Aeowyn Pt. 01

"That's a very unusual name?" Gloria said, looking down at me from over the top of her horn-rimmed spectacles.

"I've never come across another," I responded, looking back at her, "it's good at Christmas and Birthdays, I never get any of that tacky nonsense with my name on it."

Gloria smirked, the kind of smirk you give to display just how beneath you laughing heartily at a great joke would be.

My name is Aeowyn, that's pronounced differently by each of the thousands of people that mangle it every time they try to say it. It's simple; it's aye-oh-wynn. Not Yo-wynn, yay-win, or Owen.

I looked at the computer screen, the message flashing up in front of me, "Is that your new boss?"

I sent back the head banging against the wall emoji. Another new manager, the tenth this year, let's see how long it takes to break this poor broad.

"Yeah, that's her," I typed back to Joanne, "she looks like one of your lot, another bloody limey."

I got the laughing emoji back.

"So, you going to the bar after work, Wynnston," the voice said from the desk opposite me, Dave using the same nickname he had been using for me since the first day I started.

I looked across at the large bearded man, with his black R2-D2 t-shirt, his hair a mess, eyes fading to gray a sign of his advancing years.

"Dunno," I said, "I was going to go home and spend time with my 60 cats and a box of chocolates, you know, crazy cat lady style."

I watched him wobble as he laughed, giggling a little. Dave was harmless, a mainstay of the organization at which I worked. What he didn't know about databases and the finance industry probably wasn't worth knowing.

I looked at my computer screens, the bank of three that sat in front of me, one with code, one with the application I was coding, the other with a website with holiday destinations on it. I needed a trip, get out of New York for a few days, anywhere, even New Jersey looked like an option.

"You could come away with us, Yank," Joanne's voice said as she stood behind me, "Elaine and I are going to the Hamptons. Her family has a place out there, and we have the run of it, loads of bedrooms."

"You'd be dragging me in for an all-girl threesome?"

Suddenly Dave's head popped up like a meercat.

"Head down, David, you're too old to imagine Joanne and me going at it, you'll give yourself a heart attack."

I watched him sit down smiling, probably would love to go out that way.

"Think about it, dopey," Joanne said as she walked away, "sure beats spending the weekend watching reruns of Friends."

*

"Yes, of course," Elaine said as the three of us sat on stool surrounding the tall table at Flanghans bar.

"See," Joanne said, "she said you'd be the kind of cow that would say no."

"I did not," I said, looking shocked, Elaine and Joanne laughing at my discomfort.

"You are more than welcome," Elaine said, the warmth coming through her soft English accent.

The two had been a big part of my life for two months since they arrived at my office. Even though I lived in New York, surprisingly, these two represented my only gay friends. They were adorable, the love they had for each other, they seemed inseparable.

Elaine was the older of the two, though I could only tell that when she opened her mouth. She looked terrific for what I perceived to be her age: tall, slender, a model figure, and a warm, charming face. Not a hair out of place on her head, golden blonde, always immaculate. She always dressed in the most beautiful business dresses, down to her knee, her legs in stockings, her heels shiny.

Joanne was like a beacon of light. A messy beacon of light. When she walked into a room, her smile would fill it with light. Her blue eyes could melt even the most frozen of hearts. She was not tall but not short, always in clothes that no one else could wear and look right in. Curvy, I think the word is buxom, with a heart that was twice the size of New York.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, why did you carry that you worthless piece of shit," the voice yelled out behind me. I turned around to see a familiar face, my ex-partner from college Terry.

"I have like two exes," I said to the two women, "I live in New York, one of the busiest places on Earth, and yet I still manage to run into them.

"You're in for this weekend, aren't you?" Joanne asked, her face showing that big tooth-filled grin.

"You bet I'm in."

*

"They took up all the trees, Put 'em in a tree museum," Joanne sang as she sat in the passenger seat at the front of the SUV. Elaine shook her head as she drove, smiling from ear to ear.

"Joni Mitchell, again, do you only know one song?" Elaine asked, giggling as she said it.

"It's our song," she responded.

"You both have a song?" I asked, intrigued.

"Not our song," Elaine said, looking at me from the rearview mirror.

"It's mine and Ginny's song," Joanne said, "She is my best friend of 12 years. My little Scottish beacon."

"My only competition," Elaine said, sniggering a little, a sweet joking tone.

"Her and Dwayne Johnson," Joanne said, "he can 'rock' my world anytime he likes."

The drive was already enough to break me from the New York funk. I was watching the world fly by from the backseat, minding my own business, listening to the two women in the front seats of the car chat in their foreign accents. I was amazed at how two people from the same country could have such differing accents.

Outside the car, the landscape changed, from gray skyscrapers to the green countryside, quaint old American buildings lining the road. With the sun shining, the whole environment looked magical, a world away from my usual environment. I saw a sign indicating that our destination was not that far.

I looked at the passenger seat, Joanne slept, she looked peaceful, surrounded by light, a smile on her face. I don't know what she was dreaming about, but it definitely couldn't have been all that bad.

"We're here," Elaine said, as we drove up to a large gate. I watched as the gate opened, and we drove up to the large house. It was a modern house, sharp angles, balconies, a large glass window at the center that covered two floors.

"Wow," I said, looking through the car window as we pulled up, "this is impressive."

"Wait till you see inside," Elaine replied, she pulled up and looked at Joanne, she leaned across and gave her a gentle shake, "Hey sleepyhead, we're here."

