Chapter Three
Amirah’s hands shook as she straightened the pots and cups on her shelves. Besides Arvio, the only two people in Sandrock who know the full story of why she’d left Barnarock were Sonia and Hunter, so she was glad her sister in law was the one that had checked the three men in and realised who they were.
Why?! Why were they here? Of all the artists that the Church could have hired, why them? Of course, she knew that the answer to that question was that they were the best at what they did. Heidi had visions, which Burgess had bought into, of bringing the landscape into the temple, and the plan was that the pillar of rock that bisected the far wall would be carved and surrounded by stained glass. Personal feelings aside, Amirah couldn’t think of anyone better than Dale and Blythe for that. But, Darkness, this was her home, this was her safe space.
“Hello, Mirah.” Despite how softly the words were spoken, she still jumped and dropped the cup she was holding, breaking it into three pieces. She didn’t need to turn round to identify the speaker.
“What are you doing here, Manny?” she asked flatly, keeping her back to him.
“Blythe and Dale are here to work on the Temple, thought I’d come along for the trip.” Amirah closed her eyes and counted to ten. Even after all this time that voice still got to her, but she couldn’t let him know.
“No, what are you doing here? At my shop. It’s not the Temple.”
“Is it so wrong I wanted to see you? You disappeared without saying goodbye, without listening to what either of us had to say. We’ve been hunting for you ever since, but you did a fantastic job of covering your tracks.”
“Oh, I heard enough!” Amirah shouted, finally turning round to face him. She swallowed when she realised how close he was, but now the dam had broken, she was going to continue. “I heard exactly what you and Blythe said that night. You were talking about me like I was a prize to be won! Have you no sense of decency?!" She stamped her foot, and leaned forward, getting into Manny's face as she yelled."So don’t you dare come round here telling me you just wanted to see me and talk to me!”
Amirah pushed past him, and slammed the door in his face.
Before Manny could go after her, he felt a hand clasp his arm.
“I’d think very carefully before doing anything else,” Arvio said calmly. Sonia stood back at the top of the stairs with her arms folded, glaring at him. She’d clearly gone and fetched Amirah’s brother once she’d spoken to Amirah.
“Good to see you, too, Arvio,” Manny said. The years had definitely been good to Arvio. The scrawny, cocksure boy Manny had known back then had grown up.
“I don’t know why you’re here,” he continued, ignoring Manny’s attempt at friendship, “but if you or Blythe do anything to hurt my sister again, we will have a problem. Do you know how long it took her to get over what y’all did to her?”
“We messed up, we know it, and we’ve regretted it every day since,” Manny replied. “But you and Mirah disappeared before we could apologise. We spent two days arguing, and by the time we’d got our heads out our arses, you’d gone. We’ve spent the last five years looking for her to apologise, and if she’ll let us, we’ll spend the rest of our lives making it up to her.”
“And if she won’t?” Arvio asked.
“Then we walk away, leave her be, but at least we’ll know. Not knowing how or where she has been over the last five years has been torture. I know we hurt her, both with our words and our actions, and if she tells us to take a hike, we’ll deserve it.”
Arvio levelled a stare at him. “Fine, get yourself off to the Temple, do whatever it is you lot came here to do. Do not come to this shop again, unless explicitly invited. That goes for Dale as well as you two. I will talk to my sister, I will tell her what you told me, and IF she agrees to talk to any of you, I will let you know.”
“Thank you, Arvio, that’s probably more than I deserve,” Manny replied. As he walked away, he scooped up the broken pieces of the cup - old habits die hard when it came to recycling broken artwork, but he had an idea.
“Arvio, can you go let Owen know I’ll be back in a bit, please?” Sonia asked. “No offence, but I think this is a girls’ conversation right now. Amirah told me and Hunter the full story a few weeks back, and thank the Light she did. It’s how I recognised them when they arrived, but I think we’re going to have to tell a few more people.”
Arvio nodded. “Okay, I’ll let Owen know and be back soon.”
Sonia knocked lightly on the door, calling out, “Amirah, it’s me.”
Amirah cracked the door open. “Has he gone?”
“Yeah, Arvio sent him off, at least for now. Can I come in?”
Amirah opened the door enough for Sonia to enter and latched it behind her.
“So, what now?” Sonia asked.
