Chapter Four
The following morning, Amirah woke to the unmistakable sounds of a sandstorm battering the town. Normally, she would take that as an excuse for a rare lazy day, where she would curl up with a book and relax, since leaving the house wasn’t recommended unless it was an emergency.
Today though, her first thought was for Manny and Blythe, and whether anyone had warned them or Dale just how bad the sandstorms could get around Sandrock. She knew they were renting Logan’s place. She hadn’t really registered at the time that that made them neighbours, but now it was a relief.
Amirah might not often go out in sandstorms, but she knew how to prepare. She pulled on a rarely worn pair of jeans, and a long sleeved shirt, before tying her hair back to fit under her sandgear. She grabbed a bag of the snacks that Manny had dropped off, along with a few Barnarock treats that her ma and pa had sent her and Arvio.
Heading out the door, she met a similarly dressed Heidi, heading in the same direction. The two women gave each other a thumbs up, and over the sound of the storm Amirah heard Heidi shout, “the things we do for love, huh?”
Love? The thought stopped Amirah in her tracks. She wasn’t falling back in love with them, was she?
The alleyway between Amirah’s shop and the guys’ house muted the storm a little, but as soon as they rounded the corner, they felt the full force, and had to hold onto each other for safety. This was one of the worst sandstorms Amirah could remember in her time in Sandrock.
They battered on the door, and after a worrying couple of minutes, where Amirah wondered if they had ventured out, Dale opened the door a crack and peered out before opening it just wide enough to let them both in.
“We were warned about these sandstorms before we arrived, but the reality is something else,” Dale said while Amirah and Heidi removed their extra protective layers.
As soon as Heidi had her sandgear off and handed over the supplies she’d brought, Dale scooped her up in his arms and headed upstairs, while Heidi giggled.
“Guess we’ll see them in a couple of hours,” Blythe joked. “I thought you were winding us up, but, no. It seems pretty serious too. Dale was even muttering about moving here long term.”
“It's a decent place to live,” Amirah admitted. “The people are friendly, really look after their own, too. We’ve been through a lot, and come out the other side stronger.”
“You sound really settled,” Manny commented. “Would you ever think about returning to Barnarock?”
Amirah shook her head. “No, never, this is my home now. I belong here in a way I never truly did in Barnarock.”
“I couldn’t imagine leaving Barnarock permanently,” Manny replied. Amirah looked at him.
“What, never?” she asked.
“Never seen the need to think about it before,” he replied with a shrug.
“I could,” said Blythe, glancing at Amirah. “For the right reasons.”
Again, they were circling round conversations that Amirah wanted to avoid for as long as possible, so she did her normal trick and changed the subject.
“So, I brought back some of the jerky and stuff you left yesterday, Manny, wasn’t sure what you’d have in. Looks like Heidi’s brought some of Grandma Vivi’s home baking, too, you’re in luck. Better leave them until she and Dale surface, otherwise it’ll all be gone! Oh, and I brought this!”
She pulled a flask out the bag, and rummaged in the cupboard for mugs. Any builder or ruin diver that spent more than five minutes in an abandoned ruin found a surplus of insulated mugs from the Old World, and most houses in Sandrock had a stockpile. Her mugs were mostly bought by tourists as souvenirs.
“Is that…” Blythe gasped.
“Barnarock coffee, yep!” Amirah handed the mugs round with a grin. “There’s a few things Arvio and I really miss, the coffee being one of them, so our ma and pa send monthly food parcels. There’s biscuits in there as well.”
Unlacing her boots, Amirah curled up on one of the armchairs, tucking her feet under her.
“How’s your work going?” she asked Blythe.
“Well, luckily, we were delayed yesterday, didn’t start the glaze on the outside, otherwise we’d have had to strip it off and restart.”
“If you ever get a chance to talk properly to Heidi, ask her about a SANDWALL. They’ve got one at the workshop, and it keeps a lot of the sand out. In fact, a permanent one might not be a bad idea, if there’s budget for it. Either white to match the building, or painted to match the artwork.”
“If all sandstorms are this bad, that’s not a bad idea,” said Manny. “I know we were warned and all, but this is way beyond what I expected.”
“It’s one of the worst I’ve seen, if I’m honest,” Amirah explained. “In fact, I think the worst one was about six months after Arvio and I arrived, just after Hunter came to town. She ended up doing a lot of work fixing up the saloon, which is how she and Owen became friends.”
“What would you normally be doing on a day like this, when you’re not checking up on out of towners?” Blythe asked.
“Honestly, sandstorms are one of the few occasions I take a total day off. Usually, I’ll curl up with a book. The closest I’ll get to working will be sketching out a few designs that’ll probably never get made - I call them my fantasy designs.”
“What are you planning for today now?” Manny asked.
“Beyond getting here to check you were all okay, I didn’t really think. Can hang around if you want the company, or I can head home. I’m only next door, after all.”
“Not in this weather!”
“Stay!”
Both of them shouted at once. “Okay, okay, point taken!” Amirah laughed. “Are there any board games in the cupboard?”
While Blythe went to look, Manny pinned Amirah with a stare. “You know we need to talk about all this at some point, don’t you?”
Amirah sighed. “Eventually yes, but not today. And to be honest, if I’m not planning on leaving Sandrock, and you don’t want to leave Barnarock, there’s not much left to talk about, is there?”
Manny groaned. “I’ve put my foot in it again, haven’t I?”
“You were honest with me, which is what I asked for, so thank you. At least we might be able to remain friends this time.”
Blythe came back with a set of Old World playing cards, just in time to catch the end of the conversation. “What did I miss?” he asked, looking between them.