"I don't want to go to school mum, I'm sick," Joanne responded slowly opening her eyes, she looked at Elaine, then at me, "oh hi."

We got out of the car and started to unpack our bags and belongings. Elaine walked to the door and opened it up, going inside to check on everything.

"You slept a fair bit of the trip," I said to Joanne.

"Yeah," she replied, yawning and stretching, "just get tired on road trips."

We started to take our stuff inside the large house. The walls where whitewashed, the floors tiled in gray. Everything looked sleek and modern.

"Follow me yank," Joanne said, the spark of energy back in her voice as she grabbed my hand.

We ran through the house towards the back, her dragging me, looking back now and again, a smile across her face.

Finally, we arrived in a large room, windows across the back wall with large glass doors. Beyond there, rolling lawns led out to the blue ocean.

"What do you think," she said, standing there at the closed doors, her hand in mine.

"Wow," I said, "this is like, wow, yeah, wow."

"Come on then," she shouted, she released my hand and threw open the doors, I watched as Joanne ran like a lunatic towards the ocean, throwing her clothes off as she went.

"I believe that my partner is mental," Elaine said as she stood behind me.

"No," I said, looking back at Elaine, "I think she is perfectly sane."

I then ran through the doors in the direction of Joanne, tossing my clothes off as I went.

*

That night we gathered on the patio, laying back on wooden sunloungers, drinking cocktails. To the west, the sun was setting over the continent, the sky a mixture of purples, oranges, and blues.

"She's asleep again," I said to Elaine, gesturing to the sleeping Joanne.

"She gets tired easily," Elaine said, looking at Joanne. Elaine stood up and took a blanket, putting it over her girl, then leaning down and kissing her cheek.

"Joanne said you'd been together five years?"

"It seems like longer, "Elaine said, she sat beside Joanne now, running fingers through the girls long dark hair, "I don't mean that in a bad way. Just that I can't remember my life before I met her, I don't think I want to."

I smiled, listening to the woman speak of the inspiring love she shared with her partner.

"Most of my relationships have ended after a few months," I said, "it's hard to imagine being so in love with someone after so long."

"It grows," Elaine said, looking across to me and smiling, "it has its challenges, but if it's important, you face them, and you get through them."

We lay there silently once more, Elaine concentrating on the woman she sat beside. I listened to the nothingness, the peaceful silence that filled the air, and felt relaxed for the first time in a long time.

*

"I thought you were here next week?" I heard Elaine's voice coming from downstairs as I awoke the next morning, "I have Joanne here and her friend."

"The place is huge, you'll barely notice me," a male English voice said, "besides, you can hardly send me back to England just to wait for you to sling your hook, can you?"

"Fine," Elaine said, "just behave, or try to, or whatever."

I climbed off the massive bed I had slept on and took in the surrounds of my vast room for the next few days. I walked barefoot across the room to the ensuite. It was impressive, with its marble and gold fittings, and the light that came flooding in through its frosted windows. I removed my nightshirt and panties that I had slept in and stood admiring myself in the mirror.

Tallish at five foot six, my curves were on full display, I turned to admire my bum, smiling. "Yeah, you still got it going on, babe," I said to myself, sniggering like an idiot.

I walked back into the bedroom to grab the towel that had been left for me at the foot of the bed. Suddenly as I stood there naked, I heard the door to the room fly open; I turned startled.

"Holy fucking shit," the tall man said, turning away.

"Who the fuck are you?" I screamed.

"Scott," Joanne yelled as she came running in to investigate the commotion, she threw her arms around the man, then looked across at me, "Shit Wynn, you should learn to dress when you first meet guys."

"Get out," I said wide-eyed.

Joanne ushered Scott from the room before she closed the door she looked back at me, giving me a quick look and then a cheeky wink.

*

The four of us sat quietly and ate breakfast. Scott sat next to Elaine who sat opposite me, Joanne was sat next to me, trying her hardest not to burst out laughing at everyone's awkwardness.

"I mean, you couldn't knock first?" Elaine asked Scott.

"Takes after his sister, obviously," Joanne said, giving Elaine a comical knowing look.

Elaine just sat and shook her head.

"So hi," Scott said, looking over at me, his hazel eyes looking a little worried.

"Hi," I said, trying to hide my face.

"Well, this is just lovely," declared Joanne, "gonna be a weekend of delights, fun, and stuff."

As we took our breakfast dishes to the sink, I offered to wash. Elaine said it was ok; she had someone coming to do the cleaning in an hour, and to clear off any leftover food. I turned to see Joanne licking her plate.

"You know," I said as I watched her, "I think Elaine is right; you are mental."

She looked at me wide-eyed with a manic grin. Joanne was always moderately nutty at work, but right now she was bat shit crazy.

"I need to go to the town to buy some things," Scott said, "does anyone need anything."

"Take Wynn," Joanne said, nodding as I gave her a dirty look.

"Well, it's nothing exciting," Scott said.

"Take her and show her the town," Joanne talked over him, excitedly, "maybe get a coffee, cake, oh that bakery."

"I could," Scott said, "it's up to you, Wynn."

"Well," I started.

"Get out now," Joanne said, standing at pointing at the door. She was now flicking looks between Elaine and me, trying to say something visually that was slowly becoming obvious.

"Ok," I said, "I'll just go put some shoes on."

"I'll be just outside," Scott said, turning his back on me with an aloof manner and walking to the door.

"He's not dangerous," Elaine said as she smiled at me, "you're leaving me with the dangerous one."