as she tried to blink her crusted eyes open. A flash of light briefly blinded her, and she tightly clamped her eyelids shut. With her head throbbing, Marina considered the possibility of having suffered a concussion in her sleep. This and the terrible ache in the calf of her right leg, made Marina wish she hadn’t woken up yet, if at all.
As she struggled to inch her dry lips apart, Marina caught the stench of her own booze and cigarette laden breath. She closed her mouth and tried swallowing, but couldn’t muster up a single drop of saliva. Her throat trembled as she tried to clear the phlegm and just as the muffled sound escaped her, she felt something move under the sheets.
Marina froze as the movement continued until finally a delicate arm emerged, draping across her body. Marina lay there corpse-like for a moment, examining the tan, lightly freckled limb now resting upon her breasts. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a tussle of long, blonde hair and the outline of the face next to her.
Ella, she thought, as a low snore began cooing from the female's rosy lips.
What happened last night?
As she struggled to remember, the ache in her head got worse. Marina quickly gave up on trying to piece together the events of the night before and decided to get out of bed.
She lifted Ella’s arm tenderly, worming her body out from under it, exiting the bed. As her feet hit the cold floor, she reached up for her wobbly head. Marina knew she’d boozed too hard the night before.
She stood foggy for another minute before realizing she was only wearing panties. A natural modesty kicked in as she swiped her shirt and jeans up from the ground and slipped them on. She winced as the pain in her leg worsened when her jeans tugged against it.
Once suitable, she tiptoed around the nook’s corner and peeked into the trim area. Marina didn’t see anyone and continued to her suitcase, where she pulled out some work clothes before scurrying off to the bathroom.
With the door shut behind her, Marina slipped her pants down, careful to bypass the area on her leg giving her so much trouble.
A gasp escaped her lips as she saw the massive, red lump established in the middle of her calf.
“What is that?” she whispered to herself.
She examined the bulge further, probing it gently. The spot was hot to the touch like a fresh sunburn and seemed to be growing bigger by the second. Marina thought hard about the night before, but there was no point. She couldn’t remember anything.
Maybe washing off last night’s funk will make me feel better, she thought as she turned the shower on. Marina stripped the rest of her clothes off and stepped into the tub. A shrill escaped her as an arctic-like blast of water drenched her body.
As she jumped out of the shower in an effort to escape the water, her foot slipped and she face-planted into her own dirty clothes. A ringing sound drifted through her ears as the throbbing in her head reached maximum capacity. Tears of defeat stung in her eyes as she lay there, wondering if it was worth getting up at all or if she should just wave the white flag and surrender her nose to sniffing skuzzy underwear the rest of day.
After what seemed like a never-ending mind debate, Marina gathered the little bit of grit she had left and pushed herself up from the ground. She took a deep breath, swallowed her emotions, and turned off the shower. With her face still stinging and curses coming from her mouth, she wrapped a towel around her body. She was now mentally kicking herself for not remembering that if she wanted hot water, she’d have to turn the gas heater on.
Marina unlatched the flimsy lock on the door and exited the bathroom to find Sonny. He’d have to show her how to do it. As she approached the screen door, she saw him at his usual spot on the deck, drinking coffee, and practicing his meditation.
“Hi Sonny,” she grumbled, approaching him from behind.
“Good morning, sunshine,” he replied, turning towards her. “I thought I heard a bang in there. Everything okay?” he asked, giving her a once over.
Marina opened her mouth to speak, “Yes, well no,” she began, but stopped when she saw a look of shock flash across his face.
“What is it?” she asked in a panic. “Sonny, tell me what’s wrong.”
He shot up from the deck and began walking towards her. “Marina, let me see your mouth. Open it up, wide for me.”
As she followed his instructions her tongue began conducting a search of its own, tracing her lips first, followed by her teeth. Sonny was now standing in front of her, looking closely at her mouth.
“Marina, I don’t know how to say this, but,” and he paused, like he was trying to gather the courage to tell her something horrible.
In that moment, she knew what he was going to say. Her tongue had already figured it out. There was a sharp edge to one of her front teeth that hadn’t been there before. Her eyes widened as her tongue traced over it again and again.
“Oh god,” she whispered. “It’s chipped, isn’t it?”
Sonny stared at her with bewilderment as if she were a wild animal about to attack. His hands moved protectively onto her shoulders, holding her in place.
“Now Marina, it’s not as bad as you think,” he began. “There are plenty of dentists in the area.”
Tears filled her eyes as she felt a sharp pain come from the tip of her tongue. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.
Marina closed her mouth and slowly backed away from Sonny, wiggling out of his grip. She turned around and as calmly as she could, went back inside The Fort and straight to the bathroom. She watched in the broken mirror as his reflection followed her. She bent over the sink, opened her mouth up wide to see what her new smile looked like, and all the air left her body.
Her once perfectly polished teeth were now flawed. A small, but clearly visible chip was missing from one of the front two. Her tongue, still bleeding, slipped over it. Marina brought a manicured finger up to her mouth and felt the sharp edge.
Sonny closed in on her again. “Marina, its okay. It’s not that noticeable. You can call a dentist up here and get it fixed if you want.”
Marina was shaking her head as the tears continued filling her eyes. “Not that noticeable, Sonny? How can you even say that?”
Her body began to grow hot as anger consumed her. “I’m not cut out for this place! I suck at my job and I’m a city girl! Not some hillbilly woods-woman!” Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. “Hell, I can’t even take care of myself!”
“Marina calm down, please. Ella’s still sleeping in here.”
Her breath caught as she thought of Ella.
A memory from the night before came back to her.
Her hands groping Ella’s soft body, their mouths together, the sensual way Ella tickled her skin, and how uninhibited she'd been.
Marina’s head dropped in shame. Her body began pulsing with desire, while her face burned. Feelings of lust and embarrassment competed with each other.
How could I have done that?
Making out with someone I don’t even know, let alone a woman.
What's happening to me?
Or, what kind of person is this place turning me into?
Sonny shifting his weight broke Marina from her thoughts.
She took a deep breath and said, “I’m an adult and still don’t even know what I want. I don’t even know who I am.”
“Who do you want to be?” a soft voice asked.
Marina turned and saw Ella standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a flannel shirt and her panties from the night before. Small, sleepy eyes seemed to engulf Marina, pulling at her heart. The smile Ella wore could melt butter in the middle of a blizzard.
Marina began stuttering something, but was stopped short by the strange look on Ella's face.
God, she already sees right through me. I'm such a mess. A phony.
Sweat popped up across her body as an embarrassed heat swept over her. Her nails began digging into her palms, and she bit her bottom lip.
As the fresh blood met her tongue, Marina was finally getting a taste of what obstacles she would would soon face. This trip would give her the chance to finally figure out who she really was.