by Parker Paige
“I’m not stupid. We both know what’s really going on here. Camina doesn’t like me, and you know it.”
Laura opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Blue Ivy moved in towards Laura and made like she was going to kiss her, but she didn’t. “Camina doesn’t like me, but you do.”
Before Laura could even respond, Blue Ivy moved her lips to Laura’s and kissed her, long and hard. Blue Ivy kept her eyes open the entire time, witnessing the intense and helpless expression on Laura’s face. When Blue Ivy attempted to pull away, Laura resisted. Finally, Blue Ivy managed to pry Laura’s lips from hers. Though this experience was nothing more than innocent curiosity, Blue Ivy enjoyed kissing Laura, probably as much as Laura enjoyed kissing her.
Though Blue Ivy had never kissed a woman before, it was one of those things that just happened. The opportunity presented itself, and Blue Ivy didn’t turn the other way. As nice as it may have been, Blue Ivy liked men and always would. Still, what harm could there be in a little mild experimentation?
Laura leaned towards Blue Ivy and tried to kiss her again, but Blue Ivy casually turned away. “I think you should probably go now.”
The embarrassment on Laura’s face wreaked more of sadness than anything else. But Blue Ivy was done. She experienced her fun, and that was the end of that.
“What if I don’t want to leave?” Laura asked.
Blue Ivy smiled and touched Laura’s moist hand, not able to resist toying with her some more. “You want to stay here tonight?”
“Only if you want me to,” Laura said to her.
Laura was just so easy, and this was just so much fun. Blue Ivy moved her lips to Laura’s, was about to kiss her, but then instead, she whispered. “I don’t want you to.”
Shock swept across Laura’s face, and she tugged her hand away from Blue Ivy. “Okay.” Laura stood up, wearing disappointment like a suit and made way for the door in a huff. She was almost out of the room when Blue Ivy called to her. “Laura?”
Laura stopped in her tracks, turned to face Blue Ivy, anticipation in her eyes.
“Could you cancel that pizza before you leave?” Blue Ivy asked.
Laura flashed her eyes at Blue Ivy, turned and stormed out of the room. While Blue Ivy sat perfectly still, a victorious energy graced her face as she listened to the door slam shut of a woman in heat.
Her sister would have been so proud.
Episode 11
STILL WEARING HER CLOTHES AND makeup from the day before, Blue Ivy awakened with a dreadful headache. It was like little gremlins stomping inside her head. On the edge of the bed, she sat, her eyes barely open. She contemplated whether to call off work or not. Since she forgot to set her alarm clock, she would be at least thirty minutes late. Already having been reprimanded several times by her boss, calling in might be pushing it.
It was 9:15 when Blue Ivy strutted into the office forty-five minutes late. She wore her recently purchased floor-length red skirt and a ruffled white blouse. Her coworkers were not speaking to her like they used to. It was as if maybe they heard things about her and were afraid to. She really didn’t know why her coworkers had become less friendly to her, but still, it bothered her. She somehow built a wall around herself and felt more like an outsider than one of the family.
Blue Ivy reached her desk, and relief washed over her when she didn’t see anything from her boss left in her chair or in her in-box. She headed towards her boss’ office and found the light in Lillian’s office out. That brought an even greater sigh of relief, as Lillian had not come in yet. Blue Ivy knew she could be a real screw-up at times, but that was her gift to the world. Not just the good things about her but everything that wasn’t so good. It was one of the many things she learned from her sister.
On her way back to her desk, she saw Laura in the hall. Blue Ivy dashed in her direction fast, but before Blue Ivy could reach her, Laura headed in another direction. It was obviously no accident. Laura was definitely avoiding her. Soon, the guilt crept into Blue Ivy’s heart, which was soon replaced with regret. Laura was her only real friend at the firm, the only person she could talk to, and because of her actions the night before, she had unintentionally damaged that relationship, and Blue Ivy didn’t like herself for it. Laura was a good person, always stood up for her, and seemed to always be on her side. Now Blue Ivy may have severed that relationship with her childish and selfish games. If only for the sake of a harmonious work relationship, Blue Ivy simply needed to apologize and there was no way around it.
