The Time Capsule Pt 1

Arabella
“Ah, shit.” Arabella Harlow muttered, staring critically at the zit in the corner of her mouth. Grumbling to herself, she grabbed some foundation and dabbed it over the spot. “Thirty years old, shouldn’t be getting these stupid things anymore, garr.”
The sun shone through the blinds basking the room in a golden glow. Arabella turned from the mirror and looked to her bed, letting out a long, pained sigh. The bed was large, huge in fact. It was a king sized four-poster with cream drapes and everything. Making her way over, she sat down slowly and let her hand glide over the other side of the bed, which would have been Asher’s. The familiar, empty feeling crept its way into her stomach as she got up and wandered around the house. It was a quaint, cosy little cottage with its white washed walls and blue shutters over the windows. It was Arabella’s dream house; with three little bedrooms in it, all with plump white carpets and soft blue walls. The ceiling had intricately designed swirls all over it, and hanging lights. Arabella had, her whole life, planned out at the purchase of this house. Asher was her true love, they would get married, then have two children, hopefully girls, and live happily forever after. It had been her dream since she was a teenager to have someone who loved her and adorable little children. There was a school in the next street. Arabella’s work was 10 minutes away. It was completely perfect. Novella had warned her that Asher was not her dream man, and that he was in fact far from it. Alas, Arabella was in love, and she was completely blind to all of the hints that Asher was no good. It took coming home from work one day to his side of the wardrobe empty, to all the money in their shared account gone, and to Misty, their little King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, being nowhere to be found, for Arabella to realise. There was no note. It was just all gone. Even the good silver candles and nice champagne glasses were gone. Often she would stand in front of the mirror and scrutinise her long brown hair with her bangs and her not completely flat stomach and wonder, was she just not good looking enough? Or was she a terrible person? Had she been annoying? The feeling of thinking you were loved and realizing you weren’t was hard to describe, but the feeling of having your whole future, hopes and dreams ripped from you in one day was even harder. Taking out her phone, Arabella scrolled down to the last of her texts. No one knew this, but she had kept the last of their nice conversations from months ago, and sometimes took them out to look. Novella would be disgusted at this, she knew, but it was the only way she could keep a little part of him with her. Even after all he’d done, she knew she still loved him a little bit. Sitting down in the now most likely impossible hope of one of her little girl’s rooms, Arabella started to cry.

~~~
Jemima
Jemima groaned, smacking her hand down hard on the snooze button of her alarm clock. Rolling over, she swung her legs out of bed and almost stumbled into the wall.
“It’s so early!” another voice moaned from under the covers. Frowning and scratching her head, Jemima staggered sleepily around the other side of the bed and pulled the corner of the sheet up ever so slightly. Ahh, she knew that face. A little bit. At least, it was the tiniest bit familiar. Feeling a pounding creep into her head she understood her confusion and ripped the sheets off the person.
“Gah!” he exclaimed. “What are you doing?!”
“Out,” Jemima ordered.  “now.”
“What the hell, can’t I sleep at least a little-
“GET OUT OF MY BED!” Jemima roared. Frightened out of his sleepiness, the somewhat naked man leapt out of the bed and grabbed his clothes.
“Will I see you again?” he asked quickly, pulling his pants on.
“Probably not,” Jemima smiled, opening the door and pulling him out by the arm. “Thanks for the night anyway.” With that she slammed the door, and hurried to her chest of drawers, grabbing pain killers and clothes for the day. Lazy Sugar was her baby, but waking up so early to open the cafe was a damn pain. Inspecting her face in the mirror, she wiped off the smeared lipstick, applied over the flaking mascara and gave her unruly golden curls a small tousle before smiling to herself.
“Not too bad, if I do say so myself.” She muttered, pulling her pants up as she ran out the door. Mr Smith, her old and hunched over across-the-hall neighbour in the small apartment block in which she lived, was standing outside his door once again, glaring at her. Mr Whiskers, his cat, seemed to stare at her with almost the exact same incriminating look.
“Miss Appleberry, you have once again woken myself and Mr Whiskers by thoughtlessly throwing loud young men out into the hall at ridiculous hours of the morning, not to mention the racket you kept us awake with last night!” he scolded. Jemima looked him up and down, and raised her eyebrow.
“Mr Smith, we’ve known each a long time now. You should know that I’m loud.” With a wink and a blow of a kiss, she hopped in the elevator and watched his shocked old face disappear as the doors closed.

