Read Online A Long Thaw by Katie O’Rourke - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Katie O’Rourke
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sits up straighter. ‘Okay, then.’ She replaces the lid, but she doesn’t move the box. It sits in the middle of the table through the awkward pause in the conversation, through Juliet’s monologue about her workday and after the pizza arrives. Juliet notices that Abby doesn’t say a word to Jesse for the rest of the night, but she does seem to keep a pretty close eye on him. Juliet and Ryan do most of the talking. Jesse devours four pieces of pizza and Abby watches him chew.
Juliet sits in bed rubbing lotion into the elephant skin of her elbows. Jesse kicks the heel of his boots against the floor, hops and shakes them off, one at a time. He bends, reaching for the back hem of his sweater and undershirt. As he pulls them off, Juliet can count the ribs in his arched body. He leaves his clothes in a pile on the floor and stands there bare-chested, absentmindedly running his fingers through his hair. His chest is pale and hairless, scrawny as a little boy’s.
He yawns.
‘You’re cute,’ Juliet says, raising her eyebrows up and down in an exaggerated display of sexuality.
‘Oh, yeah?’ Jesse crawls towards her on the bed and bites her softly on the shoulder. She giggles.
‘Gimme that.’ Jesse holds out his hand and she passes him the bottle of lotion. He scrambles to the foot of the bed and puts her feet in his lap. He squeezes the bottle and then slaps the bottom impatiently. In the end, he squeezes out a bit too much.
‘Here.’ Juliet leans forward and scoops up some of the excess.
Jesse takes her foot between both of his hands. ‘The bottoms are like leather,’ he says.
She kicks him with her other foot. ‘Shut up.’
‘Well.’ He shrugs. This is his argument.
Juliet leans her head back into the pillows. ‘You never say nice things.’ She closes her eyes and tries to lose herself in the warm, rough touch of his fingers.
They’re quiet for a long moment.
‘You and Abby do look alike.’
‘Really?’ Juliet smiles and opens her eyes.
‘It’s weird. In most ways you don’t, but there’s something. You can tell you’re related. I think it’s the eyes.’
‘She has brown eyes.’ Juliet frowns.
‘I didn’t say the colour, did I?’ He tosses her first foot aside and pulls the other towards him.
‘No,’ Juliet admits. ‘So what is it?’ She likes the idea that she looks like her cousin, that there is proof to the world that they’re family.
‘I don’t know.’ He rolls his eyes at Juliet’s expectant gaze. ‘Maybe the way they crinkle when you smile.’
Juliet nods, satisfied.
‘Really, she’s pretty plain, though. You’re much prettier.’
Juliet’s unable to take this as a compliment, since it’s all tangled up in an insult for Abby. She pulls her feet away and slides them under the covers.
Jesse gets into bed next to her. When they were both starting adolescence, Abby and Juliet had each envied the other. Abby thought Juliet’s golden curls were gorgeous; Juliet longed for Abby’s silky, straight style that looked the same in and out of the pool, that didn’t frizz on humid days.
Over the years, Juliet has come to terms with her curls, learned to see their beauty. Still, she thinks Abby’s beautiful. She has dramatic dark eyes and lashes and a fashionable bob. She wears stylish rectangular frames when she’s reading. She looks hip and smart and interesting. Not plain at all.
Jesse rolls onto his stomach and drops the lotion bottle in Juliet’s lap. ‘My turn.’
On Saturday night, Juliet wakes to a sound she identifies first as a cat’s mewing. It’s after three o’clock. She lies in her bed, listening, and it stops. She begins to drift back to sleep but it starts up again and she realizes it’s coming from the other side of the wall.
The wood floor is cold and rough on her bare feet. She takes each step deliberately, imagining the possibility of splinters. Light spills out from the edges of Abby’s bedroom door. She knocks twice and the sobs
Juliet sits in bed rubbing lotion into the elephant skin of her elbows. Jesse kicks the heel of his boots against the floor, hops and shakes them off, one at a time. He bends, reaching for the back hem of his sweater and undershirt. As he pulls them off, Juliet can count the ribs in his arched body. He leaves his clothes in a pile on the floor and stands there bare-chested, absentmindedly running his fingers through his hair. His chest is pale and hairless, scrawny as a little boy’s.
He yawns.
‘You’re cute,’ Juliet says, raising her eyebrows up and down in an exaggerated display of sexuality.
‘Oh, yeah?’ Jesse crawls towards her on the bed and bites her softly on the shoulder. She giggles.
‘Gimme that.’ Jesse holds out his hand and she passes him the bottle of lotion. He scrambles to the foot of the bed and puts her feet in his lap. He squeezes the bottle and then slaps the bottom impatiently. In the end, he squeezes out a bit too much.
‘Here.’ Juliet leans forward and scoops up some of the excess.
Jesse takes her foot between both of his hands. ‘The bottoms are like leather,’ he says.
She kicks him with her other foot. ‘Shut up.’
‘Well.’ He shrugs. This is his argument.
Juliet leans her head back into the pillows. ‘You never say nice things.’ She closes her eyes and tries to lose herself in the warm, rough touch of his fingers.
They’re quiet for a long moment.
‘You and Abby do look alike.’
‘Really?’ Juliet smiles and opens her eyes.
‘It’s weird. In most ways you don’t, but there’s something. You can tell you’re related. I think it’s the eyes.’
‘She has brown eyes.’ Juliet frowns.
‘I didn’t say the colour, did I?’ He tosses her first foot aside and pulls the other towards him.
‘No,’ Juliet admits. ‘So what is it?’ She likes the idea that she looks like her cousin, that there is proof to the world that they’re family.
‘I don’t know.’ He rolls his eyes at Juliet’s expectant gaze. ‘Maybe the way they crinkle when you smile.’
Juliet nods, satisfied.
‘Really, she’s pretty plain, though. You’re much prettier.’
Juliet’s unable to take this as a compliment, since it’s all tangled up in an insult for Abby. She pulls her feet away and slides them under the covers.
Jesse gets into bed next to her. When they were both starting adolescence, Abby and Juliet had each envied the other. Abby thought Juliet’s golden curls were gorgeous; Juliet longed for Abby’s silky, straight style that looked the same in and out of the pool, that didn’t frizz on humid days.
Over the years, Juliet has come to terms with her curls, learned to see their beauty. Still, she thinks Abby’s beautiful. She has dramatic dark eyes and lashes and a fashionable bob. She wears stylish rectangular frames when she’s reading. She looks hip and smart and interesting. Not plain at all.
Jesse rolls onto his stomach and drops the lotion bottle in Juliet’s lap. ‘My turn.’
On Saturday night, Juliet wakes to a sound she identifies first as a cat’s mewing. It’s after three o’clock. She lies in her bed, listening, and it stops. She begins to drift back to sleep but it starts up again and she realizes it’s coming from the other side of the wall.
The wood floor is cold and rough on her bare feet. She takes each step deliberately, imagining the possibility of splinters. Light spills out from the edges of Abby’s bedroom door. She knocks twice and the sobs
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