The Fellowship

by K. Darblyne

  Danni stepped over to her silent friend as the young man retreated into an office cubicle. "So Garrett, I guess you’re going to have to get some insurance before we pick up our new cars tomorrow," she said nonchalantly.

  "Yeah, I guess I’ll have…" the tall woman’s mouth was suddenly agape, as her brain had finally registered what her young friend had implied. The surgeon’s eyes widened as she gulped, "you mean, it’s a done deal? I’ve got the Black Chevy Blazer with 4-wheel drive. Hey, you said our new cars…plural. I thought…"

  The young woman rubbed her fingernails in a mock polishing effort against her blouse saying, "I was able to work out a better deal if I traded in the Geo and we bought two vehicles at once."

  "What did…when did…" Garrett was confused. She thought she had been following the conversation, obviously she had not picked up on something. Shaking her head, she queried "I didn’t know that you were looking to buy a new car. Did I miss something here?"

  "Shh! He is coming back, just play along. Okay?"

  The surgeon slowly nodded her head, totally amazed at her petite friend. She was definitely going to find out what she had missed in the negotiations.

  Again, she did what she was told and remained silent as the salesman joined them.

  "It’s all set. If we could get some financial information from the two of you, your vehicles will be ready to be picked up tomorrow at 5 P.M." He looked first at the tall dark haired woman then to the perky little blonde. "If that’s alright with you?" He hesitated shifting his gaze from woman to woman, a look of apprehension on his face.

  Danni smiled at the salesman, "Yes, that will be just fine."

  The salesman nodded, "Now, if you follow me over to my office." He was grinning from ear to ear, proud of the deal that he had struck up with the beautiful blonde. "We’ll get all the paper work out of the way."

  A half-hour later, the women were walking out of the dealership headed for Danni’s Geo Metro. They were brimming with enthusiasm over the deal that had just been made for the new vehicles but knew that they had to wait to discuss what had just happened until they were in the car.

  Garrett was getting good at folding herself into the small car of her friend. She waited for the younger woman to settle herself into the driver's seat before asking, "So, Danni, what car did you purchase? If you don’t mind me asking." She gave her friend a sidelong glance.

  "A gold Chevy Malibu," she stated. "Sorry, but it will be bigger than you’re used to in this one." She let out a laugh, her eyes quickly taking in the accordion like form of her tall companion.

  The surgeon started to chuckle and nodded her head carefully as it abutted the interior of the roof. "I think I could get used to that."

  "What do you say we celebrate our good fortune. Milkshakes?" she asked.

  The older woman suddenly turned very serious. "Danni, can I ask you something?" She looked at her friend and asked, "You didn’t agree to go out with him or anything, did you?" There was a look of real concern on her face as she awaited her friend’s answer.

  The small blonde shot a glance over to her passenger; her eyes registered her friends concern. "No, maybe Rosie would do something like that, but not me. I just let him flirt with me. While his mind was preoccupied with his thoughts I just out haggled him. Honest."

  "Mom told me that you were good at bargaining, but I never thought…" the surgeon trailed off. She looked over at her friend, "Thanks for doing that for me, Danni." A lop sided grin showing on her face.

  "You’re welcome, Garrett. I’m just glad that I could help." The nurse pulled into the parking lot of the ice cream shop, "Now, are we going to celebrate or what?"

  The sound of birds chirping floated lightly on the gentle breeze that was coming in through the open window. The nights were not as hot or humid anymore and the thought of sleeping in the fresh air was so stimulating to the surgeon. She had forgotten about the noise of the birds in the early morning, after all, you didn’t get that close to land on a ship or in air-conditioned hotels. Garrett made a mental note about the morning noise and open windows for the next time she had the luxury of sleeping in. But for now, she gathered her pillow and pulled it over her head to drown out the energetic noise, determined to enjoy more time in the land of Morpheus.

  Blue haze from the cigarette smoke was creeping out of the doorway to the bar and gliding along the ceiling. The room appeared to be clean and orderly but somewhat aged for the faded posters that covered the walls. The light was focused low from the hanging fixtures that advertised locally brewed alcoholic beverages. Each one strategically placed above a small round table. It was definitely not an upper class establishment but the nurses had assured her that it served some of the best ethnic food in the "Burgh". She followed the group of nurses as they ventured into the backroom of what they had called a typical corner bar. Soon they were seated around one of the tables, their eyes intent on finding a waitress.

  "I got one!" Danni exclaimed as she motioned with her hand for the waitress in the far corner to come over to their table. Pleased with herself she settled into her chair and waited. "So, Garrett, what do you think of the place?"

  The surgeon looked startled as she was called upon to make a judgement of the atmosphere already. "Ah, I think I’ll defer any comments until after the meal," her eyes wandered around the room and to each of her companions.

  "Ah, come on Doc, we know that it’s not the number one pick of the Yuppies across the country, but the food is really the best around." Rosie looked to her co-workers for support.