~~~

Zahra
“Are you alright honey?” Zahra Simons knelt next to a little girl with her face in her hands. When she looked up, Zahra felt a stab of compassion. The poor thing had a bloody nose and a swollen eye. Sniffing, the girl wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“Mummy t-told me n-not to t-talk to strangers.” She sniffed.
“Oh sweetheart, I’m not going to do anything to you I promise. Where is your Mummy?” Zahra asked gently, patting her arm. The girl’s face screwed up.
“Mummy’s gone.” She cried, burying her face in her hands. “Daddy says it’s my f-fault.”
“Oh darling… Who hurt you? Did Daddy hurt you?”
“Yes.” She whispered. “But I was naughty. That’s why. Mummy flew away because of me.”
“Flew away?” Zahra murmured.
“Yes, she went up to the roof but she didn’t come back down again.” The girl sniffed once again, looking confused and hurt. “Where do you think she flew to?”
“I can’t say I know sweetie...What’s your name?” Zahra asked, trying to put the girl’s attention elsewhere.
“N-Nadia,” she hiccupped.
“Well, that’s a lovely name.” reaching out, she gently took the girl’s hand. “My name is Zahra.”
“That’s pretty.” Nadia said quietly, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
“I know your Mummy said not to talk to strangers… But would you come with me down to the Police Station? Just to talk to them? I’m sure they will help you.”
Nadia looked up at her.
“You don’t seem like a mean lady.” She leant her head on Zahra’s shoulder. Giving her little hand a squeeze, Zahra smiled down at her.
“I’m not honey. I’m going to help you.”

~~~



Jemima
“That’ll be seventeen fifty thanks.” Jemima smiled at the man standing in front of her. Callie usually manned the cash register, but she had called in sick about five minutes before ‘Lazy Sugar’ had opened. Jemima didn’t mind, in fact, she rarely did, as she loved to work in the cafe. If all her staff were on hand she would chip in as an extra waitress, or help with the cooking. If there really was no helping to be done, she would sit on a stool next to the fridge, herbal cigarette in hand, gossiping with Rory the chef. Jemima knew a lot of people dreaded going to work, but her cafe was more a part of her life than anything else. All of her staff were her friends; she liked to think of them as her second family. Out of the cafe, she had a friend here and there, but it was hard to associate with people regularly with such a full time job, which made her glad that she was so close with her staff. As she watched a man who had just entered walk over to a table, his muscles clearly showing through his t-shirt and his brown hair flopping over his eyes, a giggle made its way to her ears from behind her.
“Like what you see Jem?” Michaela asked, giving her a wink. Jemima laughed.
“Am I that obvious?” she asked.
“Only to us. Go on, go get his order.” With a bump of the hip Michaela had pushed her away from the cash register, and handed her the orders book and a pen. Jemima strolled over to the table.
“Hi there, my name’s Jemima.” She flashed him one of her huge smiles. The man looked up and took a double take.
“Oh wow... Hi Jemima.” He smiled back at her. “My name’s Clark.”
“Like Super-Man?” she joked, looking pointedly at his broad chest. His laugh was deep and booming, but quiet at the same time.
“Sure, I guess so.”
“What would you like to eat today, Mr Kent?” Jemima grinned at him. The poor man was lost in her smile, like most were.
“Oh, the Eggs Benedict and a black coffee thanks.” He answered, looking slightly caught off guard by the question.
“Coming right up.” Jemima winked and sashayed away, bumping Michaela’s hip on the way back to the kitchen.
“Rory baby, be a darling and whip us up a Benedict and some coffee.” She called out to him, sticking the order on the bench.
“As you wish, Princess.” Rory took a bow so low it looked like his nose was touching the ground.
“That flexibility will get you somewhere someday baby.” Jemima winked. Walking around the counter she took her place on her stool and watched Rory work his magic with the whisk. A heartfelt sigh escaped his lips.
“I don’t know Mimi! People these days are still very against us smaller race of gays.” He clasped his hand to his chest dramatically.
“You always find a way Rory.” Jemima smirked, lighting up and inhaling slowly. “And it’s not like you’re looking for a relationship.”
Rory shuddered.
“No way is that happening honey. We are two of a kind. There’s only one pilot on this flight.”
Exhaling a smoke ring, Jemima tapped her foot on the stool.
“I like the way you think. Life is so much more fun when you wake up to a different face every morning.” She winked.
“Oh honey, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, you’re sounding a little tramp-ay!” Rory laughed.
“When have I given you any reason to think otherwise?” she countered, blowing smoke into his face. Flicking her cigarette butt into the ash tray, Jemima made her way to the coffee maker. Grabbing the napkin that would between the saucer and the mug, she scribbled down her name and number, and walked out to the other side of the bench.
