Class Reunion

by Linda Hill

  “I know he does. Even after all the hell I’ve put him through. But you were right this morning.” She shifted a bit, so that she could better face the other woman.

  Jennifer tried, but couldn’t recall what she had said earlier that day. Even that morning felt years and years ago.

  “You were right when you said I shouldn’t stay with him if I’m still attracted to women.” She eyed Jen openly, regret plain on her face. “I’ve been searching for another Jenny Moreland since the day I got married. Pretty pathetic, huh?”

  Jennifer was careful not to agree or disagree. The truth was that even now she felt torn. She wanted to tell her how much she’d hurt over the years. How much she had longed to be with her again. But another part of her took a sick pleasure in knowing that Sheila had also suffered. But more than anything, she just wanted to let go. “I don’t know anything about your relationship with your husband.” She chose her words carefully. “I only know that you don’t seem very happy. You have to go with your heart, I guess.”

  “And if it leads me to you?” Sheila countered.

  A breeze picked up, sending a shiver down

  Jennifer’s spine as she mulled over her reply. “It took me a very, very long time to get over you, Sheila.” She met Sheila’s eyes squarely, unable to control the unabashed hurt in her own. “But I have. I couldn’t go back now.”

  Sheila digested this with a shrug and a smile. “It would never work anyway. We’ve both moved on.”

  Jennifer nodded, the quiet settling between them once more. “What are you going to do?”

  “Nothing,” Sheila sighed. “I’ve got a husband and three boys to worry about. And I just made an absolute fool of myself.” She groaned. “I think I’ve got to pee, darlin’.”

  Jennifer laughed and slowly unwound her stiff joints to stand. She was conscious of the door openŹing and three figures stepping outside as she reached down to help Sheila to her feet.

  “I’m sorry, Jenny.” Sheila’s arms wrapped around her tightly, and Jennifer allowed herself to squeeze the other woman in return. “For everything.”

  In another moment, Jennifer’s arms were empty, with nothing but the Des Moines skyline before her. Tears were threatening, and she stabbed at her eyes angrily as Bobby wrapped his arms around his wife and walked off with her.

  “Are you okay?” Diane and Lucy stood a short distance away.

  Jennifer nodded, failing at her attempt to smile. “She was a mess, huh?”

  Diane was nodding. “Thanks for coming back.”

  “Sure,” she nodded with finality. “Let’s get out of here.”

  The ballroom had emptied in her absence. Jennifer glanced around only briefly when she reached the lobby. She hadn’t really expected Heather to be there waiting, anyway.

  Chapter 16

  She tried without success to sneak into her sister’s house without making a sound. But Sally, draped in a cotton bathrobe, had followed her to her bedroom, before she even had a chance to kick off her shoes.

  “What happened to my suit?” Sally’s voice was groggy with sleep.

  Eyes wide, Jen glanced down to see the front of the suit smeared with makeup. One sleeve was caked with heavy brown foundation, and one lapel was streaked with black mascara.

  “Shit. It’s Sheila’s makeup.” She hurried to shrug out of the jacket, grimacing as Sally grabbed it for inspection.

  “Christ, Jenny. What the hell did you do?” She threw her sister a disgusted look before holding out one hand and turning her face away. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

  Recognizing the direction that Sally’s thoughts had taken, Jennifer was quick to come to her own defense. “It’s not what you think. She was crying. She was a mess.” She bent to look closer at the damaged suit. “I’m sorry about the suit. I’ll pay to have it cleaned.”

  “And I’ll let you,” Sally retorted, dropping the jacket in a heap to the floor. She faced her sister, pulling the robe tightly around her and shading her eyes from the bright light. “What the hell happened? It’s almost three o’clock.”

  Jennifer groaned. “It’s late. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.”

  Sally responded by plopping herself down on Jen’s bed and making herself comfortable. “Tomorrow the kids will be demanding attention, and you’ll be getting on a plane back to Phoenix. I want to spend time with my sister.” She pouted as she patted the bed beside her. “Humor me.”

  Jennifer smiled as she joined her sister on the bed. Jennifer recounted the events of the past several hours.

