Page 13 of Diluted Truths
She obviously interested me.
I could hear Sarah sigh at me. “No, William. I believe I think more highly of you than you do of yourself. My feelings on the matter have nothing to do with you and everything to do with Faizal. It’s hard to explain, maybe even harder to understand, but…. they’re family in every way that matters. They rely on each other more than he and I rely on one another,” Sarah explained. “While I think highly of you, you and Faizal are known for not being the best of friends on your best days.”
“So your husband's unfounded hatred for me means I can’t work with Jackie?”
“No, not at all. I wouldn’t have sent her to you if I thought that. Work with her, assist her, be her friend, but under no circumstances are you allowed to date her, flirt with her, or sleep with her. Understand?”
“Yeah yeah yeah. I understand. No flirting, dating,blah blah blah,” I retorted. “I am going to meet with her on Saturday. It’s been a while since I heard anything about the Cult of Creatio. I’m curious as to why she seems to be interested in it.”
“Is that all you're curious about?”
“No, but you banned me so I am pretending like that’s it.”
I could hear Sarah’s snort at my obnoxious retort. “I promise she has her reasonings in regards to the cult, but it’s not my place to share said reasonings. Now I love you and love talking to you, but I am trying to get dinner finished before Ophelia and Faizal get here. Can we talk later, maybe go out for a drink?”
“Okay fine, I’ll call you later. Love you, Sarah! Bye,” I stated as I hung up the phone on the wall.
I looked around him at the empty kitchen and home surrounding me. By all accounts I was successful, happy, accomplished, but truthfully I was lonely.
So fucking lonely.
I had earned my PhD in sociology and another in anthropology when I was only twenty-six years old. I was an acclaimed author and was published on countless occasions for my academic writings. I was extremely respected in the academic community, and was a favorite professor among the students of the University of Oregon. I was headhunted often by other universities, museums, even the US government at one point.
Despite all of this, I was alone.
The solitude may have been intentional but it was still at times suffocating.
I poured myself a drink as I began to review the documents I had printed at the university library.
The Cult of Creatio was a subject that was often disregarded as a hoax or a myth. However, I had always felt a pull to the Cult.
I first began studying it when I was in my undergrad. There was a brief mention of the cult in my anthropology textbook and when I asked for more details from my professor, it was explained that the cult was believed to be either made up by the priest involved or a complete myth. That was it. No other details, no other discussions. Maybe what my professor had said was the truth, maybe the cult was of no importance, but I felt there was more to it. I always felt there was more to it.
Jackie seemed to believe the same, and she may have the answers I had always been looking for.
Maybe she had more answers for me than I knew.
“Thank you for your help, Dr. Bly! I’ll make the suggested edits. See you on Monday!”
“See you Monday, drive safe out there. The rain and wind have been picking up all day.” I looked around my office as my student closed the door behind her.
Jackie was supposed to be meeting me here any minute now. I had spent the last few days researching in my free time so I would come prepared for this meeting. Between the hours spent in the university library and the time spent sitting within my home office studying the Cult of Creatio, I knew I had all possible information on the cult. I wanted to be prepared when Jackie arrived so we could discuss what brought on this meeting in the first place.
I could also admit to myself that I wanted to impress Jackie. It was a strange feeling for me to have. I was used to commanding any room I entered, used to not needing to work to impress those around me. It came automatically with the last name Bly. My father has made sure that any Bly would be respected for generations to come. It had never mattered much to me but it felt important with Jackie that she felt impressed. I wanted to show her I was prepared and committed to working with her.
As I began to reorganize the documents on my desk… again, I heard a knock at the door.
Taking a deep breath, I shouted, “Come in!”
As Jackie entered, I was immediately taken aback by her beauty. Her blonde hair fell in waves around her shoulders, her black sweater and jeans hugging her frame as a large worn out jeans jacket hung on her shoulders. She had obviously just come in from the storm as she closed her umbrella.
“Hey Dr. Bly, I appreciate you meeting with me, especially on your day off.”
“Jackie, please call me Will, and truthfully, no worries at all. I hold office hours on Saturdays for students who work throughout the week so I was here anyways.”
Jackie seemed taken aback by my comment. “That’s… that’s awesome of you to do. So umm…where should I sit so we can hop right into this rather odd topic of discussion we have today?” Jackie asked as she looked around my office.
The two side walls were covered with books, some fiction, some academic, all looking well-loved. On the back wall behind my desks were floor to ceiling windows showcasing the ever growing storm brewing just beyond the glass.