“You need to behave yourself Rory, I am your boss you know.” She joked. Rory turned around with a marvellous plate of eggs in one hand. Placing it on the bench, he raised an eyebrow.
“I would tell you to stop sleeping with the customers, it’s bad for business, but I won’t.”
Hitting him lightly on the arm, Jemima grabbed the plate and walked back out to the dining area, the familiar feeling of excitement pulsing through her.

~~~

Zahra
“I’ll do it.” Zahra blurted out. Officer James raised his eyebrow at her.
“Are you sure? Becoming a foster parent is a big deal… You don’t want to discuss it with Qui- Um, with your husband?”
Zahra thought about Quinton, not taking any notice of James’ slip up or his now pink cheeks. A thoroughly successful lawyer, Quinton was very work-focused, and he was good at his job, but he was hardly ever around. Zahra doubted he would care much as long as he didn’t have to do anything for the kid.
“I think it should be fine.” Zahra smiled. Looking unconvinced, Officer James sighed.
“Well. I’ll go through your records, and I’ll get back to you. Why don’t you go and talk to her.”
“My records?” Zahra raised an eyebrow. “I’ve known you since high school James, do you really think I’ve turned into a paedophile in a few years?”
“Officer James,” he corrected, puffing his chest out a little. “It’s just a formality. I’m sure you’ll be in the car with her before you know it.”
“Thank you!” Zahra exclaimed, grabbing him in an awkward hug over the counter. Nadia was sitting on a chair, swinging her legs. Making her way over, Zahra sat next to her.
“Are you feeling okay?” she asked her quietly. Nadia shrugged.
“My Daddy will be angry at me for telling you.”
“You won’t have to see him for a long while Nadia.” Zahra gave her a huge smile. “The Officer just has to look at a few things, and then you might be coming to stay with me for a while! How would that be?”
Nadia looked back at her with an uncertain expression.
“What about my Mummy?”
“Well… Mummy might not be back for a while. So I’ll be looking after you. Is that okay?”
“I guess so.” She mumbled. “My nose hurts.”
At this point Officer James came out and beckoned Zahra over.
“It should be okay. It would normally take a few days to go through everything but she’s been through a lot already... I’m fairly sure you aren’t a child killer.”
“Oh don’t be ridiculous James.” Zahra snapped.
“Officer James.” He insisted.
“Oh, ha ha.” She laughed sarcastically. “I’ll take her home and clean her up. Her poor little face…”
“You should probably get her checked out at the hospital sometime this week. Just to be safe.”
“Oh yes, yes… Well, I’ll see you later Officer.” Zahra drawled, laughing. Making her way back over to Nadia she held her arms out.
“Come on sweetie, I’ll show you where home is.”

~~~

Arabella
Taking a deep breath in, Arabella turned her car off. The staff car park was dark as the light in her area had blown and it was a black, rainy day. Sitting in the car, Arabella stared at the dashboard and felt her heart pulse pick up the tiniest bit as she allowed herself to remember. Months ago, she would pull into work singing along to the radio. Often she would get a message from Asher reminding her how much he loved her, and she would enter the building feeling happy enough to burst and strong enough to help anyone at all. Psychology required a certain emotional resilience, and these days Arabella was rather lost in her own maze of problems. Dead end after dead end presented itself, and it was becoming a lot to deal with. If she were to self-diagnose herself, she would have thought it to be an easy case, but helping other people to do things and actually doing them yourself were two very different things. Shaking her head, hoping to shake away the thoughts, Arabella stepped out of her car. Mr Wilson, her boss, was keeping a sharp eye on her, ready to put her on leave at any sign she was not strong enough to cope. Although Arabella seriously doubted she was strong enough to cope, she really needed the money, to pay the mortgage on the house. Now that Asher was gone it seemed ridiculous to keep such a large house for just one person, but Arabella couldn’t help but try to hold on to at least one small part of her dream.
“Morning Mr Wilson.” She cracked a smile as she walked past his open office door. Entering her own office, she sat down and readied herself for the new client she was beginning to work with today, fluffing up the couch cushions and retrieving a box of tissues to place on the table. For one more second she allowed herself to picture Asher in her mind, then she exhaled deeply and stowed him as far back in her head as she could. Pulling the corners of her lips up into her professional smile she turned to the door and found a tall, gorgeous brunette standing there timidly. Sapphire blue eyes peeped out from her dark brown bangs and her tight white blouse left little to the imagination.