  Some twenty minutes later, she dropped her head on her pillow, tired from the retelling.

  “Is your life always this tumultuous?” Sally asked. “I notice you didn’t use the word exciting.” Jen was able to find her sense of humor. “But no. My life is usually quite dull.”

  “What are you going to do about Heather?”

  “I don’t know.” Frowning, Jen shook her head. “I don’t even have her phone number.” Her heart was sinking. Even if she did find her, she didn’t know if she could find the words to make things right.

  Her waking thoughts were of Heather. Maybe she could change her flight. Maybe she could drive over to the airport and catch her before she boarded the plane.

  That’s it! Her eyes flew open, and she threw back the blankets in a single motion. One hand reached for a bathrobe while the other grabbed her watch from the nightstand.

  “Nine-thirty.” She blinked hard, not trusting her eyes. “Shit. She’s already over Saint Louis by now. Shit. Shit. Shit.” She fell back against her pillow. She stared up at the ceiling, her thoughts drifting back over the night before. She wondered about Sheila, how she was, how she was coping.

  She waited to feel the familiar ache that always came with the memory of Sheila, but she felt nothing.

  It was a somber group that hovered around the boarding gate at the Des Moines airport.

  Jennifer always hated it when it was time to say good-bye, and this time was no exception. In fact, it was worse. Her heart was heavy.

  Sally was sniffling. Allison had taken up her favorite position behind her mother’s leg. Tommy sat securely in his father’s arms, pointing that single finger right at her and repeating her name over and over. “Jeffer. Jeffer. Jeffer.” Giggles erupted.

  The flight attendant was saying that all passenŹgers holding a boarding pass should be enplaning. Not wanting to prolong the inevitable any longer, Jennifer began her good-byes.

  She hugged Jim quickly. She felt the first threat of tears when Tommy planted a wet, sloppy kiss on her mouth and hugged her tightly.

  Jennifer squatted down, taking one last shot at trying to coax her niece out from behind her mother’s leg.

  “By, Allison,” she tried. “I’ll see you at Christmas, okay?”

  Wide brown eyes stared back at her for several moments. Feeling rejected once more, Jen stood up, completely caught off guard when Allison dashed around Sally to throw herself into Jennifer’s arms.

  “I don’t want you to leave.” She was crying, tears rolling down round cheeks. Small fists clutched at the short hair on Jennifer’s head, refusing to let go.

  “Allison, I’ll be back. I promise.” Jennifer felt her eyes stinging in earnest.

  “No, you won’t,” she pouted. Full, tiny lips were pulled down in a frown. “You always stay away forŹever.”

  Jennifer eyed the little girl. It hadn’t even ocŹcurred to her that Allison might remember her from her last visit. “Do you remember the last time I was here?”

  Allison nodded, fresh tears bursting and spilling over her cheeks. “Mommy cried when you went away. You made her sad.”

  Jennifer lifted soulful eyes to her sister’s, and saw Sally’s tears. Sally laughed, stabbing at her cheeks before kneeling down beside Jen.

  “Oh, honey. Jenny didn’t make me cry. I was sad because I love her and I miss her when she’s not here.”

  Allison hugged Jennifer again, her hands tucked neat
ly around Jen’s neck. The two sisters watched each other over the top of Allison’s head, a lifetime of knowing between them.

  “I promise, Allison. I’ll come back more often.” Jen hugged her niece again before untangling herself. “And you can come and visit me too. Okay?” She tried to smile as Allison put her fist to her cheeks, rubbing her tears away. Finally, she nodded, satisfied, and Jen uncurled her knees to face her sister.

  They stared at each other, fighting laughter and tears all at once, finally falling into a bear hug of emotion.

  “I hate leaving. I hate good-byes,” Jennifer managed.

  “I hate them too,” Sally growled in return. “Don’t be such a stranger. I miss you.”

  Jennifer’s throat ached. “I’ve missed you so much. Thanks for listening. You’ve been wonderful.”

  Sally shrugged playfully. “Yeah, well…” She gave her sister another quick hug. “I love you. Call me.”

