Thursday, December 21, 2006

Part 23 - Chapter 5 - Compromise

"Hi," Reese said. As she walked into the house, she noticed the room had been changed. "You've moved the furniture around."

"Yeah," Blaine said, looking up from the book he was reading. "I needed to make room for some of my stuff. You don't mind, do you?"

"No," Reese answered quietly. She wasn't happy about coming home and finding that things had been rearranged, but she didn't want to make a big issue of it. It was just another change she had to get used to. "You live here too."

"If you don't like it we can move it back."

"It's fine," she said, looking around. It was different, but she could get used to it.


Reese wandered around the room aimlessly, not sure what to do with herself. She finally sat down on the couch next to Blaine. Part of her felt like she should be playing hostess and seeing if he needed anything, but she realized that was silly. He had been here all day with out her and obviously didn't have any problem making himself at home. Oddly enough, she seemed to be the one who was having trouble making herself at home in the house she had lived in for years.

She felt ridiculous for being so nervous about this. She tried to convince herself to act normal, to do the things that she would usually do without being so concerned about whether Blaine was there or not. She tried to think about what she usually did after work. Sometimes she liked to unwind by listening to the radio, but Blaine was sitting next to her reading. He seemed very into his book and she didn't want the noise to disturb him.

Feeling unsettled, she stood up. "I think I'll go change," she announced and went into the bedroom where she would at least be alone.


She had barely walked through the door before Blaine got up to follow her.

"Before you do, what do you want to do about dinner tonight? Do you feel like going out or staying in?"

"I don't feel like going anywhere, but you can go out if you want to."

"I was only thinking about going out if you wanted to. If you want to stay in, I'll cook something for us here."

"Ok," Reese replied as she headed towards the closet. She thought that was the end of the conversation and that Blaine would go into the kitchen to start dinner, but instead he lingered in the bedroom.

"I got some good news today. One of the companies I sent my resume to called back. They want to see me for an interview this week. The job is full time and working with computers. I think I have a really good chance of getting it."

"That's great."


"I know . . ." he replied. He was surprised that she didn't seem as excited about the news. "Is everything ok?"

"I'm just tired."

"Oh, ok. Are you sure that's it? You've been acting a little different since I've moved in. If you aren't comfortable with me living here, it's ok for you to say so."

"I guess I am a little uncomfortable," Reese admitted. "But it's not because I don't want you here. I just . . . I'm not used to having a roommate, especially not one that I'm involved with. I'm really just . . . not sure how to act."

"Just be yourself, do the things that you usually do. It might take some time, but we'll figure it out."

"I'll try," she promised, but not feeling as sure as Blaine.

"Go ahead and change or do whatever you were going to do and I'll see what we have for dinner."


"I wish I had some career advice for you," Cassandra said to Eileen. "But if I did I would have a better job than waitressing at a diner. What happened to your last job, working for the psychic hotline? Did that not work out?"

"My dad found out about it and made me quit. It was kind of dumb anyway. They told me to just make things up and tell people what they wanted to hear."

"That stinks. You know my mom has started doing readings out of the house. If you had a real gift for it, you could try going into business for yourself. She's been trying to talk me into joining her, but I think at least one of us should have a steady income."

"I don't think I do have a gift for it," Eileen said with a sigh. "I really wanted to though."


"Because of your mother?"

"Yeah. I was really young when she died and . . . I just wished I could see her again, talk to her again. I feel like there were so many things she never got to tell me before she died."

"Maybe it's not too late. You know, my mother can communicate with the dead."

"Really?" Eileen asked cautiously. She was curious but didn't want to get her hopes up.

"Yes. I saw it myself. We were right here in the living room when she saw Reese's dead mother. She was able to tell Reese her mother's name when they had been searching for ages and hadn't been able to find it."

"Do you think she could talk to my mother too?" Eileen asked nervously.

"Let's find out."


Eileen nervously followed Cassandra upstairs. She felt a little ridiculous for trying this, but she really wanted to believe that it was possible. Her wanting for this to work overcame her fear of what she might be getting into.

They found Serena in her bedroom, her arms wrapped tightly around her as she stared out the window.

"Mom."

At the sound of her daughter's voice, Serena jumped.

"We were wondering if you could do a reading on Eileen. She wants to communicate with her mother."

Serena shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't do it now. Maybe another time," she said, turning away.

"That's ok. I should get going anyway," Eileen replied. "Give me a call sometime, Cassie, and we'll get together again."

"Ok. It was good to see you." Cassie said goodbye to Eileen and turned back to her mother once they were alone. "Is something wrong, Mother?"

"Don't you sense it too? There is a great evil near and it's getting closer. I don't know what is going to happen."

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