“Please come in and take a seat.” Arabella motioned to the couch. With a small twitch of the mouth that might have indicated a smile, the woman sat down and looked around the room.
“Um, hi, I’m Adele.” She murmured.
“I’m Arabella; it’s nice to meet you. What would you like to talk about today?”
“Well... I’m having a bit of trouble with my husband. He has been doing some pretty awful things lately, but I can’t seem to get through to him that I’m mad. Whenever I try he makes it seem like I’m making a big deal out of nothing and then I feel silly. The thing is the things he does are bad, and it’s gotten to the point where no one can help me, none of my friends know what to do. Some tell me to leave him... Oh but I just can’t, I love him so much.”
As each word sunk in, Arabella felt the image of Asher beating its way back into her thoughts. Everything that Adele had just said to her sounded exactly how she had felt with Asher towards the end.
“Um… Excuse me?” Adele waved her hand in front of her face. With a start Arabella snapped out of her reverie and looked back to Adele. Around her neck was an extravagant silver ‘A’ encrusted with diamonds. It looked so much like the one she had been given by Asher... The barrier she had built up was crumbling quickly, and throughout the whole hour session, Arabella was completely unfocused, filling up time with meaningless words. Towards the end it was clear Adele was getting frustrated, and Arabella was too. Why was it that whenever she was doing something important the thought of Asher seemed to derail her? Surely she was just being paranoid, and if Adele complained, there was a very high risk that she would be put on forced leave. After Adele had gone, Arabella stared down at her desk in sorrow. Just where had her life gone so wrong?

~~~

Jemima
“Wow.” Jemima rolled onto her back and let all the air rush out of her lungs. “You really are Super-Man.”
Clark chuckled and scooted closer to her, putting his arms around her.
“And you’re my Wonder-Woman. Didn’t think a girl with such a sweet smile could be so…energetic.”
Giggling, Jemima laid her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. The thought of kicking Clark out tomorrow saddened her a little bit as he was nicer than all the others she had been with, but she knew she had to as she wasn’t a committed person. Even if he was nice she could see herself getting bored or straying from him within the month, if not sooner. As sleep came upon her, she snuggled in that little bit closer, enjoying the feeling of strong arms around her.

The next morning, Jemima woke up to an empty bed. Confused, she rolled over and found a rose and a note on Clark’s pillow.
So sorry Jemima,
I got called into work,
and apparently it was
urgent. Please take this
rose as an apology and
hopefully we will catch
up soon  my number is…
Stopping herself there, Jemima folded up the note and put it in the bin, not wanting the slightest chance of remembering the number. Leaving the rose on the pillow, she got up out of bed, stretching up as far as she could. Already having an outfit in mind, she set about finding all the different bits and pieces. Finally she was down to the shoes, and she searched everywhere she could think until the apartment looked like a cyclone had hit. About to give up, she decided to have a look under the bed. Getting down on her knees, she peeped into the dust. There were all assortments of clutter under there, but she thought she could make out the heel of the shoe she wanted. Reaching as far as she could, she just curled her fingers around it, but it wouldn’t budge. Frustrated, she yanked it hard, and suddenly it flew out from underneath, pulling a heavy box out with it. Muttering, Jemima pulled the caught strap from the hinge on the box and retrieved her other shoe. Just as she was fully dressed, she acknowledged the box. It was made of metal and had a numbered lock on it, like a mini safe. Faded and torn pink wrapping paper with daises scattered over it was glued to the door. Jemima sat down on the floor and stared at it. A wash of memories suddenly flooded over her and it was like she was her 15 year old self back in her room at her parents’ house, sitting on the floor with her two best friends.
‘This is going to be one of the most amazing things we ever do.’ Jemima laughed. Arabella and Zahra looked to each other, grinning. Arabella grabbed her bag.
‘Guess what! I have a surprise!’ she exclaimed. Jemima widened her eyes as far as they could go and grabbed her arm in mock anxiety.
‘What?? What is it?!’
‘Tada!’ Arabella pulled out a roll of pink wrapping paper with daisies all over it. Jemima raised her eyebrows and Zahra laughed.
‘Well that’s not exciting at all.’ Jemima rolled her eyes. Arabella whacked her over the head with the roll.
‘Shut up, we need to decorate it with something to make it especially ours.’
‘Hold on.’ Jemima grabbed the paper Arabella had just cut and drew a large penis in the right hand corner. ‘Now it is especially ours.’
Arabella rolled her eyes and grabbed the paper back, squirting superglue on the safe and spreading the paper over it.