  “Promise,” Jen blinked. “I love you too.” She brushed one sleeve across her cheek and lifted a bag over one shoulder, backpedaling toward the flight attendant.

  With one last look, she committed the image of her family to memory before turning on her heel and disappearing around the corner.

  The plane was nearly half empty, so Jennifer made her way easily down the center aisle to her seat in row fourteen. Thankfully, no one was sitting in her row, so she placed her small bag under one of the seats and scooted over to the window seat. Granted, her ticket said that she was sitting on the aisle, but with so many empty seats on the plane, she didn’t think it would matter.

  She buckled her seat belt and squinted through the window, looking toward the terminal and hoping to see her sister and family there. The Des Moines airport was the only airport she’d been in where you could actually see people inside the terminal, waving to passengers onboard the plane.

  But no familiar faces were in the window, and so she settled back in her seat and closed her eyes, waiting for the depression that was sure to settle over her.

  She missed her sister already. Sally had been absolutely wonderful all weekend. Jen had forgotten how well they got along, how easily they talked together. If nothing else, seeing her sister had made the trip back to Des Moines worthwhile. They’d had a chance to reestablish their relationship. Jennifer vowed never to let herself put a wall up between them again.

  Her thoughts roamed, settling on Heather, and she pushed the image aside. She wasn’t ready to deal with those emotions yet. She thought instead of Diane and Lucy, smiling as she thought of the two of them together. She’d have to track down their address, she decided. She would definitely like to keep in touch with them.

  And Sheila. Jennifer sighed, her eyes still closed, and tried to snuggle down in her seat. She wondered what was going on with Sheila and Bobby today. She wondered if Sheila was telling Bobby the truth, or if she’d continued to lie. In either case, Sheila had a tough road ahead of her, and Jennifer didn’t envy her one bit.

  Heather’s image floated back to mind, and she held on to it this time, enjoying herself as she mentally traced over her features. She was beginning to drift, close to sleep, oblivious to the carrying-on around her, yet wondering vaguely what was holding up the flight. She was anxious to be home. She missed her animals. The horses. Her dog. She hoped that Georgie and her lover had enjoyed themselves at the ranch. She smiled a bit, thinking how Georgie wasn’t all that wild about her animals.

  Somewhere a child was whispering. An image of Tommy came to mind. But no, Tommy wasn’t there. What a sweetie he was …

  “Excuse me. I think you’re in my daughter’s seat.” Someone else was talking now, the voice coming from far away, threatening to invade her sleep.

  “Mommy said I can sit by the window,” a child’s voice was whispering in her ear. Tommy? No, the voice was too mature for Tommy. Allison. It must be Allison then.

  Allison? What was she doing on the plane?

  Jennifer’s eyes flew open. Expecting to find Allison’s brown eyes, she was surprised to find wide blue eyes staring back at her. Amy was trying not to giggle.

  “Amy?” Jen lifted her sleepy eyes over the top of Amy’s head to see Heather standing in the aisle beside them. She was holding a small teddy bear in one hand as a shy smile hovered on her lips.

  “Heather.” Jen struggled to get out of her seat, cursing the seat belt that held her firmly in place. “What are you doing here?” She managed to unclasp the buckle and found her feet. “I thought you were on a morning flight.”

  “We missed our flight,” Heather shrugged.

  “We missed the plane on purpose,” Amy chimed in. As quickly as Jennifer had vacated the seat, Amy had settled into it and was strapping herself into place.

  “On purpose, eh?” Jennifer grinned widely, enjoyŹing Heather’s momentary discomfort.

  “Amy’s imagining things,” Heather lied, returning Jennifer’s smile.

  They stood face-to-face, with only the teddy bear in between them.

  “I suppose you’ll want to sit by your daughter, then,” Jen said, feigning annoyance.

  “And I suppose you’ll want an aisle seat.” Heather played along.

  “Of course,” Jen said.

  “Of course,” Heather replied.

  Jennifer watched the lazy smile lifting on Heather’s lips and felt her heart swelling in her chest. Slowly and casually, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, each stepped forward and into the other’s arms.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” Jen whispered.