Blue Ivy left Laura a voicemail message informing her that she wanted to talk. Patiently, Blue Ivy waited for Laura’s call. But the call never came. Two hours later and still no word from Laura. Blue Ivy forced herself to head over to Laura’s desk. She hoped to confront Laura but to her dismay, Laura’s desk was unoccupied.
Because Blue Ivy remembered seeing her earlier that morning, she was sure that Laura was in the office. She was just nowhere in sight. Blue Ivy took an early lunch, grabbed a sandwich from Au Bon Pain, then headed over to the art store where Lee worked. Though she hoped to see Lee, he was in a meeting, unable to see her. This was a first. Blue Ivy found it weird that no one seemed available for her today.
Was it a coincidence, or was she just paranoid?
Upon Blue Ivy’s return to her office, she saw Laura, two other secretaries and Camina coming from the lunchroom. Laura’s eyes barely shifted in her direction. Coincidentally, Camina was wearing the same full-length red skirt as Blue Ivy.
“Hello,” Blue Ivy said, speaking to everyone.
Everyone returned her greeting except for Laura, who strolled ahead of everyone else.
After everyone left, Blue Ivy headed into the lunchroom and stood at the coffee machine, about to pour herself a cup of coffee. Soon she heard clacking high heels coming in her direction. Her first thought was that it was Laura, but when she turned around, she saw Camina staring at her with her arms folded.
Camina’s eye’s scrolled up and down Blue Ivy’s skirt. “So, you’re dressing like me now?”
Blue Ivy ignored Camina’s accusation, poured herself some coffee and added two creamers.
“I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing,” Camina said. “But you are playing with the wrong one, and I know you don’t know much, but you should know that.”
A nonchalant expression covered Blue Ivy’s face. “Lighten up, honey. It’s just clothes.”
“It’s more than that. What do you think you will accomplish pretending to be someone else?”
“This is who I am.” Blue Ivy stepped towards the table and sat down.
“This new attitude and look of yours are going to take you somewhere you don’t want to go.”
“And where would that be?”
“Straight to hell.”
“I guess I’ll enjoy the ride.”
Camina huffed and puffed like she was going to blow the house down.
It seemed everyone was able to see into Blue Ivy’s future except Blue Ivy, herself. They seemed to believe that she was making some terrible mistake, but Blue Ivy was having fun, more fun than she’d ever had before. She had regained her will to live, and she was not about to stop now.
Minutes later, she again tried to reach Laura on the phone, and Laura kindly dismissed her, informing Blue Ivy she would call her back. For sure, that was not likely to happen. Her attempts to connect with Laura was going nowhere, but Blue Ivy was not easily discouraged. She was driven to talk to Laura even if it meant following her home.
Later that afternoon, almost at the end of the day, Blue Ivy spotted Laura in the file room. Quickly Blue Ivy dashed inside after her and closed the door behind her. Laura sat in the lotus position surrounded by a pool of Redwell folders.
Laura seemed startled when she saw Blue Ivy standing before her. “Hi,” Laura said.
“Did you get my message?” Blue Ivy asked her.
Laura continued placing the papers from her lap into the file folders as if oblivious to B
lue Ivy’s presence. “I got your message.”
“I want to talk to you about last─”
Laura was quick to cut Blue Ivy off. “You don’t owe me an explanation.”
“Will you let me finish?” Blue Ivy insisted.
Laura stood up, holding four jammed packed folders in her arms. “I have to get these files to Mitchell. He’s waiting for them.”
“He’ll have to wait a little longer.”
“What is it?” Laura asked, impatiently, with a hint of anger.
“Could you put the folders down for a moment? Please!”
Laura firmly placed the folders on the table and stood against the filing cabinet. “What?”