‘There! It’s so pretty! Now we just have to lock it.’ Arabella grabbed the other two girls’ hands. ‘And once we lock it, we can’t unlock it for fifteen years! We are locking away our memories!’
‘You’re so deep and shit.’ Jemima laughed. ‘But I love you.’
Together, they clicked the lock shut.

~~~



Arabella
Taking a deep breath, Arabella turned her music on her Ipod up loud and started to run down the street. It was early in the morning and the air was cool and crisp to breathe in. Arabella barely ever went running. Occasionally after work she would hit the gym but otherwise she had no time. Now it seemed like she had all the time in the world, after being put on leave. Novella had borne the worst of it, trying to comfort a hysterical sobbing woman for hours over the phone. A good best friend she was, but it was hard when she was living in England. Arabella had run less than a kilometre when some men in a truck started honking their horn at her.
“You alright baby?” the balding man yelled out of the car. Giving a dismissive smirk she sped up a little, but the truck followed along next to her. “Come on love, you look tired, we’ll give you a lift.”
“The last time…I checked…the purpose of exercising…was to get tired.” Arabella puffed, trying to run faster and as far from the truck as possible.
“Well you know there are more enjoyable ways to exercise sweetheart.” Sticking his tongue out, he ran it around his lips. Disgusted, Arabella turned and ran in the other direction, hoping they would just drive off. However, the man got out of the truck and ran after her, grabbing her arm.
“Come on darling, I just want a bit of fun, that’s all, just hop in the truck…”
“No! Get off!” Arabella panted, trying to pull out of his grip. “Let me go!”
“OI!”
Both turned at the sound of the voice. A young but tall and intimidating man stood just a few feet away from them.
“The lady doesn’t want to go with you mate.” He growled. Bald man scoffed.
“Ay, I saw her first so just shove off.”
Tall man shrugged.
“It’s your funeral.”
“Try me.” Bald man narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn ‘ya.” Tall man leapt at him, landing a punch right in the middle of Bald man’s nose. Yelping, he let Arabella go, who staggered out of the way and collapsed behind the post box. There was a series of cringe worthy crunching sounds before the sound of the truck driving off became distant.
“You right?” Tall man walked around the post box carefully. Arabella nodded slowly.
“I… I can’t believe that just happened…” she trailed off.
“Not something that would cross your mind before a morning jog ay.” Tall man agreed. “I’m Xavier.”
“Well… Thanks Xavier.” She laughed shakily. “I’m Arabella.”
“Nice to meet you, not so nice to meet you in this unfortunate circumstance.”
“Yeah well, it puts you in a good light doesn’t it?”
Xavier chuckled at that. Adding to his tall stature, he was very tanned with sandy blonde hair. It was obvious his smile was genuine as the corners of his eyes crinkled slightly, where Arabella’s was weak as she was still shaky from the whole encounter.
“Are you okay now? Do you want me to walk you home or anything?”
Arabella scrutinised him carefully, looking him up and down, trying to gauge whether he was safe to walk her home.
“Um, if you don’t mind, that would be nice.” She finally answered; having decided that he probably wouldn’t have risked getting hurt for her if he planned to hurt her himself. Xavier flashed her a smile.
“No worries at all. It’s completely reasonable to be afraid.”
Returning the smile, they turned and started walking down the street.
“So what do you do?” she asked after a short silence.
“Oh… I’m a builder.” Xavier laughed, seeming the tiniest bit embarrassed. “You?”
“Well… I was a psychologist. I’m not sure what I am of late, just yesterday I got put on forced leave.”
“Would it be intrusive to ask why?”
“Apparently I am not emotionally stable enough to continue in a job like that.” Arabella answered, pressing her lips together tightly, not sure why she had shared that information with him. Xavier was silent, and she appreciated him not prying. The rest of the way home they discussed small things like family and the weather, and although it wasn’t much, when Arabella got to her door she felt a bit sad.
“Again, thank you so much, Xavier. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t happened to be there.”
“It was the least I could do… You wouldn’t say, let me take you out to dinner, would you?” he asked slowly, looking the tiniest bit bashful. Arabella considered. Was she ready to do that? Common sense told her she should be, as it had been quite a long time now, since Asher…
“Well, only if I can pay or I’ll be in debt to you twice.”

~~~

Zahra
“I can’t believe you wouldn’t think to include me in a decision like this.” Quinton growled giving Zahra the dirtiest look she had ever received.
