She had broken up with him that evening, and he wasn’t taking it well. He had called her last night, begging for another chance, saying that he really loved her.
“Hey Jim,” she had told him, “how about giving me a call when hell freezes over? Until then, I don’t want to hear from you again, capiche?”
Leigh noticed her friend’s gaze, and looked back over her shoulder at the two guys staring and smiling. They weren’t bad looking. One of them waved, and she turned back around quickly.
“Looks like you’ve got a couple of hotties eyeing you girl.”
“Yeah,” she responded, scooping up some rice with her chopsticks. “They’re kind of cute, huh?”
“You’re available now, right?” Leigh responded, smiling for the first time today.
“Well, I’m not dating Jim anymore, that’s for sure,” she replied. “But I don’t think I’m available just yet.”
“You’ll go back to him,” she predicted, still picking at her food. She had not yet taken a bite.
“No, I won’t,” she responded firmly. “He crossed the line with me and I’m through with him. This time I mean it.” Leigh looked up at her, hearing the conviction in her friend’s voice. Mindy understood why she would be skeptical. She had said as much before, only to return to the relationship. But after the other night, there was no going back.
“Well, I hope so,” Leigh said. She sighed and pushed more rice around. “And by the way, thanks for tipping Gene off to where I was the other night.”
Mindy paused in mid bite and looked up at her, puzzled.
“What are you talking about?” she responded, putting her chopsticks down and wiping her mouth.
“You know when Gene called you last week, asking if you knew where I was?”
Her mind rolled around, searching for a reference.
“Oh yeah,” she said, remembering. “What was it, last Friday night?” Leigh nodded affirmatively.
“You were in a hurry, and. . . the last thing you said was... that you were going to the races!” Mindy recalled, stabbing a finger into the air.
“Bingo.” Mindy frowned and studied her sullen friend for a moment. What’s going on here?
“Well, it’s not every day that Gene calls me looking for you!” she explained. “It was kind of strange! I just told him what you said. So what’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is he was supposed to be working late,” Leigh responded. “He surprised me.”
“Surprised you?” she repeated. You mean “caught you” don’t cha? flashed through her mind. “So where were you? The horse track?” Which made absolutely no sense. Leigh had never been to the track before, as far as she knew.
“No.”
“Alright. Where then?”
Leigh didn’t want to say much about this. But she couldn’t just clam up and give nothing at this point.
“Have you ever heard of those drag races out on Summerville road?” she asked.
Mindy had briefly dated a guy named Charlie a couple of years ago, and he would go dragging on Summerville road almost every weekend. She had gone with him one night, and it had been a wild, rough scene.
“What in the world were you doing out there?” Mindy quizzed. She was now very suspicious. Is she seeing someone else? How could that be?
“Watching the races,” Leigh snapped. Mindy stared blankly at her for a moment. Attitude!
“No kidding,” she shot back, then dipped a spoon into her egg drop soup. Now we’re getting down to it, she thought. Something was definitely amiss here. “You know what I mean,” she continued. “That’s not exactly one of your normal hangouts. I know; I’ve been there. That’s a rowdy crowd.” She paused and watched Leigh stab forcefully at her egg roll. The two guys who had been flirting with them across the way now stepped up to their table. They had gotten up their courage, and one of the brave souls now leaned on the table, looking into Mindy’s face, and the other into Leigh’s.
“Hi,” one said to Mindy, raising his eyebrows suggestively, sucking in his stomach and swelling his chest.
“Helloooo,” said the other to Leigh, smiling his best.
Their poses were just too struck, too clichéd. Leigh and Mindy looked at each other for a second, and then burst out laughing. The guys looked at each other with confused expressions, but Leigh and Mindy were now seized with a giggling, laughing fit, tears forming in their eyes. The guys stood up straight and stuck their hands in the back pockets of their jeans, looking around to see who might be watching this potentially embarrassing scene. Leigh looked up at them through her tears, and realized how uncomfortable their reaction had made them. She waved a hand in front of her face.
