An Ending

It was the usual Wednesday dinner. Caroline’s apartment was always in disarray, but her cooking made the experience. Rachel mostly ate frozen dinners or takeout, so the proper meal was a nice change of pace.

Steak and asparagus marked the table tonight, with a nice bottle of cabernet sauvignon to accompany. Two candles sat between the pair. A lamp lit the room too, but it was still dim. Rachel suspected Caroline was using the soft mood lighting to hide her messes, but it did make for a comfortable meal.

“How’s the book coming?” Caroline poured another glass of wine. Her dark hair was thick and flowing against the soft light of candles.

“Well. I think.” Rachel smiled awkwardly from over her plate. “What had I written last Wednesday?”

“They had finally gotten to the castle, but the Baron captured Silus.” Caroline took a sip of the dark red in her glass. “Baelin and Meltor had escaped, but without Silus’ magic you weren’t sure how they’d fight the Baron.”

“That’s right.” Rachel grabbed for her own wine. “I was worried Silus might die.”

“With a villain like the Baron it seems like someone’s going to.”

“It makes me sad.”

“What does?” Caroline raised a brow.

“Writing him. He’s just full of pain. He’s not evil. He desires empathy and doesn’t know how to get it.” Rachel took a light sip from her glass.

Caroline laughed. “Sometimes it seems like you care more about your villains than your heroes.”

“What does that say about me?”

“Less than you think, probably. Pass the salt?”

Rachel glanced out the window. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

“I suppose there’s a little light left. Where were you thinking?”

“That park, the one a few blocks South?” The writer finished the last of her plate.

“Sure. I could use a smoke anyway.”

The street was busy for a weekday night. The summer sun had dragged daylight into the late hours, and it seemed everyone stayed with it. A family shot hoops into an old net fixed above the garage. A rove of drunks sat on the stairs of a building opposite, swapping stories with increasing volume. Lovers kissed in an alley down the sidewalk.

“It’s a nice night.” Caroline lit a cigarette.

“Can I have a drag?”

“You can have a cigarette.”

Rachel smiled. “You know I won’t smoke the whole thing.”

“Fine.” Caroline made a noise somewhere between sigh and chuckle. “Here.”

The warmth of the smoke shot into Rachel’s lungs. “How are you enjoying the summer?”

“It’s nice. It always takes me a while to adjust to the boredom.”

“You don’t like the time away?”

Caroline shrugged. “I like my classroom. I like my students. I like the structure. Summer is a lot of nothing happening.”

“Is this structure?”

“Our little dinners? We’re taking a right up here. I’d say so.”

“I’m glad I can do that for you.”

The teacher smiled softly. “You do plenty for me, don’t worry.”

Rachel put her hands in her pockets and studied the graffiti on a nearby garage door.

“So what happens next?”

“With what?”

Caroline laughed. “With your book. Come on, it’s over on the left.”

“Oh, right. Well, Baelin and Meltor managed to turn the Baron’s minions against him. Not all of them, but Meltor-- Did you want to sit on the bench or walk the path?”

“Let’s keep walking.”

“Okay. But Meltor was once a servant of the Baron too, so he manages to get the sympathy of enough. The castle falls into uproar and they make it to Silus and the Baron.”

Caroline stopped to look at an owl sitting against a dying tree. “That makes sense. If Meltor could redeem himself, why couldn’t most of them?”

“That was the start of what I was thinking.”

“What’s the end of what you were thinking?”

Rachel zipped her jacket up. It was getting a little cold. “They find the Baron. Silus is hurt badly, but he’s alive. Together, they manage to destroy his armor and subdue him.”

“Oh. It sounds like you’ve finished it.””

“I think so.”

Caroline put out the stub of her cigarette against her boot. “You think so?”

“You know this is my first book.”

“I know. What does that have to do with anything?” Caroline lit another cigarette.

“I’ve never been good at endings. It’s hard to just wrap something up and put it away. It’s hard to decide something is over.”

“Well, you write from character. That’s what I like about your work. But your characters have been through a lot. Don’t you think they want it to be over?”

The writer gestured for a drag. “Oh they do. I guess I’m just not sure how to leave them behind. At least, I wasn’t.”

“Are you sure now?”

“Not sure, but accepting. I think I’ve given them the best I can.”

Caroline smiled as she took her cigarette back. “I know you have. You’re good at making the struggles worth it.”

“I didn’t want to kill him.”

“The Baron? I didn’t think you would, so what do they do?”

Rachel walked over to a fallen tree and sat down. “It’s not like they can forgive it all and be friends. That would be foolish. I know that.”

“It’s your ending. Whatever it is, it’s not foolish.” Caroline joined her companion. “So how did you end it?”

“They spare him. The Baron is shown kindness for the first time as a bloodied and broken monster, begging for mercy.”

“I like that. Do you mind if I sit against you? I should’ve worn a coat.”

“Sure.”

“So what does he do, then?”

Rachel shuttered against her friend. It was starting to get dark. “He leaves. He puts all the pain he carried and all the pain he spread behind him and decides to travel until he understands what it means to show kindness.”

Caroline rested her head against Rachel’s shoulder.

“Well? What do you think?”

“I think it’s going to be a great ending. Why wouldn’t I?”

The two of them stayed until the last of the sun faded. When only the stars were left to guide them home, they stumbled back to where they started.