“Honey… You’re home for about half an hour before you go to sleep! I didn’t think it would make a difference…”
“Well it makes a fucking difference! This is my house! My family! I should have a say in the things that go on!” he shouted, slamming his cup down on the bench. Zahra narrowed her eyes.
“Your family? Can you honestly call this a family, Quinton? We’ve been married for two years and already I feel like we’re an old couple! I never see you! You’re never around! And you won’t hear of having children-
“I told you, I’m not ready for that! Do you think having our own child and fostering a child is really that different? I told you I didn’t want a kid!”
“You don’t want a kid.” Zahra repeated bluntly.
“Well, no, I’m not ready for a kid, that’s what I mean, I told you that…”
“You don’t want a kid.” Zahra said again, tears filling in her eyes. “Were you ever planning on us having children? Or were you just going to keep putting it off until it was too late? For God’s sakes Quinton, I can’t even remember the last time we had sex!”
At this Quinton held up a hand and looked away from her.
“That has nothing to do with it-
“Yes it does! Do you even find me attractive at all Quinton? Is that the problem? You can’t get it up?” Zahra accused viciously.
“No, Zahra, I love you…” he trailed off, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself. Zahra sauntered out of the room, slamming the door, and made her way up the stairs to where Nadia was lying in bed. When she entered the room, Nadia was staring at the ceiling, with tears in her eyes.
“Nadia! Sweetie what’s wrong?” Zahra demanded, sitting on the bed and stroking her forehead. Nadia sniffed.
“My Mummy and Daddy had big fights too.”
“Oh darling, this isn’t the same. I’m sure it will be fine tomorrow. Don’t you worry your little head, get some rest. It’s been a big day for you!”
Nadia gave the smallest smile and it lit up her entire face. Then, yawning, she turned over and fell asleep almost instantly.

~~~

Jemima
Jemima was sitting cross legged on her floor surrounded by assorted memorabilia from the time capsule. It had been so surprising to find it; she had forgotten all about it. Each thing she looked at brought back a flood of memories, and it was rather disorienting. Remembering her two best friends made Jemima feel empty. They had planned so much for the future, all three of them together. It had been so hard to realize this wasn’t possible, that what had happened would keep them apart. If only she could talk to them right now, about the capsule she had found. It had been made to keep them together, but they had never considered that anything so powerful would happen, so powerful that they could no longer stand what being with each other reminded them of. There was an empty Dorito’s packet, retelling her of the time all three of them had lay on a picnic blanket and eaten a whole packet before school started, an Angus & Julia Stone CD, reminding her of when Arabella had at first claimed she hated them, but came to love them, so all three of them did, an almost empty red lipstick vial, recapping her of the first sleepover all three of them had had together at the end of eighth grade, a note that said ‘Scrambled Air?’ reminding her of the time she had told Arabella she had searched up how to make scrambled eggs without eggs, a candle, reminding her of the time she and Zahra had been ‘hippies’ out on the veranda, a DVD called ‘The Number 23’ reminding her of the time she and Arabella had watched it and gone absolutely mental, trying to figure out if everything in the world somehow did add up to 23, and so much more! Picking up a photo of all three of them together, Jemima felt she could almost cry. Looking to her phone, she felt the sinking feeling drag her down further – she no longer had either of their numbers. They could be married with any random last name now. Wishing so much that Facebook hadn’t been shut down, she gathered the stuff and pushed it to one side of her room, slowly finishing up getting ready for work, although her heart wasn’t in it as it usually was. To forget the two most important people in your life seemed impossible at the time – but it had somehow been proven achievable.

“What’s going on Mima? Where’s your trademark blinder?” Rory demanded. Jemima looked over at Rory and raised an eyebrow.
“Blinder?” she mused.
“Your smile lovely,” Rory murmured. “I can’t remember the last time you turned up here without it plastered over your face.”
“I’m in a contemplative mood.” Jemima countered, swinging her legs under her stool looking around for a match. “I forgot my lighter…”
Suddenly Rory was centimetres from her face.
“Stop changing the subject,” he snapped, throwing matches into her lap. “Or I’ll be forced to bitch-slap it outta you.”
“Oh shut up you gay shit. I forbid you to touch me or I’ll dock your pay.” Jemima blew smoke right into his face. Coughing, Rory scrutinised her, wondering if she was serious.
“I don’t know how people stand you when you’re this emotional.” He grumbled.
“I’m not kidding.”
“Okay, okay.” Throwing his hands into the air, he sighed. “Just keep it locked up inside then. Don’t come to me when you explode everywhere.”
