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Chapter Eleven






AFTER SCHOOL LET out the following Friday, Ridley rushed through the school yard to get away from Laurie. She didn't need to turn around to know that Laurie was weaving her way through the crowd of students to catch up to her. Ridley had managed to dodge her friend every day since they'd come back from the shore, but on the way up the stairs from the gym, she had spotted Laurie outside the main office talking to another teacher. Laurie waved and gestured to her, but Ridley averted her eyes, skirted around a group of students and pretended not to see her. Without a backward glance, she made her getaway out the front door.

Dana's rejection was still an open wound and telling Laurie about it was an inevitability she wasn't prepared to tackle quite yet. Besides, Dana didn't actually reject her. She just didn't want her and that was even harder to accept. As soon as she reached the rear bumper of her car, she felt the tug on her sleeve at the same time she felt Laurie's presence behind her.

" Ridley, would you please hold still? " Laurie asked. " We need to talk."

Ridley obeyed and stood in place. " I'm holding still, so talk."

" What's going on? Are you mad at me or something? You've been avoiding me all week and it won't do you any good to deny it because I know you extremely well and I know when something's bothering you."

" I'm not mad at you and I haven't been avoiding you. Well, yes I have, but it's just because I've got a lot on my mind, that's all." Ridley moved toward the driver's door.

Laurie stayed right behind her. " Wait a minute. I'm not done with you. Is that any reason to give me the brush-off at lunch and go hide in your office pretending you had things to do? "

" Maybe I did have things to do."

" That never stopped you from letting me sit and talk while you worked."

That statement rang true and it forced Ridley to turn around and make eye contact with Laurie for the first time. " You're right and I'm sorry."

" Are you going to tell me what's up with you or what? "

" It's nothing important. Nothing I won't get over soon enough."

Laurie persisted. " That may be so, but in the meantime..." Laurie sounded exasperated as she took a deep breath and let it out. " I'm your best friend. That gives me the right to care when you have a problem and the right to nag you until you tell me about it."

" I know you care, but it's nothing."

Laurie showed her increasing frustration by shaking her head. " Why do you always have to be so damned self-sufficient? Karen has to work late, so come home and have dinner with me and we'll talk about it." Laurie put her arm around Ridley's waist and leaned in. " Come on, we'll order Chinese takeout. Steamed dumplings and fried rice? An order of Sesame chicken and an order of Szechwan shrimp? Mmm..."

" That sounds really good. I'll meet you at your house."

 

" I'M SO BEAT." Ridley stretched out on Laurie's sofa and kicked off her shoes. " I haven't had one single decent night's sleep this entire week."

" Do you want to take a nap before we eat? " Laurie asked. " I can grade some papers for an hour or two and we can eat later on."

" That's nice of you, but I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. I think talking to you would help me more and maybe I'll sleep better tonight."

" Let's talk, then. Would you like a cold beer? "

" Yes, please. The colder the better."

Laurie went into the kitchen and came back with the beers. After she handed one to Ridley she flopped into a chair next to the sofa and propped her feet up on the coffee table.

Ridley stared at her beer bottle and spun it around in her hands a few times. With her thumb nail, she picked at the upper edge of the center of the label. " This has been one hell of a week for me. TGIF doesn't begin to describe how glad I am it's finally over."

" Some weeks feel longer than others, " Laurie said.

" This one did and it was only four days long. Honestly, I don't know how I made it. I must have been functioning on autopilot."

" Why don't you tell me what's bothering you? "

" Before I say one word, I want a promise from you." Ridley sat up and took a long drawn-out drink of beer. " A solemn promise."

" Okay. What is it? " Laurie asked.

" I want you to keep this between us. Don't tell Karen about anything I'm going to tell you. I don't want her to know, not yet anyway. Please? "

" Of course, I promise. Just because Karen and I are together, doesn't mean I have to tell her everything. You and I have been friends for many years and you've always been there for me. You've earned the right to confide in me and to trust me to respect your secrets."

" Thanks, " Ridley said.

" Is this about last weekend by any chance? " Laurie asked. " Is it about Dana? "

" Uh-huh. It's about Dana."

" You're attracted to her aren't you? "

" That's not the half of it. Something happened to me the first time I met her. I can't get her out of my mind and I can't stop wanting to be with her, to talk to her and to touch her. It's like she's gotten under my skin. I can't remember ever feeling this way about anyone."