  “I’m so sorry about last night,” Heather’s breath was on her ear. “I shouldn’t have left like that.”

  “I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to find you in Flagstaff. I didn’t have your address or phone number —”

  The pilot’s voice came over the intercom, asking the flight attendants to prepare for takeoff. Both Heather and Jennifer became aware of their surroundings, and they stepped back and rearranged themselves and their belongings as Heather settled down beside her daughter.

  “Can we come to your house now and see the horses?” Amy could barely contain herself as she leaned across Heather’s lap to look up at Jen.

  “You’re welcome to come to my house anytime,” Jen smiled. “But I think that’s up to your mom.”

  “We’ll see, Amy.” Heather held out the stuffed bear to her daughter. “Jenny and I have a lot to talk about first, okay?”

  Amy’s frown lasted only a moment. “Okay,” she shrugged. She took the bear from her mother, pressŹing its nose beside her own to the small window.

  Heather turned back to Jen as the plane began rolling backward.

  “We have a lot to talk about, do we?” Jen asked. “Sounds ominous.”

  “I hope not,” Heather laughed. “But I’ve got you trapped for three solid hours, and I want to hear all about what happened this weekend.” Her blue eyes smoldered as they held Jen’s gaze. “Your version, that is,” she added.

  Jennifer cringed. “You may not like it.”

  “No,” Heather agreed. “But I want to hear it anyŹway. Maybe you should start back at the beginning.”

  “The beginning?”

  Heather nodded. “Back in school. Just how did you and Sheila become lovers? How in hell did you end up as her maid of honor? And what did you ever see in her, anyway?”

  Jen stopped to ponder the last question. “I don’t know —”

  “She was a self-absorbed snob. Pouty. Whiny. And she had you wrapped around her little finger. How did that happen? Why was she worth it?”

  Again Jennifer was without an answer, and she shrugged her shoulders lamely.

  “I guess you’ll just have to start at the beginning then. Maybe if you don’t leave anything out, I’ll be able to figure out exactly what the attraction was.” Heather’s tone was playful, with a hint of seriousŹness.

  Already weary of the story ahead, Jennifer said, “It’s a long story.”

  Heather blinked her e
yes and shrugged. “You’ve got a captive audience.”

  Jennifer sighed as her eyes fell over Heather’s features. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a single braid, exposing a long neck that Jennifer wanted to snuggle into. Her eyes fell to the base of Heather’s throat, her pulse quickened as she imagined its softness against her own lips.

  Too late to turn back now. She knew she was already in love. She relished the thought, smiling secretly. Patience, she said to herself. Have patience.

  Their eyes met again, and Jennifer cleared her throat. “I swear,” she began, “that this is the last time that I’ll ever tell this story.”

  “And I swear,” Heather replied in a slightly mocking tone, “that this is the last time I’ll ever ask.”

  “Deal,” Jen grinned. “Deal,” Heather smiled.

  Epilogue

  1997

  It was unusually hot for May, even for Phoenix. It hadn’t rained in weeks, and everyone was feeling the effects of the long heat wave.

  Jennifer felt irritable as she pulled a T-shirt over her head. It was nearly eight o’clock, and she’d just arrived home from the pharmacy. She’d had to put in too many hours since Jim had decided to retire.

  She stepped into a pair of loose cotton shorts and padded across the bedroom floor. She reached for the screened patio door and pulled it aside before stepŹping out onto the veranda.

  Taking a deep breath, she leaned against the wooden railing and looked over the patch of yard that led to the barn and surrounding paddock.

  She hadn’t paid attention to the horses or the ranch in weeks, and yet everything seemed in order. The spring grass was green — no easy accomplishŹment in this heat. Four of their six horses were enjoying the shade of the huge oak just inside the fence.

  She could hear Banjo barking, apparently from inside the barn. Her eyes turned to focus on the tall young girl who bent over a mountain of hay, gatherŹing up one armful after another and stepping outside to dump it beside the horses. The girl caught her eye and lifted a hand in her direction before picking up a large stick and tossing it as far as she could. Banjo was off in hot pursuit, the game well-known and established. They would go on like that for an hour.