Summer Fling

by Jean Copeland

  They arrived at security and watched as airport employees checked passenger IDs and boarding passes.

  “We don’t have boarding passes,” Kate said, staring straight ahead at the crowd of sleepy, shoeless people loading their belongings onto the conveyor belt.

  “No, we don’t,” Didi said, also staring ahead.

  Kate, still staring, “Why didn’t we think of this sooner?”

  Didi, still staring, “They never think of these things in the movies.”

  Kate finally turned and shot Didi the filthiest glare. She then consulted her phone. “She’s gotta be in line at the gate already. Her plane leaves in twenty minutes.”

  “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.” Didi jetted off toward the baggage-check area.

  Kate shook out her hands as she tried to calm down and not look suspicious to the security personnel glancing at her from their posts. Suddenly, an announcement came over the PA system.

  “Jordan Squire, please report to passenger security check. Jordan Squire to passenger security.”

  Didi strolled back to Kate wearing a satisfied grin.

  “How did you…”

  “Don’t ask,” Didi said. “I’m going to be ashamed of myself for a long time for what I’ll have to do for convincing that woman to page her.” She arched her eyebrows lasciviously. “I’m just gonna pop over to the ladies’ room.”

  Kate smiled as she watched Didi head down the hall toward the restrooms. After a moment of musing on how much she treasured their friendship, she turned around and saw Jordan eyeing her from the other side of the body-scan booth. She pointed to a less-congested area, where they met and stared into each other’s eyes.

  But Jordan’s look of fond surprise soon faded. “What are you doing here, Kate?”

  “I…I heard you were leaving and wanted to say good-bye.”

  “Why?”

  Kate squirmed slightly at the sting of Jordan’s stern eyes boring into hers. “I don’t want you to hate me. I may be asking too much, but if you happen to be flying out of here for good, I want you to leave knowing that I truly loved you. I still love you with all my heart.”

  Jordan folded her arms and looked away. “Is this supposed to be making me feel better or you?”

  “I was hoping it would make us both feel better. Is it working?”

  Jordan shook her head.

  “Yeah. It’s not for me either.”

  “Kate, I could never hate you, but I also know I can’t be friends with you, if that’s what you’re looking for. If coming here is some twelve-step thing, then you’ve made your amends.”

  “Twelve-step? I’m not an alcoholic,” she said, then muttered, “not yet anyway.” Back to the matter at hand. “No, listen. I’m here because, well, what if I said I wanted more than a friendship with you? That I…”

  A muffled voice came over the PA system. “Last call for general boarding for American Airlines Flight 624 to Los Angeles.”

  “That’s me,” Jordan said, suddenly seeming less confident about her departure.

  “I know.” Kate looked up from the floor and marveled at Jordan’s reserve. “Jordan…”

  “What?”

  Despite the pooling in Jordan’s eyes, she stared back at Kate stoic, unwavering. Under the watchful eye of an armed guard, Kate reached her hand over the security fence and held it out for a moment until Jordan clasped her fingers in Kate’s. Tears rolled down both their faces as they held each other’s hand until the guard approached and asked Kate to step back and away from the security area unless she had a boarding pass.

  “I have to go,” Jordan said. She wheeled around and hurried off to her gate.

  Kate watched her until she disappeared around the corner toward the terminal. She looked down and pressed her fingers into her eyes until kaleidoscopic shapes flickered behind her lids. She didn’t have nearly enough will left to stop the deluge. As if she hadn’t attracted enough attention to herself milling near a restricted area, there she stood, all alone, sobbing in the middle of the airport.

  “Dare I hope those are tears of joy?” Didi said. When she placed her hand on Kate’s shoulder, Kate clamped her arms around her neck and sobbed into her jacket.

  “Oh, Kate.” Didi held her as she cried.

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Encore! Encore!

  Kate stared at the naked tree branches on the snow-dusted lawn of the Wilmington estate. As her breath fogged the cold window, she was oblivious to the clamoring of Viv’s mother, two sisters-in-law, a close cousin, and Didi as they created a cacophony of cackling and screeching behind her.

