Chapter 35. Karma Payment Plan
“When in doubt, go with it; better to regret what you did than what you didn’t.”
– Kody’s Notebook
Kody hesitated a moment longer outside the door before walking away from the room he shared with Alma. He stopped by the night clerk’s desk, asking for pencil and paper, and returned to his seat in the lobby.
He sketched sketchy sketches into the sparse plane, burying graphite into the blank universe he tried to create. A ribbon and a bow followed the flow of the circles he spun into madness, resembling either a little girl or a narcissistic pig. Beside his excuse for some sort of sad creation lay his illustrated friends: the duck of combustion, the feline cantankerous, and now a poor puppy with a bad party hat. Though he was no artist, he couldn’t call this art.
Turning back to a more familiar craft, he tried spinning words to define an intimate dilemma.
Bitter, burned, buried. The life of a sinful witch, using her gift to help others. Their frail understanding of their own failures must’ve been her fault. And so her ash was left in a hole to serve as their new albatross. Yet even then, evil happened. Clearly, the dead witch was still at fault
He set the paper down.
He stared at the forgettable ceiling tiles that seemed a poor choice for a poor establishment. His head resting against the back of the chair, he began to drift in and out of consciousness. At some point through his drifting, a swift kick to his ankle brought the world back to his senses. “Damnit, Alm! I’m awake!” He sat up, watching Lorena shake her head as she took a seat across from him.
“I gave up my room fer you, ya’ know. On account of I figured you’d be usin’ it.”
Kody rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “What’re you talking about?”
“Cris? Your girlfriend? Gave her my room. For ya’ two ta’…ya’ know. Figured with all the squabbling between you an’ Alma, you must care a lot about Cris. Am I wrong?”
Kody sighed as he rubbed his forehead. “I can’t explain how grateful I am for everything you’ve done, Lorena, but please…stay out of this. I didn’t get in between you and Adelais after Siggy…”
Kody trailed off, the pain dwelling in Lorena’s eyes more than enough to make him regret ever speaking. He searched for some way to make it right, but he knew right then he was an idiot.
Lorena spoke up. “I get it, okay? After everything, I don’t know if Ade and I could ever—especially when he reminds me so much of Sig… “She looked away before continuing. “I’ll deal with my own problems. But you, Kody, I honestly hope ya’ never lose someone ya’ love.”
Lorena stood up, carefully but firm, and stepped over to him. She leaned forward, pulling him close enough to kiss his forehead. She released him, looking into his eyes. “Because when ya’ do, all that’s left are the memories, and the time ya wasted on doin’ everything but lovin’ ‘em back.”
Kody watched as she solemnly wandered outside. He sat in the chair, thinking about how much time he had already squandered. Time he’d never get back. Matier’s speech came to mind, chastising him for wishing he had a little more time, even if only for a moment. Yet here he was, pitying himself over indecision when friends like Siggy had never wasted a moment, and still never had a chance to live.
He balled his fist until his knuckles cracked, slamming it on the arm of the chair. He stood up, ignored by the inn’s jaded evening manager, as he headed over to Cris’s room. He knocked on her door. After a moment, she appeared from behind the door dressed in little more than the button-up shirt he had left her.
“Kody, hey.”
His blood rushed in the wrong direction as his eyes perused her body. He knew how sweet she tasted, and he was nothing short of a sexual tyrannosaurus. But having damned himself on forbidden fruit before, Geroge’s advice caused him to pause just once before following his gut, or any other appendages. Kody was becoming adept at regretting his words as he spoke.
“Get dressed. I’ll wait out here,” he said.
“Everything all right?” she canted her head.
He nodded, and waited for her in the lobby. Before long, she re-appeared in the sundress she had worn by the riverside in Texarkana. It still accentuated her features so well—her adorable freckles, her coy smile, the way so many random strands of hair still fell into place in just the right ways. Keeping his eyes all over her, he hardened. Metapod quickly came to mind. He suppressed a laugh while distracting himself enough to focus on the moment. He took her by the hand and led her out onto the porch, the two of them taking a seat on the steps.
“Kody—”
“Let’s just take it slow.”
He put his arm around her, resting her head on his shoulder—just as they had first done the night of G’s concert. Her airy scent— intermingled with a fine tinge of sweat—danced through his nostrils as they watched the glowing lamps of the night sky, listening to nothing other than the sound of each other’s breaths. Despite how long they had been apart, they still knew exactly what the other meant. He reached around, pulling the hair from her eyes and tucking it behind her ear. He continued to draw his fingers through her hair.
“Ever my gentleman,” Cris muttered as she hugged him tightly, starting to drift off. A light blanket pushed up behind Kody from the other side. He turned back to catch a glimpse of Lorena’s half-hearted smile as she turned and walked off. He wrapped it around Cris, who despite the heat, was surely just a bit chilly. She lifted her head enough to give him a light kiss on the cheek, wrapping him up in the blanket with her. He watched from his periphery as her eyelids finally gave way, maintaining watch over his princess as she slept.