"A ritual?" he asked, eyes narrowing nervously. "Is this a religious thing? Are you a witch?" He stood there with the passenger door open. I was trying to guess if he was kidding as I slid behind the wheel and shut the door.
Either way, I've been called worse. "I'm not a witch ******, I'm an anthropologist. Now get in the car and I will explain everything on the way."
Jeff leaned back and relaxed next to me as I started the car and put it in gear. I turned on the radio and "Dazed and Confused" came spilling from the speakers. A small smile crept over my face as i considered what we were about to do.
"You are in what we in the field call a liminal state. Look it up, its legit. Its a transitional period, marked by a feeling of disorientation and ambiguity involving your role in society. Thanks to my training I can spot it a mile away. The only way to properly get through it is by way of a ritual. I just so happen to be writing a paper on the subject and I have just conscripted you into being my guinea pig. Also you are too hot to sit moping by yourself in a coffee shop on a Saturday afternoon. I do hope you don't mind."
I only asked to be polite, I know he didn't mind or else he wouldn't have followed me. I'm a sucker for beautiful eyes and broad shoulders and when his blue eyes locked with mine I knew he was the one. Somehow, I always just know.
Its a long drive and we reached my place in the woods just as the sun was starting to set. I led him to the fire pit by the lake. "Any chance you know how to start a fire? I need to go inside for something, I will be right back."
By the time I returned the fire was just starting to give off real flames. I sat down next to him, drinking in the warmth and enjoying his presence.
"Okay, lets see it," I finally said turning towards him so I could look into his eyes. "I saw the picture of her in your wallet when you opened it to pay for your coffee, and the way you winced when you glanced at it."
Slowly he removed the wallet from his back pocket and pulled out the tiny photograph. I rested my head on his shoulder so I could see it too. He gazed sadly for a moment at the smiling face, remembering better times, and let out a sigh.
"So is it really over?" I asked plainly. His gaze travelled from her picture to me.
"Yeah." he whispered, almost choking on the word.
"No, don't tell me. Tell her, and mean it."
Jeff's eyes went back to the picture. I could see him gathering himself, and then firmly but quietly he spoke. "Its over."
"There," I whispered, "stage one is admission. Now take your time, and when you are ready, throw it on the fire." With that I sat back wondering how long we would be sitting there. I stared into the fire pit and watched the flames dance as a light wind picked up around us. The sky over the lake was streaked with color painted by the sunset and reflected on the surface of the water. I looked back to him and thought maybe I did see one tear he was unable to keep in check, but I pretended not to notice. Unceremoniously his arm extended and dropped the picture into the embers. We sat there quietly a few minutes longer.
"Okay, stage two down, now what?" he asked me.
"Cleansing," I state with a nod, "we are going for a swim."
"But I didn't bring anything to wear and..." he protested, voice trailing off as he saw me remove my clothing and hang them on the branch of a tree.
"Come on," I said, rolling my eyes, "its your ritual. Hop in!" I streaked to the dock and cannonballed in. I swam out towards the center of the lake then stopped to look back and see if he was far behind me. I looked around puzzled, then suddenly felt something brush the back of my leg. I jumped and let out a yelp as he surfaced in front of me, laughing.
I splashed him with water and pretended to be annoyed but something about being there in that moment with him made me feel better than I had felt in a long time. Like maybe, while I was helping him through this, it was helping me too. We floated on our backs in silence and watched the end of our sunset. I knew it would be getting dark soon. We headed back to shallower water and stood, me up to my chest in the water and he up to his waist.
"So was that it?" he asked.
"No, not even close! Next, celebration. We must have a feast, music, dancing..."
He stepped in close to me and I lost my train of thought completely. There were only his eyes, his naked body so close to mine, and like a magnetic pull we came together under the rising moon. He tilted my head up and kissed me deeply, one hand on my waist and the other tangled in my wet hair. He scooped me up in his arms and carried me up the embankment back to the fire pit where I had towels waiting. We dried each other off and carried our clothes back up the path to the cabin.
"So, teach me some more about anthropology," Jeff said, as we dropped our clothes on the living room floor and wandered off to the bedroom.