  "I hate to say it, but she’s right." Karen shook her head in approval. "Do you think we’ll see anybody that we know tonight?" she joked.

  Rosie smiled, "Gee, Mom, why do you always have to bring up work when we go out?"

  "Now, ladies, let’s just have a nice time with good food and pleasant companionship." Danni tried to mediate the conversation, "Let’s just forget about work and have some fun, shall we?"

  Mom looked over at the small blonde nurse and let out a laugh, "And how do you propose that I forget work when I look at the motley crew that I’m with? Jeez, Danni, we just spent the last twelve hours together at work."

  "Can I take your order?" The waitress impatiently tapped her foot as she looked from patron to patron at the table. Looking for someone in authority, she picked on Garrett, "So, what can I bring you?"

  The tall woman was startled. "Ah, ah," and she looked over to Danni pleading with her eyes for help.

  "Why don’t we get a sampler platter of pierogies for the table to start off with? The blonde nurse quickly did a visual poll of her friends, "Yes, a sampler platter of pierogies then for the table. I’ll have an IC Lite, too."

  "Yeah, IC Lite for me, too," Rosie shook head in agreement.

  Karen thought for a moment then slowly shaking her head, "Same for me."

  Not wanting to be an odd ball in the group of her new friends, Garrett nonchalantly looked up at the waitress saying, "Make that IC Lite all the way around."

  Rosie reached out to grab at the waitress’ arm. "Hey, you have that on draft, right? Then how about a pitcher of IC Lite for the table."

  "Okay, let’s make that four glasses with one pitcher of IC Lite and one pierogies sampler." The impatient waitress hastily looked around the table. Hearing no more orders she moved away in the direction of the bar.

  "Garrett, we’re glad that you could join us tonight. Maybe you would like to come along when we have our next ladies night out?" The older nurse was trying to help the surgeon adjust to her new city.

  "Yeah, Doc, we could go down to the strip district that night and you could get to see the Primanti Brothers up close and personal." Rosie offered enthusiastically as she winked at Danni.

  The doctors’ eyebrow steadily rose up into her hairline as she stared at Rosie then at her young friend. She wondered what kind of signals she had been giving for Rosie to suggest that she would enjoy strip clubs and local Chippendales-type shows.

 
Seeing the look on her new friend’s face, Danni quickly offered, "They have the best sandwiches there at Primante’s. They have everything except the kitchen sink on them. You remember me getting the watermelons for the picnic in the strip district, don’t you, Garrett?"

  The surgeon thought a moment then slowly smiled as she began to understand the true meaning of Rosie’s statement. "Yeah, I think that would be fun." She stole a quick look at the blonde and thanked any god that would listen to her for such a compassionate and caring friend. The surgeon thought for a moment and realized that the word was creeping more often into her thoughts and vocabulary since she had arrived in town. It felt good to be able to call someone friend. She marveled at her circumstance and for the first time believed that it was fate that brought her to this place in time and with these people, no co-workers. No, they were more than that to her for she was slowly being accepted into their extended families. That was a funny sensation for her, she hadn’t had a feeling of family for many years. It was something that she never thought she would feel again. She was beginning to see that they had accepted her for herself without needing to pry into her past life. That feeling of acceptance was not lost on the raven-haired woman.

  "So, have you ever eaten pierogies before?" Danni offered the first choice to Garrett. "These are potato and onion, sauerkraut, and potato and cheese," she pointed to each group in the assortment on the platter. "Help yourself."

  The lopsided smile spread quickly across her face as she came out of her thoughts into the presence of her companions, "Thanks, they look and smell good." She chose one of each and began tasting as the others helped themselves to the pierogies. "Hey, these are really good." Her eyes were looking from one member to the other of the group and back to the stuffed dough pockets on her plate.

  The friendly chuckling of the group at her comment was only emphasized by the young blonde’s toast. "Here’s to Garrett," she raised her glass filled with the white-headed foamed beverage. "May she find Pittsburgh and all that it holds, to be to her liking."

  The group followed suit each raising their glass in acknowledgement to the tall surgeon in their midst and saying, "To Garrett!"

  Her golden complexion was now showing signs of blush as she accepted the toast. She nodded and raised her glass touching each of theirs lightly and then the group sipped their drinks. Garrett raised her glass again, "To Pittsburgh, May I come to know all that it holds with the help of my friends." The glasses were raised and clinked. The drinking of the golden liquid ended the toast and brought about the conversation that was so much a part of human nature among the small group of friends.

  She could feel her facial muscles being stretched into a smile as the haze of sleep slowly eroded from her mind. The calming memory of joyous camaraderie was the last thing that she could remember about her dream.

