Ding Dong
“Leslie, can you get that please?” Nicole called from her room.
“Sure. Why not?” Leslie dragged herself to the front door. “Hi Lance.” She greeted him dully after opening the door.
“So glad to see you too Leslie.” Lance replied strolling into the girls’ apartment.
“Pardon my non-enthusiasm. I’m kinda feeling depressed, in case you hadn’t heard.”
“I heard.”
“Did the guys come with you?” She asked hopeful that JC might be with him.
“Nope. Sorry, kid.”
“Yeah.”
“Where’s Nicole.
“Her room.”
“Thanks.”
“Tell her I’m going for a walk.”
“Okay.” Lance grinned as she shut the front door behind her. “Nicole!”
“Lance!” She exclaimed jumping into his arms, knocking him backwards onto the bed.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” Nicole replied tenderly kissing him.
“Leslie went to go on a walk.”
“She did?”
“Yeah.”
“She hasn’t left the apartment in like three days!”
“Well it’s a good thing she left today.”
“Why?”
Leslie was walking down the hallway as the elevator doors opened. She was about three feet away from the doors, as she stood frozen staring at the person inside of it. Leslie exhaled and closed her eyes tight, while trying to contain the tears that were burning her eyes. She had missed him so much and she still had so many things she wanted to say… And now was her opportunity. But she remained as silent as the breeze that blew through the trees. He stepped out of the elevator, slowly closing the gap between the torn lovers. Face to face for the first time in almost three weeks is where they found themselves.
“Because the guys are here and I told her that they weren’t.”
“Well, maybe it’s a good thing. Maybe if they see each other again they’ll…”
“They’ll what?”
“I don’t know.” She sighed. “I just don’t know.”
Leslie looked at JC one last time before walking around him and stepping into the elevator. She then walked to Dead Man’s cliff, where she sat alone on a hard wooden bench that overlooked the ocean. For the past few weeks she had gone there to think or to just clear her head of all things. It was an extremely easy place to do that sort of thing. The cliff, which she sat on, was very serene. In fact if you listened hard enough you could hear the crickets chirping in the distance. Leslie especially liked to go there at night. Since it was secluded there weren’t many buildings or lights, which made it easy to see the stars. She loved star gazing, particularly when the wind was blowing, because that’s when she could really hear the waves beat up against the bottom of the cliff and sometimes she could even feel the misty spray of the salty ocean water.
“Lance, can I talk to you for a second? Alone.”
“Sure.”
Nicole dragged Lance into the kitchen.
“What?”
“I’m really starting to get worried about Leslie. She’s been gone a really long time.”
“Give her another twenty minutes, okay?” Nicole nodded. “After all, it is only ten after nine.”
“I know but-“
Lance leaned forward and kissed her gently.
“Twenty minutes.”
It was now nine forty five and there was still no sign of Leslie.
“Do you have any idea where she might be?”
“The only place she’s been lately is Dead Man’s Cliff.”
“Why would she go there?”
“She says it’s peaceful.”
“Doesn’t sound peaceful. I mean dead man’s cliff? What’s peaceful about that?”
Nicole sighed.
“Joey!”
“Yeah, Lance?”
“Come in here for a second.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know where Dead Man’s Cliff is?”
“Nope. That’s JC, not me.” Joey informed him. “Why?”
“That’s where we think Leslie is, but we don’t know where it is.”
“Oh.” He said sitting on the kitchen counter. “Why don’t you just ask JC to drive you guys there, or go down and get her himself?” Joey suggested.
“I doubt he would.” Nicole said.
“Couldn’t hurt to ask.”
“Hey JC, come here!” Lance yelled as Joey returned to the living room.
“Would you do us a favor?”
“Depends. What’s the favor?”
“You know where Dead Man’s Cliff is, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Would you drive down there and see if-“
“Hey Leslie!” Justin said loudly.
“Hey.” She repeated his greeting while returning his hug. “Hey guys.”
“Hi.”
“Decide to finally come home I see.” Nicole said entering the living room with Lance and JC.
“I’m not feeling so well all of a sudden. I’m going to go to my room.”
Everyone stared at her as she walked away. She was definitely not the Leslie they had grown to know and love.