“I’m going to have to face them, aren’t I?”
“Probably, but we can buy you some space. Arvio’s already warned them not to come round here without an invite. Hunter and I can run interference to a point, but I’d like to ask your permission to fill in a few more people. Mi-an because she’s the Guild Commissioner, and they’ll likely want workshop space and commissions, Owen so he knows who’s staying at the saloon, and Justice and Unsuur as the Civil Corps. And, well, I guess Logan’ll find out, too, but he could kick all their butts with one hand tied behind his back if required. Maybe even Burgess and Nora, if they’re spending that much time at the Temple?
“All I need to tell them is that they broke your heart which is why you came here, they don’t need details.”
Amirah nodded, “That’s fine. Guess it’ll be all round town by the end of the week, so I’d rather get my side out there first.”
Sonia hugged her, “We’ll get this sorted, promise. We’ll keep them away if you want, or keep an eye if you want to talk to them, just let us know.”
Amirah jumped as there was another knock at the door. Sonia answered it and let Arvio in.
“Found Andy and Jas, Owen had them taking the guys to the Temple. Andy’s going to watch the general store for a bit, and Jas is going to look after your sales for the afternoon, so I can stay for a bit if you want.”
“Thank you, Arvio, but it’s fine. It was just a shock, but I can’t stay hidden away for as long as they’re here. Light, if it’s statues and stained glass, it could be months.”
“I asked him what he wanted. He says they know they messed up and wanted to apologise. Have done since it happened. I said I’d pass it on, but all three of them need to steer clear of you unless you specifically invite them to talk. He seemed OK with that.”
“Again, Arvio, thank you. I sometimes don’t think you realise how much your support has helped me over the last 5 years.”
“Okay, sis, shout if you need us for anything.”
Dale and Blythe walked into the Temple, and looked round while Jasmine disappeared off to find someone. They’d spotted the large rock from outside, and could see the matching boarded off area inside. Obviously, the town had wanted to get the Temple up and running as quickly as possible, with the art coming later. Unusual for the Church of Light as they knew it, Dale mused, but then, Sandrock seemed to be unique in a lot of ways.
“Where’s Manny?” he asked Blythe, frowning.
“Not sure, he said he’d catch us up and darted off.”
Just then, Jasmine walked back accompanied by someone they could only assume was the minister.
“Good afternoon gentlemen, I am Burgess, the minister here in Sandrock. Oh, I just can’t get used to saying that, I was only promoted a few months ago! Anyway, let me show you what we want you to work on.”
He led them towards the boarded off area, and through a concealed door. Blythe was impressed how much space was left around it for them to work.
“I understand Andy has gone to fetch Heidi, who is the local engineer and architect. She designed this building to replace our old Temple, following that horrible business with Duvos, I’m sure you’ve heard about it.”
“Yes, terrible business,” Blythe agreed, “but it looks like the town is going from strength to strength now?”
“Oh yes, with a bit of luck, and Peach willing, we’ll regain our status as the sapphire of the Eufaula soon.”
“I’m surprised there’s no local artists that could have done this?” Blythe asked innocently. Dale glared at him, but there was nothing he could say without causing a scene.
“We don’t have many, to be fair,” Burgess explained. “Pablo, who is the town barber, also does some graphic arts, and Amirah is our local ceramic artist, but neither of them specialise in what we wanted.”
Blythe smiled politely. “Oh that’s a shame. I would love to connect with your local artists while we’re here, though?”
“I’m sure we can arrange something,” Burgess replied happily. Dale stood behind him and shook his head at Blythe.
“Burgess? You in here?” a voice called from the main church.
“That will be Heidi, come, let me introduce you!”
They headed back into the room. A lady, presumably Heidi, was waiting for them. Manny sauntered in behind her, grinning like the cat who'd got the canary. Again, there was nothing Dale could say in public, so he settled for shaking his head again, before turning to address Heidi.
Heidi's plans were a good start, and she, Dale and Blythe made arrangements to meet in her office the following day to elaborate on them. Manny planned to take his sketchpad and paints around town while they worked.
When they got back to the saloon, Manny ignored the funny looks he got from the previously friendly Owen, and the three of them headed upstairs. They'd booked two rooms between them and Dale ushered them into his to talk.