  Blue eyes slowly opened and began to focus on her surroundings. She allowed herself to fill her mind with the atmosphere that was present in the room. The soft rays of sunlight filtered in through the edges of the blinds, straining to give the room a golden glow. It brought a rich appearance to the sparse furnishings. A bed, dresser, and nightstand with a lamp on it was the contents of the room in its entirety. It wasn’t much, but she could call it home. It had been several years since she had thought of any place as home. She pondered about the last three years that she had lived from one assigned bunk to another and her clothing that was stored in metal lockers on board ship or the duffel bag that carried them between duty stations. The woman’s time spent in the Navy was just a way to pay off her debts from medical school. She had realized that it was a temporary life, a means to the end of getting herself through the necessary schooling to become the doctor that she was today.

  She rolled over, staring at the ceiling. Her senses were awakening and she could vaguely make out the aroma of bacon and coffee in the air. For the first time in many years she could actually smell food being made as she climbed the stairs out of Morpheus’ realm. It was a pleasant sensation that stirred her memory with thoughts of home, family and belonging. Her mind went off on a tangent as she thought about the events that had led her to this place.

  "So, I guess that you haven’t be able to find anything yet."

  She turned in recognition of the soft voice that seemed to come from behind her. "No," shaking her head in disappointment. "I’m going to have to do something soon, I’ve only got a week to find someplace."

  The small blonde stood next to her balancing a tray of breakfast foods in her hands. "Mind if I join you?" She motioned to the empty seat across form the surgeon.

  "Ah…no," she was clearing the table for her friend. "I’d enjoy the company." Garrett looked up at the woman who was slowly creeping into her life. "You just getting done for the night?"

  "Yeah, I thought that I’d grab a quick bite to eat before I head home. It always seems more relaxing to me to have other people around than to be by myself." Danni looked around at the other people then settled her eyes on to her friend. "You know, Garrett, any place good has already been taken before September at the latest by the college students."

  Nodding in agreement, "I’m beginning to realize that now. McMurray is going to flip when I tell him that I’m going to have to live out of the call room or my car until I find a place."

  There was silence between the two as each sat quietly with their own thoughts. The young nurse was slowing down her rhythmic chewing as she began to contemplate her friend’s plight.

  The surgeon raised her cup for more of the soothing mixture.

  Swallowing, she drew in a breath and offered, "I have a spare bedroom in my house." She looked up into the clear blue eyes across from her. "You could move in with me." There she had said it.

  The surgeon shifted in her seat, her eyes wondering off into the crowded cafeteria. "No, Danni, I don’t want to impose on you."

  "Aw, come on, Garrett, it would be an answer to both of our problems." She searched for some emotion on the surgeon’s face. "You need a place to stay for the rest of your Fellowship and it would be less lonely for me around the house when I’m not working. Besides, it would be safer for the both of us." She was smug with herself for thinking of this point to help win over her friend. "It would be like a buddy system for safety’s sake. My sister has been on my case to get a roommate for some time now. What do you say?" The eager look of acceptance displayed on her face. "If it doesn’t work out, it will have at least given you more time to find a decent place."

  The surgeon raised her eyebrow. "Okay, I’ll stop by after clinic today and take a look at the place. But if I take it, I will be paying you rent." She held up her hand to prevent any further discussion from the petite woman. "I expect that you will be able to come up with a fair price and any house rules that I will have to follow."

  Digging into her food with a renewed zeal, Danni smiled. "Great! I’ll be expecting you about 5 or so."

  Garrett gave her friend a lopsided grin and nodded her head. "This just might work out. After all, who knows where I’ll be working after June when this fellowship is through? I’ll see you then." She stole a look at her watch and gathered her things together. "Hey, I’ve got to go. I’ll just make it if I leave now."

  "See you later." The blonde nurse called out to her. "Have a good morning!"

  "Good morning!"

  "Huh…" One eyelid opened, the crystal blue iris trying to get a fix on the sound that seemed to be echoing in her head. There it was again, that knocking sound. The raven-haired surgeon turned her head in the direction of the sound. She could barely raise both eyelids open when the cheerful sound came again.

  "Good morning, Garrett!" The door opened slightly and a partial head slid into the opening. "Hey, you awake for your special breakfast yet? You don’t want to let it get cold, do you?"

  The surgeon drank in the aroma of the breakfast as her mind stumbled its way into the present. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about that." She raised her hand to wave a lone finger at the door signalin
g that she would be there in a minute.

  "Just let me get some clothes on," her voice was husky from sleep. "I’ll be right out." Covers were being thrown off in disarray.

  The petite blonde caught a glimpse of muscled arms and the broad expanse of shoulders connecting into a well defined back as the covers began to reveal the emerging body of the slumbering surgeon. She hastily closed the door to assure her new roommate her privacy. She smiled to herself and raised an eyebrow at the idea that her friend felt comfortable enough to sleep in the nude.

  It was the first morning since Garrett had moved into Danni’s extra room that they were both off. Several months had gone by since the softball game but a bet was a bet and the surgeon was ready to collect her prize.