“Guys, we’re sorry,” she choked out. Mindy reached out and touched the arm of the one who had approached her.
“Yeah,” she agreed. Expressions of relief appeared on both of their faces.
“Well...we just wondered if you would like to join us,” the one beside Leigh offered tentatively, confidence diminished but still game.
Leigh raised her left hand to show her engagement ring and smiled. “Sorry.”
“A lucky guy,” he opined, bowing low.
“And you?” the other asked Mindy.
“I’m not looking,” she replied. “But thanks anyway, okay?”
“Are you sure?” he pressed, not wanting to give up on this beauty, now that he had waded in.
“Yeah,” she responded. “I’m sure.” He sighed, and the two guys looked at each other.
“Okay,” the one next to Leigh said. “You two have a great day.”
“Thanks,” both Mindy and Leigh responded, sincerely. They exited stage left, in search of greener pastures.
Silence fell between them as they wiped the tears from their eyes, and Leigh, picking up her chopsticks, resumed picking at her food. After calming down, Mindy stared at her friend, wondering. She had never seen Leigh this way. She wasn’t one normally given to big mood swings, a real steady Freddy. And going out to those drag races so wasn’t the style of the girl she knew. The idea that she was seeing another man, especially this close to her wedding, was absurd. But there was no other plausible reason she would have gone to an event so out of the ordinary, so outside of her world. There had to be someone else. Maybe she could get it out of her before the day was over.
“So was it a bad scene?”
“He wasn’t too happy about it,” Leigh replied. “He screamed some, a little too much, and then I got mad. I’ve told you how controlling he can be sometimes.” Mindy nodded, but she didn’t recall Leigh ever mentioning that.
“Well, he got off on that kick, and it upset me,” she added.
“Have you made up?”
“Yes.” She looked down and didn’t elaborate further.
“So everything’s fine then!” Mindy said, slapping her hands on the table.
“Yes.”
“But you’re not fine,” she stated, leaning forward on her elbows. “I mean, honestly, you didn’t act very excited earlier about picking out your dress. Up until today, all you ever talked about was your wedding and the honeymoon. Today, you seemed like you couldn’t care less about any of it!” She took a breath and waited, sure there would be some reaction. But Leigh merely continued to stare down at her plate, picking at her food. She decided to press on. She leaned across the table.
“I’m sorry I got you in trouble. You know I didn’t mean to,” she said sincerely. Leigh looked up at her.
“Oh, it’s okay,” she sighed. Mindy reached over and touched Leigh’s hand.
“Hey, you know you can tell me anything, right?” she said.
“Yes, I know, and thanks.”
Leigh glanced at her watch: 4:30 pm. She began cleaning up her spot, her food gone uneaten.
“I’ve got to go,” she announced. “I have to meet Gene.” She smiled and squeezed Mindy’s hand. “You’re a great friend. Don’t worry about it, okay? Everything’s fine. Really.”
“Okay,” Mi
ndy responded as she cleaned up her own spot. “But one question.”
“What?” Leigh stood and slid her pocketbook over her shoulder.
“Why did you go? Who invited you?”
Leigh stared at her friend for a moment. She knew Mindy was suspicious, and she wanted so badly to tell someone what she was going through, what she was feeling. But she felt she could keep better control of the situation by dealing with it alone. Still, she deserved something.
“Kyle Tilston,” she answered.
“Kyle Tilston?” Mindy repeated, looking at her with a confused expression, her mind racing. Who was that? Then it came to her. She had happened into Leigh’s office the morning he was there for orientation, and they had both talked about how good looking he was.
“Kyle Tilston!” she exclaimed as Leigh walked away. “That cute guy that just started?”
“Yeah,” Leigh replied over her shoulder. “I’ll give you a call, okay?”
“Whoa! Wait a minute! Leigh!”
“I gotta go!” she called out, and hurried off.