  Vivienne’s wedding day.

  Talk about hell freezing over. After what she’d gone through with Viv when she and Maia had broken up earlier in the year, Kate had never imagined she’d ever see them together now, so happy and functional and ready to embrace the dream of happily-ever-after. Kate, too, had come so far from when that serendipitous chain of events had led Jordan to her back in June. Jordan had taught her how to see life from a new perspective, how to love again—most importantly, how to want to love again and be swept away in its irresistible tide. It had been refreshing, exhilarating, and terrifying. Yet, there she was, alone again, staring out at the blankness, feeling as gray as the December sky.

  She hadn’t felt Didi sidle up to her.

  “Kate,” she whispered. “You need to get your head in the game. Viv is stressing out that you’re not peeing yourself with unbridled joy on her big day, and I’m too busy crafting my plan to seduce Mrs. Wilmington to babysit you.”

  “You’re right,” Kate said as she turned to face the lively living room. “I have to shake off this…Wait, what did you say you’re crafting?”

  “Shhh.” Didi turned away toward the window. “Mrs. Wilmington was a supermodel in the late sixties. You know she used to get all freaky at those wild LSD parties they had back then. All I have to do is get her tipsy enough to wear down her inhibitions, and then, boom, I’m sharing the master-bedroom suite in this palace with her tonight.”

  Kate stared at her. “I’d love to experience your unfiltered audacity for just one hour.”

  Viv approached with a look of concern, throwing her arms around each of them. “Girl,” she said to Kate. “I know the new Viv is supposed to be less self-centered and more sensitive to the wants and needs of my loved ones, but you can’t be trippin’ like this on my wedding day. I need my girls, both of my girls, to be on point today, the most important day of my life. So, snap the fuck out of it, and let’s start having ourselves a time.” She kissed Kate’s face hard enough for her no-smudge lipstick to leave a scarlet imprint on her cheek.

  Kate smiled. “You’re not being selfish to want that, Viv. You have every right to have the wedding of your dreams.”

  “I’m so proud of you for finally coming to your senses,” Didi said. “I’ve never seen you so content.”

  “I have my two best friends, and I’m about to marry the love of my life,” Viv said. “What more do I need to be happy?” She wrenched them both closer for a group hug. “I love you bitches.”

  “Aww, we love you, too,” Didi said.

  Kate joined the squealing as they squished her face between theirs, but the emotion fueling the expression resurrected her longing for Jordan.

  * * *

  Later, at the reception held at Vivienne’s father’s country club, Kate pulled Didi aside during the cocktail hour to make one final plea for her to come to her senses in the way that Viv had. Realizing who wasn’t right for us was as crucial a growth step as realizing who was.

  “Really?” Kate said before sipping from her pomegranate martini. “Rhea was the best you could come up with for a wedding date?”

  “Kate, you know I hate going to weddings stag. It’s like being at a wake with club music.”

  “Hello? We’ve could’ve been each other’s date.”

  “Thanks, but in the likely event I get drunk and horny, it would be best that I make inappropria
te overtures at a friend with whom I don’t have quite so much history.”

  “Truer words,” Kate said.

  “Besides, not everyone needs to erase their exes from their lives like they never existed. Jordan is a genuine soul, and anyone would be lucky to call her a friend.”

  “I agree,” Kate said sullenly. “I didn’t erase her. It just worked out that way.”

  Rhea approached with drinks and handed one to Didi. “Kate, can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Sure.”

  Rhea led her off to the side. “I just wanted to apologize to you.”

  “For what?”

  “This past year has been unexpectedly crazy for me, and I did some things I’m not proud of as I was attempting to sort it all out. Flirting with your girlfriend last summer was one of them.”

  “Jordan and I aren’t together anymore, but I appreciate the gesture. Didi, however, is still my best friend, so I am concerned about her getting hurt. She fell for you, and I just hope you’re being straight with her now—if you’ll pardon the expression.”

