Another visit

Part 2 of "Just a social visit"

1196 words

Autors note: This story doesn't really fit the prompt in the outspoken way. It does however in the heads of the characters. I am aware :)

Kelly sat on the dark brown couch. She looked over to the other side of the trailer where Bill was seated at his desk. He had a laptop placed on the surface. Apparently he was scrolling through his files looking for something of what Kelly had no clue. He wasn’t a talker, this Bill Jones. She had found that the first time they met. He had opened the door, she had introduced herself and he had closed the door again. The second time she had knocked on the door she had some information for him. Clearly that had worked, she was inside his trailer now. He had opened the door wider and walked back in. She saw that as an invitation. When she was in he already sat down at his laptop and still hadn’t said a word.

Kelly looked around the small trailer. The inside was covered in a dark fake wood. The massive dark brown couch together with the even darker coloured walls made the space look way smaller than it was. That was what Kelly hoped at least. The trailer smelled like old sweat and even older pizza. Around the trailer ware laying pieces of laundry. Kelly’s hands itched, she wanted to open a window and clean up so badly. Or even open one of all the closed curtains around her. She also knew, if she made one bad move she would be out. She thought about what she could say and settled for “What are you doing?’

Bill didn’t look up or even move. ‘Stuff’ he said. He had a deeper voice then she expected. Kelly waited, carefully thinking out her next move. ‘What kind of stuff?’ she asked him. She made sure to use the same word he had used. Bill shrugged. ‘You wouldn’t understand.’ He growled. She heard by the tone of his voice that he really believed this. ‘Can I see?’ she asked. She noticed she spoke loud. This was an effect of the scream like music that echoed through the trailer.

‘Whatever’ he responded. Kelly stood up from the couch and walked over to him. She placed herself behind him and looked over his shoulder to his screen. He was translating some kind of text, she guessed it was Italian, to English. She leaned a little closer to see what the words said. Her shirt almost touched bills shoulder. He turned his shoulder away in a spasm and growled. He pressed the left side of his head to his shoulder and his face looked like he was in pain.

‘I am sorry.’ Kelly said, not sure what she should be sorry for. Bill just sat there in that strange position. ‘Do.’ Kelly hesitated. ‘Do you want me to leave?’ Bill shook his head. Together with this movement he relaxed a little. She waited until his neck was straight up again. She saw he was reading again. ‘What happened?’ Kelly asked carefully. Bill looked swiftly back at her, twice. ‘Too close’ he said.

‘Are you okay now?’ Kelly asked. She saw that he was thinking about her question. ‘Am I standing far enough?’ she added to make thing easier for him. She saw hat he had stopped reading and was just sitting there. His hands motionless over the keyboard and his eyes straight over the screen of the laptop. He didn’t make a sound or a movement. She saw that he was thinking, so she didn’t dare to speak or even move. Kelly wondered if he was okay. Just as she wanted to ask that after over two minutes of silence he moved again. He placed his hands on the keyboard. ‘Okay.’ He said. ‘That’s far enough. Just don’t touch me.’ He sounded like he was tired, exhausted even.

‘Okay.’ She responded to let him know she understood.

‘What are you translating?’ she asked. Partly to calm him down and partly out of interest. ‘Text.’ He said in the same low grumpy tone he had talked before. Kelly walked a little closer up to him and stood next to his left shoulder. She made sure not to get to close. She looked at his face that was concentrated on the screen. Now that his hair was tight back she could get a good look at his face. It fascinated her. His face structure was unique and really pleasant to look at. She caught herself leaning farther forward. ‘What kind of text.’ She asked to break her trance. He turned his head and looked straight at her face strangely avoiding to look into her eyes.

‘You wanne know?’ he asked. She could hear the surprise in his voice. ‘Yes.’ She said exited. ‘Tell me.’

‘Well.’ He said and a little smile appeared on his face as he looked back at his screen. ‘This in particular is a Spanish text about the devil. It is about man who apperently said his son was possessed when he was about three years old. I am still not far with it, but the story starts to develop now.’ Kelly didn’t know Bill could say this many words in a row. And he rattled on while scrolling through the text and pointing at a few words.

‘This is very interesting. his son is all grown up now, but he only wrote about it last year. Guy pointed it out to me. Apparently the priest who “treated”. Bill made the gesture with his hands. ‘died last year, so he finally found the courage to write about it. He starts his story with explaining that. Apparently the pries had forbidden him to speak about it. That is quite common.’ Kelly noticed that Bill was smiling. Not at her, but at the story. Bill fell quiet, so Kelly dared to ask something.

‘Do you do this often?’ she asked. She saw that Bill was thinking. She almost heard his brain work.

‘Do what?’ he asked. He looked like it took him a great effort and his voice wat the same one as before his ramble.

‘Translate texts.’ Kelly added.

‘Yes.’ Bill responded. ‘As much as I can.’ He looked swiftly at her and then beck at his screen.

‘Always about this?’ She asked him, trying to keep him talking. ‘The Devil.’ She immediately added.

‘Apparently.’ He said to her. Bill looked at Kelly again. The same as he did earlier, he looked scared. Kelly noticed that kind of small nuances because of her experience on the job.

‘What’s wrong?’ She asked.

‘I want to continue.’ Bill responded softly. ‘Do you want me to leave?’ Bill looked like he was thinking deeply. Kelly waited patiently for him to respond already preparing her next question.

‘Yes.’ Bill said after a couple of minutes.

‘Can I come back?’ Kelly fired almost immediately. Bill thought again.

‘Yes.’ He said. The exactly the same way as he answered the last question.

‘Tomorrow?’ Kelly asked. She thought if she just showed up on his doorstep he wouldn’t let her in again. She saw Bill think and hoped he was going to say yes.

‘Yes.’ He said. Kelly smiled. ‘Then I will see you tomorrow.’ She said, took her coat of the couch and left.