As she disappeared, Mindy plopped back down in her seat with eyes wide. Kyle Tilston? Is she involved with him? He was eye candy, that for certain, but she was happy with Gene, wasn’t she? And it didn’t make sense on the face of it. She and Kyle were from different worlds. But, knowing Leigh as she did, that wasn’t necessarily a disqualification. Wow, she thought. And her wedding’s just two months away. And on the heels of that thought, another:
If it happens.
CHAPTER 12
“…. Joe Hammer lay awake at 2:20 am, staring at the ceiling, while his wife slept peacefully beside him. He struggled now in his mind with the long held prejudices that were so ingrained in him by his upbringing and the culture of a small, white southern town. The words finally exchanged at the fishing hole between he and George today were not hate filled. They were cordial and, yes, respectful. It had surprised him. In the space of an hour, he had forgotten the skin color of the man, and found himself engaging in fishing stories and techniques with him. They had even shaken hands when they parted. The resulting emotions of that experience now kept Joe awake, as the walls of a lifetime of falsely held beliefs crumbled in his heart.”
Leigh turned the page face down on top of the many other pages of The Fishing Trip she had read. She looked over at the clock on her dresser: 1:00 am. She yawned, and knew she would be one tired girl in the morning if she didn’t pack it in soon. But the story was so hard to stop reading! She was thoroughly enjoying it. And Kyle wrote that? she thought for the thousandth time with amazement, as she turned out the light and flopped back on her pillow. She was a voracious reader, and not every writer piqued her interest. She had a handful of favorites, and now she could add Kyle to that list.
She had been reading the manuscript most of the evening, and as she drifted off to sleep, her thoughts turned into visions of Kyle’s face and eyes. She let them come, and as she slipped into unconsciousness, those visions turned into dreams, where he held her in his arms, flesh to flesh, and she felt his lips on hers.
CHAPTER 13
Spring was showing off again on a bright and beautiful Monday afternoon. The sky was a deep blue, the humidity of summer not yet casting its hazing blanket, and the trees on the grounds of Falstead were now sporting small, new leaves. The temperature was an idyllic seventy-three degrees. It was lunch hour, and Gene and Leigh sat at a table on Falstead’s company grounds. He would have preferred their normal hangout, Lyle’s, but this was her idea, and whatever or wherever she chose was fine with him. Since the tumultuous episode on Summerville road, he had somehow miraculously managed to get away from work and take lunch with her every day. He had been toeing the line since that night, realizing for the first time in awhile how precarious his position could be with her. Something had come over her lately; he didn’t know what. And she had continued to display, in different ways, an independent nature that he hadn’t seen in many years.
It made him nervous. He had always feared for his position in her life back then, and he had taken great comfort in the submissive personality she had assumed in the subsequent years, when she had been susceptible to his influence and control. He had talked to his mother about it, and she informed him it wasn’t unusual for a woman to behave the way Leigh was at this point. She called it wedding jitters. Still, he knew her best, and he wasn’t taking any chances. Maybe he just wasn’t spending enough time with her. He could take care of that.
Leigh was resplendent in a flowery dress that came just above the knee, cut to mid shoulder in the back. As they settled in, she glanced inconspicuously around the grounds, searching for Kyle. She had looked for him at break this morning, to no avail. She had wanted to tell him how much she was enjoying the book, though she knew that to actively seek out and communicate with him was going against her self- imposed rule of avoidance. But she had been so impressed with the story that she had to let him know.
A couple of nights lately she had dreamt of him, of them, and they had been wet and wild visions. She had awoken in a passionate fever on one occasion, tossing and turning in her unfulfilled, fanciful desires. It was so hot to imagine, but was it practical? Of course not. He was merely an infatuation, and nothing more - and she truly believed that. But oh what a smoking fantasy! If she were the promiscuous type - and he was almost enough to drive her that way - she would certainly have her fun with him.
In the real world, however, she wasn’t promiscuous, and she had a long, proven history with Gene, a good man. He just needed straightening out from time to time. They would have a great future together.