Giving him a sarcastic smile, she jumped off the barstool and made her way out to the dining area, sitting just behind the doorframe to the kitchen, watching the people come and go. Should she go home? No, there was nothing to distract her there. Michaela was walking toward the door and noticed her sitting there, and stopped.
“Jemima?” she murmured, squatting down and looking at her. “Are you okay sweetie?”
“I don’t know,” she answered bluntly. “I’m not sure what’s wrong with me.”
“Well, if you need anything, I’m here.” Michaela gave her a smile and patted her on the shoulder. An idea struck Jemima.
“Hey, Michaela? Do you think I could take over your shift? I’ll still pay you for your full hours.”
“Oh… Well if you’d really like. Are you sure you want to pay me for nothing?”
“Of course, I know you need it.”
Michaela’s face lit up in a huge smile. Pulling Jemima into a huge hug, she laughed.
“You are honestly the best boss I ever could have been employed by, Jemima. You’re amazing!”
Jemima tugged the orders from her hand. “Go have some fun.”

~~~

Arabella
“I just don’t know what to do!” Arabella cried into the phone, running around her room looking for a pair of half-decent shoes.
“Just calm down Bella,” Novella exclaimed. “You will find something to wear. I hardly think the expense of this phone call is worth it for you when I can’t even see what you’re wearing.”
“It’s not my fault you were watching certain illegal films on the internet and got a virus.”
“I WAS NOT WATCHING ILLEGAL FOOTAGE.” Novella half screamed half laughed. “I find that disgusting, actually.”
“Sure, sure Novella, whatever you say.” Arabella teased. “What about the spotty dress with the black and white?”
“Too girly,”
“The black slip?”
“Trying too hard,”
“The green floral?”
“Not trying enough,”
“UGH! What is there??” Arabella threw herself down onto the bed.
“Calm down Bella, I’m sure you have clothes you have bought while I’m not there.”
“That’s no help! Then you can’t tell me if they’re good or not!” Arabella wailed.
“Well… What about the red dress?” Novella suggested.
“What… The one we bought at the Latin Fashion Shop?” Arabella considered. “That’s pretty risqué with a capital R Nell.”
“I don’t know when we are actually going to go somewhere together where it calls on you to wear it,” she laughed. “I hardly see you. I’d much rather chat on the couch than dress up and go out when I come back to Australia.”
“I just feel like because we sinfully splurged on it together I should wear it with you.”
“Oh don’t be ridiculous, wear it. Blow him out of the water with your HOT BOD.”
“Oh shut up.” Arabella snorted.
“Just sayin’,”
“I don’t want to look to… eager.” She whispered anxiously. Novella sighed.
“You’ll look great Bella. I’ve got to go, but good luck! Email me about it okay?”
“Oh… Okay then, it was nice talking to you.”
“Love you!”
“Love you too.”
Looking to the wardrobe, Arabella pulled out the red dress and held it up against herself. Should she wear it? Appearing eager was a definite no, as it was a turn off and she wasn’t even sure if she liked the guy. Asher kept popping into her head and she felt as though she was somehow betraying him – even though he had abandoned her so long ago. Sighing, she pulled the dress over her head and grabbed the first decent looking heels she could find, throwing on a bit of lipstick. Glancing at her bedside clock her heart picked up speed as she quickly did a breath test and almost tripped her way to the front door – how had time gone so fast? Yanking the front door open, she found herself face to face with Xavier, who had just rang the doorbell. The chime rung in the background as they stared at each other, Arabella feeling mortified. When it finally came to a stop, Xavier flashed an amused smile.
“You look lovely.” He complimented, tipping his hat.
“Why thank you.” Arabella laughed, attempting a curtsey then deciding not to half way down, ending up in a crouching position and trying to blow it off as scratching her ankle. Xavier just laughed and took her hand.
“Let’s go, we wouldn’t want to lose our reservation.”
Breathing a sigh of relief that he hadn’t given up on her already, Arabella let him lead her out to the car, thoughts of Asher left at the front door.

~~~

Zahra
It had been two weeks since Zahra had taken Nadia in, and she was definitely flourishing. An outgoing little thing, it hadn’t taken her too long to be completely comfortable in her new home, or for Quinton to fall in love with her. Although he tried his hardest not to show it, it was obvious he had a soft spot for her as soon as he had lain eyes on her. Nadia was about 6 years old, and Zahra had enrolled her at the local school. Today was her first day.
“Zahra, what’s school like?” Nadia enquired, looking to Zahra’s reflection in the mirror her hair was being done in. Deftly weaving the braids in her hair, Zahra smiled.