“Nothing much,” Amirah replied with a shrug, “Manny suggested we all use the time to talk, and I pointed out that if neither of us plan to move, then there’s not much to talk about. Now what did you have in mind with those playing cards?”
Blythe glared at Manny, who mouthed, “I’m sorry.” Suddenly Blythe had a lot of sympathy for all the times Dale had glared at the two of them and pinched his nose, as he could feel the same sort of headache starting.
Between the three of them, they figured out a silly and overly complicated game, where they changed the rules to suit as needed.
Eventually, Heidi and Dale came back downstairs, looking happy and relaxed. Amirah envied the casual intimacy between them. Every time she came close to that with Manny and Blythe something happened and caused problems.
The sandstorm blew itself out by early evening. Heidi said she would stay over, but Amirah wanted to get back to her studio.
“I’ll walk you home,” Blythe offered.
Amirah shook her head, “I’ll be fine, thank you.”
“Please? I’d like to talk to you? In private,” he added, as Manny started to offer to come along.
“Okay, I’m only two minutes away, but if it makes you feel better.”
As they walked, Blythe rested his hand on her back, and smiled to himself as Amirah leaned into him.
“If you want to talk, do you want to come inside?” Amirah asked. “Gets cold out overnight.”
“I’ve noticed when I’ve been working late. And whatever makes you feel comfortable. We can sit here if you prefer,” he said, nodding at the chairs on her porch.
“Inside is better. It’s a small town, but it’s amazing how many ears there are.”
Blythe looked round curiously when they walked in. Back in Barnarock, they’d always collected and dropped Amirah off at her door, so this was the first he’d seen her personal space. It was tidy and relatively organised, at least for an artist. Something caught his eye on her desk and he stepped over for a closer look.
“You kept them?” he asked, surprised.
Amirah nodded. “Couldn’t bear the thought of getting rid of them,” she admitted, running her fingers over the glass roses.
“How badly did Manny mess up, then?” he asked, as she perched on the desk next to where he stood.
“Define messed up. He was honest with me, which I appreciate. I know you both came here with hopes of picking up where we left off, but he made it clear that there’s a major sticking point that will stop it, at least for him and I. I’m settled here, he can’t imagine leaving Barnarock.”
“He’s an idiot,” Blythe said.
“He’s honest,” Amirah countered. “I appreciate that.”
“What about me? About us? Can there be an us?”
“I’m still not moving back to Barnarock.”
“I know.” Blythe reached over and cupped Amirah’s cheek, “but after five years without you, I’d move to the ends of the earth to spend five more minutes with you.”
“You always were the charmer, weren’t you?” Amirah murmured, covering his hand with hers.
“If you want honesty, there’s something else I need to tell you,” Blythe said.
Amirah stepped back. “Oh, Peach, what now?”
“Back in Barnarock, when we were still in school, Manny and I made an agreement that either we both got you or neither of us did.”
“Oh, no, you didn’t!” Amirah groaned. “You never think I might want a say!”
“Wait, wait, wait. We agreed that five years ago. He might have blown his chance, but I’m still willing to fight for you, if you’re willing to let me.”
“Any other nasty surprises I should know about?” Amirah asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Blythe took a moment to think about it. “I don’t think so. You know all the ways we messed up, and I’ve apologised for them. Oh, wait, there is one more thing I ought to tell you.”
Amirah closed her eyes and shook her head. “Go on, get it over with.”
“That night at the ball, we had heart knots for you, that matched the roses.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. And unless there’s anything Manny hasn’t told me, which is unlikely, I promise that’s the last secret from then. Unless you’ve got anything to share?”
Amirah chewed her bottom lip before answering. “Just that if you’d offered me the heart knots then, I’d have accepted. I had actually slipped away to freshen up, with the intention of, well, you know…” she blushed.
Blythe opened his arms and Amirah stepped into his embrace, resting her head against his shoulder.
“Things could have been so different,” he murmured, stroking her back.
“I think they needed to happen the way they did, though.”
“Maybe.” He stepped back and pressed a kiss to Amirah’s forehead. “I better get back before Manny makes all kinds of assumptions. I need to talk to him, too, I guess.
“Dale and I will need to go to the Temple first thing and see what damage has been caused, and I don’t know how long that will take so I can’t make plans to see you tomorrow, beyond suggesting we’ll both be in the saloon in the evening?”
Amirah nodded, “That works, I’ll need to sort out the shop, anyway.”
“Oh, and if Manny comes round, please don’t be too hard on him?”
“It’s not a case of being hard on him, Blythe, but it’s why I said we needed to get to know each other again. Five years is a long time. But, as things stand, Manny made it clear there’s nowhere to go between him and I.”
“We’ll see. Goodnight, Mirah,” he said as he headed out the door.
When he walked back into the house, Manny was sitting fiddling with the deck of cards they’d been playing with earlier. “Well?” he asked, looking expectantly at Blythe.
“You’re an idiot, you know that?”
“Yeah, I realised as soon as I said it. Barnarock’s my home, everything I know, and everyone I love is there. Leaving is something I’ve never even considered. I didn’t say I wouldn’t though.”
“Well, I think that’s what Mirah heard, so talk to her. Keep in mind that Dale seems pretty set on moving here to be with Heidi. And while things with Mirah aren’t at that stage yet, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of me moving here either if it came to it.”
“I know. If I stay in Sandrock, I need to make sure I’m staying for the right reasons, for me, not just chasing you or Mirah.”
Blythe clapped him on the shoulder. “You’ve got a lot of thinking to do, haven’t you?”
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