Drabble Challenge Entry #17
Title: The Wrong Sailor
Rating: T
Summary: One of Susan's many nights out gives Lucy the strangest kind of hope.
A/N: I've been tossing this idea around for some time and thought it finally needed to be written! Also, my computer crashed yesterday (I'm at work) so I might not be around for a few days. *cry*
Had she had four cocktails or five? Susan couldn’t remember. She held a cocktail, (really, was it fourth or fifth?), in one hand and the other was wrapped around the neck of a handsome, American sailor. She had been forgoing her usual dancing for the excessive comfort of his lap all evening.
Abruptly he was whispering in her ear, "Come on. Let’s get out of here." She nodded, quickly downing the rest of her drink and scooting off him to get her purse. They tripped gaily out to a cab, oblivious to any seriousness in the world.
---
Susan rolled over, a contented half-smile on her face even though she was only just waking. Jonathon, (she had learned his name in the cab), grinned at her from the other side of the bed. Her smile spread to a light laugh and he caught her around the waist, pulling her in for a kiss. Susan stretched her arms above her head and caught a hold of the metal headboard as she kissed him.
"How about I make you breakfast? Hot pancakes and scrambled eggs..." he murmured against her lips.
"Mmm. Sounds great," Susan answered, one hand on his cheek. Jonathon rolled out from under her, belatedly wrapping a sheet around himself at her slow grin.
He winked, drawing a laugh from her. "The shower’s in there if you want to use it." He pointed to a door on the left as he headed through the tiny apartment to the kitchen.
Susan dragged herself from the bed, gathering her clothes on her way to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and began looking around the room while she waited for the water to warm up. There was a photograph of Jonathon and a few friends that looked like it had been taken during the war. They were swimming in the sea, still in their uniforms, with smiles on all their faces. Susan’s brow knit, not in confusion but in a memory. She remembered all too well the last time she had swum in the ocean. It had been one of the last truly happy times in her life. Susan was pulled from her melancholy as she realized the water was probably hot enough. She placed the photograph back on the nightstand with a sigh.
---
When Susan emerged from the bedroom, clean and clothed, Jonathon had almost finished breakfast, (and gotten dressed himself.) She took a deep breath, saying, "Oh, that smells absolutely divine! Where did you learn to cook?"
"The Navy. I was one of the stand-in cooks on our ship," he explained, placing a stack of pancakes on her plate.
"Mmm. Well it looks and smells delicious," Susan complimented as he handed her a fork. There was no table in the room, for which Jonathon profusely apologized, so they ate at the counter in a rather comfortable silence.
"So who is he?" the sailor asked abruptly.
"Who’s who?"
"The guy you called out for last night," Jonathon explained, raising an eyebrow, though it was more teasing than accusatory.
Susan looked confused and then slightly horrified. She made a small groan that sounded embarrassed. Jonathon laughed. "Don’t worry. It’s not like I thought I was the only guy. I’m just curious is all."
"Um, well..."
"You don’t remember, do you?"
Susan blushed crimson, looking to her plate. "What was the name?" she asked, feeling more than a little like an idiot.
"Something with a ‘c’. Curtis? No, no, that wasn’t it. Cos-Cas-" Jonathon stammered a moment, searching for the name. "Caspian! That was it. Sounds foreign."
Her red cheeks turned a startling white and she dropped her fork so it clattered against the tile counter. "What? What is it?"
"I-I- I need to use your phone. I’m sorry," Susan explained robotically.
"Uh, sure. It’s right there on the wall." Jonathon pointed, looking distinctly worried.
Susan spun around, fumbling at the phone. She dialed a number with shaking fingers, closing her eyes as it began to ring. "Lucy! Don’t let them know it’s me!" she exclaimed suddenly, all in a rush. "Look, um, I need you to come pick me up. Don’t. Dammit, Lucy! Just don’t!" Susan heaved a deep sigh, pretending there were no tears in her voice. Jonathon’s eyes narrowed as he took in the stray pieces of information. She turned to him. "Where are we?"
"28 Broadworth. Susan, what is this about?"
She didn’t answer; only relayed the address and hung up. "I’m sorry, Jonathon. I had a wonderful time, really I did, and breakfast was delicious, but I have to go." She collected her purse from a chair and made for the door.
Jonathon grabbed her arm. "Susan, I-"
She wrenched away from him. "Please." The simple word was so fraught with emotion, he let her go without a second thought. He watched her walk to the curb and step into the car that pulled up a few minutes later. She spared a glance at the house and he thought he saw tears in her pretty, blue eyes.
---
"What did he do to you? Are you hurt? He didn’t hit you, did he?" Lucy shot questions at her older sister as she opened the door.
Susan rolled her eyes. "Just drive, Lucy."
Lucy obliged, pulling away from the curb into the flow of traffic, but soon began talking again. "You’re crying, Susan. You don’t cry. Tell me what’s wrong."
"Nothing’s wrong, Lucy. Besides, I-I can’t tell you."
Lucy’s eyebrows shot up. "Something interesting, then. What, he couldn’t-"
Susan glared at her. "Watch your mouth, young lady. I don’t know where you come up with this stuff."
Lucy’s lips twisted into a tiny grin. Sometimes her youthful looks accompanied by her years of experience were a disadvantage. "Come on, Su. Just ‘fess up. You look like you saw a ghost."
The elder sighed, wiping a tear away. It appeared Lucy wasn’t going to let her off on an ‘allergies’ excuse. "Fine. You want to know what happened. I called out his name last night."
"So? We all know how noisy you are. Remember Gil Turner?" Susan had the grace to blush at the memory.
"You need to stop spending so much time with Ed. He’s corrupting you, Lu. You used to be so sweet and innocent."
"And then I got you for a big sister. So don’t try to change the subject."
Susan dropped her head into her hands. "I didn’t cry out Jonathon. I cried out Caspian." The words were so low, Lucy almost didn’t catch them. She veered off the road into a small parking lot and jammed the car into a spot. It was the first time in over four years that Susan had admitted he existed, let alone said his name.
They sat in silence for a moment before Lucy found her voice. "Are you okay?" she murmured, placing a hand on Susan’s shoulder.
Susan shook her head, reaching for her sister. She buried her face in her shoulder, sobbing. Lucy blinked back tears of her own as she rubbed gentle circles on Susan’s back. "Shh. It’s okay. Everything’s going to be all right."
Finally, Susan pulled away, rubbing at her puffy eyes. "Thanks, Lu." Lucy nodded and started the car without a word.
The two girls never spoke of the incident again. But that day gave Lucy the strangest kind of hope for her sister.