"She's here!" Blythe said with a grin.
"I know, I've seen her!" Manny replied.
They started talking nineteen to the dozen, while Dale stood back with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Quite finished?" he asked, once they ran out of steam. "What did you achieve by going there today, Manny? What do you hope to achieve?"
"Well, I saw her, she seems well, and I allowed her the opportunity to lose her temper, get it out her system."
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, Arvio says we all need to stay away unless Mirah says otherwise."
"Well done. No, really, well done!"
Manny stepped back. Despite working with Dale as partners for the last five years, he was still capable of pulling the teacher voice out on them on them.
"Listen guys, I know you've been looking for Mirah for years, and I know that vase was your first real clue, but didn't I tell you to be cautious? Instead, you've gone rushing in, almost literally like a bull in a china shop!"
“Now, given the look the barkeep gave you both when we came in just now, I’m pretty certain Mirah has friends here who know what happened and either know, or have a good idea who you are. Stay here, keep out of trouble and I’ll see if I can get any food for upstairs. Looks like they had a to-go counter as well as bar food.”
Dale was so busy mentally fuming about them, that he wasn’t looking where he was going and walked straight into Heidi. He’d been so focussed on her designs earlier, that he hadn’t paid too much attention to the designer.
Probably a good job, too, he thought to himself as he held on to her for just a moment too long to stop her falling. He shook his head to stop him thinking about her eyes and the smattering of freckles across her nose. He was here to work, and any free time he had would most likely be spent trying to stop Blythe and Manny ruining any second chance they might have with Mirah. While he knew he should leave them to it, he also knew just how badly they’d taken it when she left, and he didn’t know if he could cope with that again.
“Sorry about that!” Heidi said, interrupting his thoughts. “Totally wasn’t lookin’ where I was goin’!”
“I wasn’t either,” he admitted, “so I guess we're even?”
Heidi smiled, and Dale knew he was a goner. “Sorry we didn’t get much chance to talk this afternoon,” she said with a smile, “but I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time over the next few weeks. Sorry, I need to run, just getting take out for my Grandma, she’s not feeling so good today.” She held up a bag as she headed out the door.
When he approached the counter, Owen and Sonia were both noticeably less friendly than they had been earlier. Customer service friendly, rather than welcoming was the best way he could describe it. Peach knew, he did it himself often enough.
Dale took a seat to wait on his order, avoiding the stares of various townspeople. None of them looked particularly happy to see him. Oddly, it did reassure him that Mirah was well liked here if they were so obviously protective of her.
When his food arrived, he was surprised to find it delivered by Amirah herself.
“Figured I might as well get this over with,” she said.
“Good to see you too, Mirah,” Dale replied.
“You seemed like the safer option to catch up with,” she said with a wry smile. “I missed you and Saff, but I didn’t want either of you to have to lie for me. So, how did you end up here with that pair of idiots? And did they know I was here before they arrived?”
“After you left, they were both inconsolable for a while. I’m stating facts, not looking for sympathy,” he said, holding up a hand to stop her scoffing. “Eventually, we ended up opening a gallery and shop. They work there full time, while I still teach as well. You did a good job of hiding, but over the last couple of years, we’ve had enquiries about ceramics from Sandrock. They were hopeful it was you, but there was never anything tangible to connect the enquiries with you. Then about a week after we signed the contract to come here, someone brought in a piece they wanted to sell, and when we examined it, we recognised your maker’s mark on it. Again, not absolute proof, but enough to give hope”
“Arvio’s been very clever, and set up a third party distributor for the mail order deliveries to try and keep it separate from my name, so I’m guessing it was someone that visited the town, then. I suppose I should be glad it was dumb luck on their part and not plotted.”
“You know we’re going to be here for a few weeks at least, right? What are you planning to do?”
Amirah shrugged. “Ignore them and hope they’ll go away?”
Dale snorted a laugh. “Yeah, don’t think that’s going to work, I’m afraid. I’ll do my best to keep them away from you, but I think at some point, you’ll have to face them.”
“We’ll see. Enjoy your dinner, good to see you again.”
To Amirah’s surprise, for the next two weeks, Blythe and Manny did, mostly, stay away. She would occasionally pass them in the street, and they would nod politely in acknowledgement, but not approach her. She chatted to Dale again a few times - Blythe was working late into the night on the statue, so Dale and Manny were alternating assisting him.
