3 Heads & a Tail

By Vickie Johnstone

Published by

Inknbeans Press

© 2011
Vickie Johnstone

© 2012 Vickie Johnstone and

Inknbeans Press

3 H
eads &
a T
ail

© 2012  Vickie Johnstone with

Inknbeans Press

All rights reserved

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s work.

we shared the same language!

Two bicycles sped past, their riders laughing
,
on this
humid
summer
'
s day. The
green leaves of the trees sparkled
as the
sun
'
s
rays caught the
last
tiny dr
oplets of the morning shower. Luckily, it
had stopped
drizzling
just b
efore the van turned up.
Josie
liked
moving, never staying
in one place for longer than
a year
usually
. S
he loved change; i
t had
freshness to it.

Like a rolling stone that gathers no moss, she
liked
to keep on
moving
,
even if it meant
wading
through the odd quagmire
at times
.
Her sense of adventure maintained her momentum.
Josie smiled, remembering how h
er mother used to joke that she should
have been born a gypsy and spent
her life wandering the
world
;
or at least
she c
ould
buy a little pony and a wagon, and just keep
on rolling those wheels.

Ugh, this box was a bit on the heavy side. If only she could remember what was
packed
inside
.
Still, it didn
'
t say
'
fragile
'
so maybe it wouldn
'
t matter if this one tumbled to the ground.
Josie
stumbled up the stone
steps to the front door.
Before she had time to work out how to press the doorbell,
the bright green door yawned open. The doorman yawned even
wider
.

“
Hi
-
ya!
”
he said, wiping his eyes
with the back of his hand
.

He looked younger than she
had
imagined when they spoke on the phone.
She guessed
he was
about her own age. A
verage
looking
, slim, dirty blonde
hair tied back and brown, enquiring eyes. He wore a
crumpled green T-
shirt
,
emblazoned with a faded elephant
,
dark blue sweatpants and socks; n
o shoes.
He seemed slightly shy by the way he looked over her shoulder, instead of meeting her gaze.

She gave her new housemate a big smile.
“
Hi,
I
'
m Josie!
”

“
You
'
re early,
”
he replied.
“
But that
'
s
cool
.
I
'
m Ben
. Well, I guess you know that from our phone calls!
”
He held out his hand
and then laughed at his silliness.
“
Of course, you ca
n
'
t
actually
shake my hand!
”

“
I woul
d if I could, b
ut can I put
this
down
first
please? It
'
s so heavy!
”

“
Oh! O
f course!
”
Ben leapt
out of the way. Then he
came to his senses
.
“
Let me take it!
”

“
Thanks,
”
said
Josie, as Ben took the box and nodded shyly, before backing down the hallway.
Nice guy, she thought
,
as she wandered back down to the van.

“
Well h
e looks
a bit of alright
,
”
trilled
Kay, who was leaning against the sid
e of the
vehicle with her arms crossed
.
“
He had that just-got-out-of-
bed look!
”

“
D
on
'
t think you
'
re go
ing to drag him back there!
We
'
ve got
work to do
,
right here!
”

“
Okay, slave driver!
You can
'
t blame a girl for looking, especially a single one!
”

Josie laughed.
“
The
whole
wide
world knows you
'
re single!
”

Kay
had broken up with her
boyfriend of perhaps a decade – well it seemed that long – only
a few months ago and she was like a
new woman. A whole new woman;
o
ne
w
ith push-up bras, short skirts that resembled belts,
more
make-up than Boots and a new-found passion for life
. They had been friends a long time. If
Josie
was ever in trouble, Kay was the one she
'
d call, w
ithout a doubt.

“
W
hat box is next?
”
called Ben, bouncing down the
steps
.
“
Glen
is
in my ro
om
where
he
can
'
t get in the way!
”
He had
put
on some trainers
and
a pair of glasses, which
made him
look more serious.

“
Who
'
s Glen?
”
aske
d Kay, raising an eyebrow
.

“
Ha! He
'
s not your type!
”
replied Josie
.
“
He
'
s a bit on the hairy side
, dribbles
and snores
,
according to Ben
!
”

“
Oh,
”
pouted Kay.
“
Maybe I can persuade him to shave!
”

Ben grinned, his eyes squinting slightly in the sun. Josie caught his grin and smiled back
,
conspiratorially
.

“
Let
'
s get you unloaded,
”
said Ben, sweeping up a box from the back of the van.

“
Mmm,
”
whispered Kay
, nudging her friend
.
“
He can unload me
any time!
”

“
Come on!
”
sighed Josie.
“
You
'
re just... a
nything with testosterone!
”

Kay pouted as they carried the boxes u
p the steps and into the three-storey building
. On the ground
floor
was
a small
kitchen,
painted blue. They pee
ked in
side
as they walked past and
a
rich
aroma of freshly made
cof
fee swept past their noses
. Next to it was a big lounge and a huge storage cupboard. Up the green-carpeted stairs and past so
me pictures of leaping dolphins
,
they arrived on the second floor, where Josie
'
s and Ben
'
s rooms were at opposite ends.
The bathroom, pink and fresh,
sat
in the middle.