The way that Mal pulled his long hair up, and looked at her Jeanne with an unmade face went through her entire body. His skin glowing but stark, let her know they were not what they used to be to each other. It was hard even though she knew it, she knew it but it was hard to look at him.
To know he was with Karys.
Jeanne remembered talking to Karys about him at Saturday and Sunday boozy brunches. Karys was not sure how she felt about him, but she talked to her about him and let Jeanne talk about him as much as she wanted to. When Mal gave Jeanne her necklace—her Fleur necklace—Jeanne had caressed it and turned it between her fingers nonstop, until she was afraid the gold would melt.
“Jeanne,” Mal said finally, and it was jarring because he had never really called her anything but Fleur. She remembered him drawing a black suds rose on her nipple in the shower. He had black soap in the bathtub, and the water had been gray when it washed off of them. “Jeanne.”
“It’s okay,” she said, wanting to touch his forearm but afraid to because she was not sure that she had the right to touch him anymore. “It’s okay.”
Jeanne wore her Fleur necklace. She watched as Mal reached for it, and turned the gold word slightly with his fingers. She could hear Adele’s song in her head, “Hello” and realized it was not too late for her to to say she was sorry even though they were torn apart. If she had called him, he would have picked up the phone because they still mattered…a little.
More Fleur Friday here, more Friday Flash here. Gorgeous Friday Flash picture donated via Candy Snatch, who you can read a guest post from here.