“Beautiful weather, isn’t it?” Gene asked, smiling. “I’m glad my work load wasn’t so heavy.” In truth, his work load could have filled a dump truck, but it wasn’t enough to keep him away from her these days.
“Yes, it is,” she responded, now attentive and returning his smile.
He opened his sandwich.
“Dad and I talked earlier today about the firm up north,” he said.
“Oh?” she responded. “What did he have to say?”
“Well, he told me it was growing, and he still wants me to move there and be involved in its development,” Gene said. “Now, you know Leigh, our moving to New York wouldn’t be that bad. I really think you would like it!” She had been there, and she definitely knew she wouldn’t like it.
“Gene, you know how I feel about that,” she replied.
“But its New York City!” he countered. “This is a great opportunity! Now, the cost of living is higher, but…
He was on a subject he was very fond of discussing lately, and he was now holding forth and arguing his point with great enthusiasm. He droned on, and she was half listening to him - she had heard it all before - when she glanced over and saw Kyle across the yard. He was wearing a short sleeved white tee shirt and blue jeans, and he was walking along with that confident swagger she had come to recognize.
Gene talked on, his voice becoming part of the background noise. As she smiled and admiringly watched Kyle saunter along, he paused in mid stride and looked over at their table. He smiled at her, and then started toward them. Leigh froze. The smile fell dramatically off her face. She looked quickly back at Gene, who was still talking about New York and their wonderful future, then back in Kyle’s direction; he was still coming their way. She couldn’t believe it. What was he going to do? She had honestly hoped to see him out here, just to confirm he was indeed at work today, but she never imagined in her wildest dreams he would approach. What if he confronts Gene? she thought desperately. Oh, what will happen? Now, as she glanced furtively at Kyle coming ever closer, she became convinced that he would make a scene. In a perfect panic, she rubbed her hands together nervously and looked squarely at Gene, suddenly appearing deeply interested in what he was saying.
He walked right up to the table and stopped. He looked down at Leigh, and Gene, still lost in the future and the sound of his own voice, hadn’t yet noticed his presence.
She finally looked up at him and smiled weakly, her face drained of color. Kyle saw her apprehension and grinned like the Cheshire cat, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. It was a dangerous gleam, she thought, one that said he was going to make trouble, bet the farm. Gene finally took a breath and noticed someone was standing by them. He looked up at Kyle, his eyebrows raised.
“Can we help you?” he asked.
“Sorry to bother you,” Kyle said warmly, turning his attention to Gene. “I was just wondering if either of you have noticed a pen lying around here. It’s my favorite, and it seems I’ve lost it. I was writing at this table yesterday, and I thought I may have left it here.”
Leigh stared unbelievingly at him. What is he talking about? A pen?
“No, can’t say that I have,” Gene responded, glancing around and looking under the table. “Have you, Leigh?”
“No. . . I haven’t,” she answered through clenched teeth. She looked up at Kyle with narrowed eyes.
“Well, if either of you do, let me know, will you?” Kyle smiled wickedly, staring directly back into Leigh’s measured gaze. He then looked at Gene. “My name is Kyle Tilston.” He thrust his hand out dramatically, and Gene, caught only a moment off guard, shook it firmly.
“Gene Sykes,” he replied. “And this is Leigh, my fiancé.” He paused and chuckled. “But then, of course, you two have already met, I’m sure!”
“Yes, we have,” they responded simultaneously. There was a small silence, and Kyle looked at the angst ridden Leigh, his eyes filled with mirth. He then turned his attention back to Gene.
“Well, aren’t you a lucky guy?” he opined.
Gene looked at him quizzically, and then smiled, nodding his head in agreement. He glanced at Leigh, who was still staring at Kyle suggestively. That’s enough! Go on!
“Why, yes I am, as a matter of fact,” he agreed, reaching across the table and taking her hand. She felt his touch, and then looked away from Kyle and back at Gene. She hoped he didn’t notice her hand was trembling. Kyle continued smiling at Gene, letting the moment stretch out a bit. Leigh felt she was about to explode.
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