" Oh, Ridley, honey. You've got it bad, haven't you? "

Ridley closed her eyes and bobbed her head. " That's an understatement."

" But why are you so upset about it? "

" I'm upset because I made a fool of myself and she made it clear she's not interested in anything other than a friendship with me, " Ridley explained. " Not ever."

" Why? What did you do? What did she say? "

" Hold on, I'm getting to that part. Sunday night at the shore, after you and Karen went to your room-- and by the way, don't think I didn't catch on to your little plan. You faked that headache and made up the story about the book so I could be alone with her." Ridley leaned to the side, stretched her arm out and punched Laurie in the shoulder. " You think you're clever."

" Apparently, not clever enough to put one over on you, " Laurie replied. " I want you to know I didn't tell Karen you were interested in Dana. I whispered sweet nothings into her ear at dinner and told her I had a plan to be alone with her when we got back. That's how I got her to play along with my scheme."

" Well, thanks for that anyway."

" You're welcome. So, go on with your story."

Ridley told Laurie about her walk on the beach with Dana. " While I was telling her about how he died I broke down and started to cry. She does that to me. She makes me feel ripped wide open and I can't seem to control my emotions whenever I'm with her. Next thing I knew, she was holding my hand and she was so sweet, so gentle, I..."

" Uh-oh."

" Yeah...uh-oh is right. It got colder and I put my sweat suit jacket on her shoulders and told her how beautiful she was and then I grabbed her from behind and held her and when she turned around, I almost begged her to let me kiss her."

Laurie moved to the edge of her chair. " Did she let you? "

" Yes, she did, " Ridley turned away to avoid meeting Laurie's wide eyes.

" Don't turn away. Look at me."

" I'm a little embarrassed."

" What on earth for? You shouldn't be embarrassed to tell me anything. I don't see anything wrong with what you just said. It's the best thing I've heard in a long time."

Ridley met Laurie eyes. " Good Lord, Laurie, that was some kiss. It took my breath away. It's all I've thought about since. I can feel it in every cell of my body, as if it's happening all over again, right here and right now. I wanted her more than I've ever wanted anyone."

" Maybe I'm missing the point, but you're wonderful and attractive and she's wonderful and attractive and I just don't see why this is a problem? "

" It's not a problem for me, but it is for her." Ridley took another swig of beer.

" Why is that? "

" She told me she didn't want to get involved with anyone." With her thumb, Ridley peeled a long continuous strip of paper from the label on her beer bottle. " What she probably meant to say was that she didn't want to get involved with me."

" That is not possible. There's nothing wrong with you or the way you feel or with anything you said or did. Don't be so hard on yourself."

" What am I going to do? " Ridley asked.

" I don't know, " Laurie said. " Karen told me that Dana had a bad experience with a woman she was in love with, someone she met in Chicago. She told Karen that was why she decided to move back here but Karen doesn't know exactly what happened between them because Dana never told her any of the details. Since Dana's been back, she hasn't brought up the subject again and we haven't asked about it."

" She did tell me she'd been in love with someone and it wasn't over for her."

" That must be the same woman. Did she kiss you like she meant it? "

" God, it felt like it to me, " Ridley answered. " I thought I'd never feel this way about anyone. I've had my share of women but no one has ever touched me the way Dana has."

" Maybe she's that woman you've been searching for."

" I think she is. So why isn't she excited about finding me? "

" I think you should give her time. Once she gets to know you..." Laurie paused. " Well, let me put it to you this way. I think you're something special and I'm positive she will too. If she doesn't, she's out of her mind."

" I hope you're right. She said she wanted to be friends, but she might have said that to let me down easier. What if I don't see her again? I can't ask her out at this point and I'm pretty sure she won't be calling me. I feel so helpless."

" I think you'll see her again and I can tell you one thing I do know about her. She's a nice person and she's honest. I don't believe she'd lie to you just to be kind."

" Careful or I'll start to feel encouraged."

" There's no reason you shouldn't be. Why don't you give her a call? What have you got to lose? Friends get together, don't they? Ask her to do something and see where this friendship takes both of you."

" I'm not sure I can stand being her friend."

" I understand that, " Laurie said as she got up. " Let me call in our order and while we wait for it, we'll put our scholarly minds together and see if we can come up with some fool proof plan to get you two together."

" Thanks. God knows, I'm open to suggestions, " Ridley said.


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