  “I am, completely,” Rhea said. “Didi’s been amazing. She’s helped me so much to understand myself and the implications of the decisions I’ll make from here on out. She listens to me and knows exactly what it’s like to experience such a profound revelation at this stage in our lives. I’ll forever be in her debt.”

  Profound revelation. Yes, Kate was also familiar with what it was like to face one of those at a certain age. She wanted to believe that hers would help her evolve into a better person despite how she still felt about losing Jordan. It wasn’t like losing Lydia. After a year of therapy and introspection, she’d realized with Lydia that she should’ve thrown away a flower once vibrant with life, not left it languishing in a pot of poorly nourished soil. But with Jordan, she’d thrown away the flower while it was in full bloom.

  “Heads up,” Didi said as she accosted them. “They’re coming.”

  As the cocktail-hour music faded, the DJ’s voice boomed through the speakers, and the lights began twirling and twinkling.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to direct your attention to the front of the room so that you can join me in welcoming for the first time in public, partners for life, Vivienne and Maia Wilmington-Carter.”

  The guests roared and cheered their welcome as Viv and Maia walked through the doors like lesbian Cinderella and her Princess Charming, stunning in tailored, cream-colored Armani pantsuits and smiles that were like looking at the sun.

  Kate and Didi stood side by side, as wowed as the rest of the guests.

  Didi leaned toward Kate’s ear as she applauded. “Ever wish you and Viv had had more than just a one-nighter?”

  “Not until this very moment,” Kate said and almost meant it.

  “Did you ever wish you’d had a one-nighter with me?” Didi said, still clapping.

  “Not for one second,” Kate replied, still clapping.

  “Good thing for you that you didn’t ’cause I’m like a Lay’s potato chip, baby.”

  “What’s that? Greasy and bad for my digestion?”

  They nudged each other and laughed as Viv and Maia made it to the floor. The DJ announced their first dance to Bruno Mars’s “Just the Way You Are.”

  They were a vision, arms around each other swaying together like cattails in a summer breeze. Kate returned Didi’s smile, refusing to let her wistful thoughts of Jordan diminish her enthusiasm for the next, wonderful adventure on the journey she’d been sharing with her friends for decades. At least one of them would know true, everlasting love.

  As the song trailed toward its ending, the DJ broke in. “Now, before y’all sit down and start feasting on filet mignon and lobster, the brides would like one more dance. But they don’t need me for this one. They have a very special guest to help them out. Let’s show her a whole lot of love.”

  Jordan walked out of the shadows carrying a mic stand and acoustic guitar strapped over her shoulder.

  “Ms. Jordan Squire,” the DJ announced.

  Before Kate had the chance to think, breathe, or blink, Jordan was at the mic lightly strumming the guitar strings. “This one’s for my friends, Viv and Maia, and anyone else who’s ever been lucky enough to have the best.”

  She began performing Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better” with the charisma of a Grammy Award–winning artist. Kate was mesmerized. Was it really Jordan or some digitally advanced hologram? She’d been missing her so much that the whole scene could’ve easily been a waking dream. But no, it was her—live, in real-time 3D, her voice imbuing the room with warmth and energy.

  And if Kate hadn’t been totally deluding herself, Jordan glanced directly at her on certain key lyrics.

  Halfway through the song, Jordan invited everyone to join Viv and Maia. Didi pulled Rhea onto the dance floor, but Kate hung back, leaning against a support column, her eyes riveted to Jordan, her heart beating in rhythm with the melody.

  After the song, and hugs and kisses from the brides, Jordan sauntered over to Kate, her eyes locked and loaded. The closer she came, the wider Kate’s smile stretched.

  “So,” Jordan said as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. “Not sure if you still need a date for the reception, but it just so happens that I’m free now.”

  “Well, since I never changed my RSVP, you’re still listed as my ‘plus one.’ Chicken, right?”

  Jordan smirked. “Fish.”

  “Right.” Kate could no longer fight the goofy smile teetering on the corners of her mouth. “You know, I feel pretty confident saying I was more excited by your performance here than the brides. You were phenomenal, as always.”