“It’s a lot of fun. You’ll love it. You get to be with your friends all day!”
“I don’t have any friends.”
“You will.”
“How do you know?”
“I just know.”
“Did you have lots of friends?”
Zahra enjoyed Nadia’s curiosity. There had been great prospects for Zahra’s future when she had been at school, she had the smarts and she got the grades. Everyone had prophesized that she would get into some famous, high ranked job and be written about in business magazines. Nobody had expected what had happened to her, especially not her parents. When over the initial heart wrenching worry they could hardly look at her. They stopped talking. It was unlikely they would help her through University. When she had met Quinton he was older and already quite successful, and offered to pay for her to go through University. Unfortunately for Zahra, Quinton went through a rather bad streak in his law career, and Zahra had been too ashamed to ask her parents money. Quinton urged that Zahra just take up some volunteer work as he made enough money to provide for both of them – just not both of them and university fees. They had many arguments about it, and unbeknownst to Quinton, Zahra was also working down at the corner shop a few afternoons a week as well as doing the volunteer work, slowly building up enough money to go back and study at university. Zahra often felt that Quinton looked at her as a trophy wife to show off rather than a wife to love and care for. He acted detached, hardly conversing with her most of the time, and volunteer work at the old people’s home was not much better. Zahra had to draw information out of them bit by bit, and often they would act suspicious and barely talk. Nadia’s interest in the world around her and initiative to ask about it brought Zahra great pleasure. Having someone to actually converse with was nice, but it also brought attention to the fact that Zahra’s life was not at all how she had wanted it to be.
“I did have friends. Not a lot, but a few lovely friends.”
“What happened to them?” Nadia queried, sitting down on the bed and crossing her legs.
“They… They changed. That happens sometimes.”
“Why?”
“I suppose it just happens darling. It doesn’t always happen. Anyway, we must get you to school!”
Jemima and Arabella had flown unexpectedly into her mind, and it hurt. The reason they had grown apart was faint in her mind, but the feelings she had experienced were still there, and she was so afraid of them returning. Zahra busied herself with readying Nadia for school and then made her way to the old people’s home, trying to push the thought of them from her mind.

~~~

Jemima
“Rory,” Jemima sighed exasperatedly. “Please.”
Shaking his head, Rory snatched the order from her and turned away. Gritting her teeth, Jemima stomped back out to the dining area. Yes, she had been rude. This had been acknowledged, and apologised for. Of course Rory didn’t forgive that easily. He was bitchier than all the girls on staff put together. Maisy, the newly employed waitress, wobbled her way past Jemima, more than five plates balanced on one of her arms.
“You right there? It’s better to take your time than to quickly break everything.” Jemima snapped a little too coldly. Maisy looked to the ground, apologising profusely, shuffling to the back with the dirty plates. Sighing once again, Jemima backed up and leant against the wall. The notion that working tonight would take her mind off things just wasn’t happening, and now she had upset two of her employees. Looking to the dining area, Jemima saw that a couple had arrived in her section. Pulling out her orders book, she made her way over, still fuming about things in her mind.
“Hi, my names Jemima, what would you like to order tonight?” she drawled, not even flashing a smile. The girl looked tentatively to the boy, who grinned at her in encouragement to order whatever she would like. A first date, how quaint Jemima thought sarcastically in her mind. Finally having made her decision, the girl looked up at Jemima, only to freeze and gawk at her.
“Um… Are you okay?” Jemima raised an eyebrow in a puzzled fashion.
“I – you – you’re…” the girl stumbled over her words. “I know you!”
“…You do?” now looking at her properly, Jemima did find her the tiniest bit familiar.
“Mima?” the girl enquired. Jemima squinted at her.
“Oh my God…Bella?” she exclaimed. The brown hair and now seemingly fixed glasses had deceived her, but surely, there she was. It was Arabella.
“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Wow… how are you?”
“Oh, I’m good.” Jemima smiled. “I actually own this place. Can you believe it?”
“It was your dream.” Arabella laughed. “That’s wonderful.”
“How are you?” she enquired back.
“Oh… I’m fine. It would take a long time to explain.” Arabella looked down at her hands.
“We should have coffee.” Jemima offered immediately. “We can stay after the Café closes. If that’s okay with you.” She turned to the guy sitting across from Arabella.
“Oh of course, this looks very important.” He smiled at Arabella kindly, and she smiled back.
“Well, it’s settled then, I’ll see you later. But first you can tell me what you would like to order.”