“On one hand,” she explained to Hunter and Sonia in the saloon, “I’m happy they’re respecting my boundaries. On the other, I can’t help thinking they’re up to something, and I’m just waiting on it happening.”
Her friends nodded sympathetically.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” she sighed, “but I think I need to talk to them.”
“Looks like you might have your chance now,” Hunter said as the door opened and the two men in question walked in.
They nodded politely at Hunter and Amirah, as Sonia came over to take their order.
“Take a seat, it’ll be right with you.”
Manny and Blythe sat at the far end of the bar, trying hard not to look back at Mirah. They’d taken Dale’s words to heart, and were giving her space, but it was hard. Instead, they chatted about how the work at the Temple was going. The design was mostly abstract, and Blythe had the general shape in place. Now he was working on refining it, while Dale was spending time at the town workshop working on the glass pieces to got around it. They were also making enquiries about a rental property, as it was clear they would be here for several months.
They were so engrossed in the conversation that they barely noticed when the food arrived. In fact, they didn’t look round until Amirah pulled a spare chair up to the end of the table and sat down. It didn't escape any of them that she sat backwards in the chair, mimicking her pose in Manny’s painting, and putting a barrier between them.
“Arvio’s not going to come over and threaten me again, is in?” Manny asked.
“Nope, since I chose to come over here,” Amirah replied. “Hunter and Sonia are right there if I need them, though.”
“It’s good to see you again, Mirah,” Blythe said.
“Not going to lie, it was a shock to see you both again. I think I’ve got used to you being here now, though,” Amirah replied with a shrug.
“Does that mean we can talk to you now without half the town staring daggers at us?”
“Maybe. Depends what you’ve got to say, I guess.”
“A million apologies for a start?” Blythe offered. Manny nodded in agreement.
“We fucked up. That’s all there is to it. We had plans for that evening, got excited and got carried away talking and saying things we didn’t mean,” Manny said.
“And I should have told you that I’d used a potters’ wheel for years, and not lied to you about it. I’m sorry I lied and took advantage of you, but I promise you that if you give me the chance, I will always be honest with you,” Blythe added.
Amirah looked at them both, stood up and put the chair back at the next table. The guys looked at each other, worried that they’d blown their chance until she came back over.
“Hi gentlemen, welcome to Sandrock, I’m Amirah,” she said, holding her hand out to shake theirs.
They introduced themselves in turn. “So, does this mean we’re forgiven?” Manny asked hopefully.
“Not quite. It means I’m willing to start over and see what happens if we get to know each other again. It’s been five years, you might not even like who I am these days.”
“That’s fair,” Manny said.
“All that we can ask for,” Blythe agreed.
“I’ll let you get back to your dinner, then. Good to see you again.” With that, Amirah walked off to join her friends, leaving them staring at her back.
Amirah sat back down with Hunter and Sonia, carefully keeping her back to Manny and Blythe.
“How’d that go?” Sonia asked.
“Are they looking?” Amirah asked.
“Yeah,” Hunter confirmed. “No, wait, they’ve gone back to eating and talking now you’re settled back here.”
“It went, well, probably better than I expected,” Amirah said. “Lots of apologies that sound genuine - Blythe even apologised for his actions, for lying to me, not just ‘I’m sorry your feelings were hurt’. We shook hands and agreed to start over. I’m not prepared to jump straight back into where we were, I need time. We might all be very different people than we were five years ago. They do seem to have changed, although in a good way. Guess time will tell.”
Amirah didn’t see much of them over the next few weeks, since work at the Temple was keeping them busy. She had noticed occasional gifts appearing in her mailbox, small sketches of Sandrock in hand made frames. Looking at them, and realising how readily she still recognised both their styles, she admitted to herself that she’d been naive to think they wouldn’t find her eventually.
Admit it, she told herself, you always hoped they would, didn’t you?
The next morning, she was setting up out front, when Manny approached.
“Morning Mirah, I wondered if I could ask a favour?”
“Go on.”
“I want to set up my easel, work on turning some of the sketches I’ve made round town into paintings. Wondered if I could set up here, keep you company for a bit?”