  “Thanks. You know, I’m certain I was more excited to perform for you than the brides. But don’t tell them.”

  “Never,” Kate said, shy as a schoolgirl. Then suddenly inspired by Viv’s take-no-prisoners attitude, she looked into Jordan’s eyes. “I’m so happy to see you.”

  Jordan replied with a smile and a tender kiss. Kate absorbed her in an embrace, her legs weak as her senses consumed every molecule of Jordan’s being.

  “I love you so much.” Jordan’s voice in her ear seemed to quench a lingering, insatiable thirst.

  “I love you, too,” Kate whispered.

  Jordan faced her with eyes like shining portraits of love and devotion, an exhibition Kate had never seen before. “I can’t move to California, Kate. I can’t pretend I don’t need you or want you or love you with all my heart and soul.”

  “Jordan,” she whispered, holding her close in complete surrender.

  “Do you still want me?” Jordan whispered.

  “More than ever.” She brushed Jordan’s hair aside, studying the face she thought she’d only ever see again in web videos.

  “Then let’s do this, Kate. Let’s do it right this time.”

  “I want to so much, Jordan, but I don’t want you to have to choose between me and your dream.”

  “Without you, it’s not a dream. It’s just a dazzling way to kill time. Nothing makes me happier than being with you.”

  Kate cupped Jordan’s adorably vulnerable face in her palms and kissed her with more passion than a newly married couple could dream of knowing. “I don’t want to be afraid to love you anymore. I’m crazy about you, Jordan. That’s all that matters. This time I know it’s true.”

  They embraced again, so close their hearts kept the same beat.

  “Uh…I hate to interrupt,” Didi said, “but the main event is happening over there.”

  Jordan tried to pull away, but Kate held her a moment longer—just to make sure she was real. Jordan giggled softly, and they kissed.

  Didi cleared her throat.

  “What are we waiting for?” Kate took Jordan’s hand, and they followed Didi to the brides’ table.

  “By the way, Viv and Maia requested that this time you make your speech sober,” Didi said.

  Jordan chuckled. “I don’t know. I thought her incoherent acceptance
speech at the True Colors fund-raiser was rather enchanting. Just give her a mic stand to clutch, and she’ll be fine.”

  Kate groaned. “Uh, no. If it’s all the same to you folks, I’d rather not make the cut in a YouTube compilation video of wedding disasters.”

  “Then let’s get this toast out of the way,” Didi said. “I feel a drink coming on.”

  * * *

  After dinner and the customary cake-smearing, Viv and Maia joined the rest of the ladies at the brides’ table and fed each other a taste of the French-vanilla wedding cake with forks instead of their fingers.

  “So, what are you all doing next June?” Viv asked as she sipped her coffee.

  Before Kate could answer the oddly random question, Jordan cut in with “Celebrating our year anniversary.” She fed Kate a forkful of cake, then kissed the excess frosting from the corner of her mouth.

  “With a trip to New York City and a drink at Moxy’s?” Kate said with a smile.

  Jordan beamed. “Sounds fabulous.”

  “I’ll probably still be chasing this one,” Rhea said.

  Didi resisted the temptation. “You’ll surely have run out of excuses to give your husband by then.”

  “No more excuses or lies,” Rhea said. “He knows I’m with you tonight. As scary as it is, I’m following my heart on this one. It’s been hard to look back since meeting you, Didi. I hope you know how much you mean to me.”

  Kate and Jordan exchanged glances with the brides.

  “Thank you,” Didi said, and pulled her in for a kiss on the cheek.

  “I think I know who’s gonna be diving for the bouquet,” Viv said.

  “She’ll definitely have some competition,” Maia said, looking at Jordan.

  “Fine,” Viv said. “So, it sounds like you’ll all be free to attend the baby shower in June.”

  “Baby?” Didi exclaimed.

  Maia smiled as wide as when she had said “I do” to Viv earlier in the evening.