“Yeah, OK. I was going to work on some more bases today, so I’ll be out here at the wheel. Do you want to set up over there?” She pointed to the corner of the porch, where the building next door would shelter his work from a lot of the wind that gusted about.
They spent most of the morning working in companionable silence, until Manny stepped back and stretched.
"What do you normally do for lunch?" he asked as Amirah finished another pot.
Amirah looked up, surprised. “Lunch? Oh is it that time already?”
“Mirah! Please tell me you don’t still forget to eat meals regularly?”
“Oh, I might occasionally get caught up in my work and lose track of time.”
“Occasionally?”
“Once or twice…”
“A month?”
Amirah blushed. “A week?”
Manny shook his head. “Some things never change. Will you come to the saloon with me and let me buy you lunch, please?”
“That would be nice, thank you. Let me get cleaned up first.” Amirah headed into her shop and closed the door, giving herself a moment to wipe the goofy smile off her face before washing her hands and heading back outside.
“Thank you for the sketches,” Amirah said, as they headed towards the saloon. I love the landscape of the whole town, but I can’t figure out the angle you were viewing it from?”
"I took a cable car across the canyon," Manny explained as they headed down the stairs, "then climbed on top of the building."
"Are you mad?" Amirah asked, shaking her head.
"Justice said it would be fine?"
"My best friend's husband told you to go climb on the roof of the cable car station next to the canyon, and you didn't think he might be winding you up?" Amirah laughed.
"Wait, who's he married to? I've met Hunter and Sonia, who am I missing?"
"Oh, he's married to Hunter."
Manny stopped and looked at her in confusion. "But I thought Hunter was married to Owen?"
"She is. Do you want to sit in, or get takeaway and sit by the oasis?"
Manny looked at her in surprise, but decided to leave the conversation until they were somewhere more private again. “Sitting by the oasis sounds good.”
Five minutes later, they were settled under a sunshade next to the oasis. Hunter had installed the first one at Arvio’s request shortly after she arrived, but recently, they’d added a few more.
“So, let me get this right,” Manny said, “Hunter is married to both Owen and Justice?”
Amirah nodded. “Owen, Justice and Logan. They’re all married to each other.”
“Logan as well? All three of them? Don’t I remember someone saying once that dating two people was silly?”
“I did say that, didn’t I?” Amirah didn’t bother expanding, just took another bite of her lunch.
“So, you got down from the roof of the cable cars no problems,” she asked, changing the subject. “Dare I ask where else my friends have recommended you try for views?”
Manny had the sense to leave the conversation alone, since Mirah clearly wasn’t ready to go back over that discussion yet. Most places he’d been were fairly safe - at least for Sandrock.
“The one place I still want to go is to the Northern Plateau, I can imagine the view there is amazing. Don’t worry, I’ve already agreed to wait until Hunter or Logan can accompany me. Probably better to get Hunter?”
“Hmm, yes, she’s less likely to push you off Daisy’s back and make it look like an accident!”
As they were finishing eating, they spotted Blythe walking back into town from the Temple. Manny waved, and he changed direction to join them.
“Either of you seen Dale? I thought he might be at the workshop, but I looked and the yard's empty.”
Amirah giggled. “He’s probably with Heidi.”
“No, we’ve done all the planning meetings with her already, there’s nothing booked with her until next month now.”
“Oh, please! Tell me you’re not both that blind!”
They both looked at her, confused.
“Seriously? Dale has got it bad for Heidi, and I don’t think she’s immune to his charms either. So, when I say he’s probably with Heidi, I mean he’s with her, not working with her!”
“How on earth would we miss that?” Manny asked.
“To be fair, I’ve seen him less and less at the Temple, but I thought he was at the workshop. I need him for measurements today, which is why I was looking for him,” explained Blythe.
Amirah watched them as the realisation started to sink in. She’d seen Dale and Heidi in the saloon a couple of times, and there was one clincher that she didn’t mention. The way Dale looked at Heidi reminded her of how both Manny and Blythe used to look at her, and were starting to look at her again. Like Manny’s joke about dating two guys being silly, it just touched on a part of their relationship she wasn’t quite ready to face yet.
“How’s the work at the Temple going?” Amirah asked.
“Pretty well, actually. We planned for three months, and I think we’re about on schedule,” Blythe explained.
“Well, as long as Dale isn’t occupied elsewhere, I guess!” joked Manny.
“There is that. Do you want to come and have a look, Mirah?” Blythe offered. “I’d love your opinion, both as an artist, and a local resident.”
“Yes, I’d love to,” Amirah replied. “When were you thinking of?”
“Can go now, if you like.”
“Oh, I get it, you can’t find Dale, so you’ll make do with me instead?” Amirah teased.
Blythe’s face froze when he realised how his offer could be taken. “What, no! I mean, it’s a bonus, but that’s not..oh, Darkness!”
Amirah giggled. She seemed to be doing that a lot more recently, she realised. “Blythe, I’m joking. I would love to come over and see how the work is going, whatever the reason is for asking.”
Blythe held out his hand to help Amirah from her seat, and it seemed totally natural to link their fingers together as they walked together. Manny walked on her other side, his hand resting on the small of her back.
It was pleasant walking across to the Temple with both of them, Amirah realised. The sun on her face and the physical contact relaxed her.
Even from the distance Amirah could see how well the work was coming along. They’d kept the organic structure of the rock formation, but smoothed it. It now looked like one of Unsuur’s rock piles grown large.
“We’re going to keep the outside simple, “ Blythe explained. I just need to refine the surfaces a little more, then we’re going to use Dale’s glazes to emphasise the natural colours. When the sun hits at the right angle, it’ll look like it’s glowing.”
“What about inside?” Amirah asked.
“We’re keeping that flat. Sort of. It won’t have the rock pile details but what it will have is a number of bas reliefs, detailing scenes from both Sandrock and our history. Again, they’ll be glazed. Dale is working on stained glass pieces to go around it - that’s actually why I was looking for him, we need to check measurements. He’s been working with Mi-an to ensure that the glass is both strong enough to withstand the elements here, but also easily replaceable if anything does happen. I do still need to find him.”
“I’m here!” Dale’s voice echoed from the other end of the temple. He looked a little flustered. Heidi was right behind him, her hair slightly mussed, and her lipstick all kissed off. Amirah didn’t comment, just raised an eyebrow at her friend. Heidi just giggled, and then looked at the two men either side of Amirah, before turning back to her friend. “We still on for girls’ night next week?” she asked.
“Of course, and I’m certain it will be enlightening.”
“It’ll sure be something!” Heidi replied, causing them both to start laughing.
All three men looked at each other in panic, struck by the sudden realisation that they would likely be a large part of that conversation.
“So, what you think of it so far?” Heidi asked. “Reckon the Church finally did somethin’ right, takin’ on these boys. Burgess is even trying to talk Manny into replacin’ the murals from the old Temple.”
“I think it’s going to turn out wonderfully,” Amirah replied. “Despite my initial, personal reservations, I always knew they would be the right men for the job!”
The three men quickly settled into town. They'd made arrangements to rent a house for the next three months. It wasn't cheap, and their new landlord, Logan, gave them the same dirty looks as the rest of the townspeople. But at least it got them out from Owen and Sonia's watchful eyes.
Manny quickly became a regular fixture painting on Amirah’s porch while she worked on her pots and vases. One morning, he arrived with a large bag of jerky, dried sandberries and other snacks.
“Since you regularly seem to forget lunch, I wondered if you’d allow me to leave these here so I know you’ve got something on hand?” he asked.
“Manny, thank you, but there’s no need, I can look after myself.”
“Mirah, please? I still remember you almost fainting one afternoon in class because you’d been working since early morning and still hadn’t eaten. You scared the Darkness out of me that day. Please? Even if you never eat any of it, I’ll feel happier knowing it’s there just in case.”
Amirah looked at him in surprise. They were all still avoiding any talk of their shared history, so for Manny to bring that up was unexpected. She remembered the day he was referring to as well. It had shocked her enough that, at least until she’d moved to Sandrock, she’d made more of an effort to eat regularly. ‘Caring, not controlling.’ she reminded herself. It scared her sometimes how quickly she was getting comfortable around them again; little routines and habits that they were falling back into without a second thought. That was something they would need to talk about, especially as they were only in town for another couple of months. This, however, was a simple gesture that she could accept.
“Thank you Manny, that’s very thoughtful of you,” she replied with a smile, storing it away in her pantry before they settled down to their work.
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