“Thank you,” Blue Ivy said, then elegantly hoisted herself upon the table. “You’ve been a good friend to me, and I don’t know why I behaved like that last night.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Oh, yeah. Why?”
“Because you enjoy toying with people.”
Laura’s words brought a curt smile to Blue Ivy’s face only because Laura was right on.
“Yeah, maybe, but still, that doesn’t justify what I did.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Laura said, as she began to pick up the Redwells.
“Well, it’s not that simple,” Blue Ivy said. “I like you, maybe not in the same way that you like me, but I do like you as a friend and I value that.”
Blue Ivy stood up from the desk. “I’m sorry for what I did. But I was angry with you for making up that story about Camina. I never thought for one second that Camina held those kinds of feelings for me, but I always suspected that you did. Why did you make up that story?”
Laura did not answer, but instead raised her shoulders. “I should probably go.”
Blue Ivy pushed her hair behind her left ear. “Will you answer my question first?”
“It was easier that way, I guess. I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too,” Blue Ivy said.
“Why? Why are you sorry?” Laura asked.
“Because.”
But before Blue Ivy would explain, their conversation was soon interrupted by the receptionist paging Laura.
“You should probably go,” Blue Ivy said. “I know your boss is waiting for you.”
“He’ll just have to wait a little longer.”
“You’re going to get into trouble,” Blue Ivy said.
Laura picked up the phone on the desk and called the receptionist and learned that it was her boss paging her. She then dialed her boss’s extension and rattled off some excuse about not being able to find all the files, before she hung up from him. Laura was then quick to redirect her attention back to Blue Ivy. “You were saying.”
By this time, Blue Ivy had lost her train of thought. “What was I saying?”
“You were going to tell me why you were so sorry about what you did.”
“Right. I don’t want to lose you as a friend and I know I upset you last night, maybe even disappointed you.”
In a curious tone, Laura asked, “Are you attracted to me at all?”
Blue Ivy smiled and said, “Sort of, in a friendly sort of way, but I’m not like that. I guess I just wanted to see how far you would go.”
Laura nodded like she understood, but Blue Ivy could tell that she didn’t.
“What about Edward. I thought you were so in love with him.”
“I am, but...”
“But what?”
“I like you, too─it’s complicated, that’s why I’ve always insisted on the three of us going to lunch, afraid you might pick up on my vibes if we were alone. I’ve always liked you, always been attracted to your kindness, even after what happened to your family, you still continued to be such a kind person, up until recently.”
They both shared a good laugh.
“Have you always felt this way about women?” Blue Ivy asked.
“No. Just you. You’re very pretty.”
“No prettier than you are.”
Laura blushed and inhaled a deep breath as if it were a much needed compliment. “Thank you for saying that.”
“You’re welcome.” After a short silence, Blue Ivy said, “Laura, there’s one more thing that has me a little puzzled. Why were you so insistent on setting me up with someone else if you felt this way?” This was something that Blue Ivy often pondered with no resolve.
“Curious, I guess,” Laura said. “I wanted to see if you might be interested?”
“So, maybe if I weren’t interested in meeting your friend, then perhaps, maybe, I liked women.”
“Something like that.” Laura paused. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Blue Ivy, but I’m concerned that you’re going to get yourself into some real trouble with this new attitude of yours.”
Blue Ivy had heard that speech from just about everyone except the President. She didn’t know how many more times she could succumb herself to this sappy lecture. “What kind of trouble could I possibly get into?”
“I don’t know, but you’re behaving so differently, and I just have this feeling that you might get involved in some kind of situation that you won’t be able to handle.”
“After everything that has happened to me in the last couple of months, I can handle anything.”
“I hope so,” Laura said. “Anyway, I’m glad that we talked.”
Blue Ivy stepped to Laura and wrapped her arms around her, and they shared a long hug.
“You’re not going to try and kiss me again, are you?” Laura asked playfully.
Blue Ivy pulled away from Laura and smiled, almost laughing. “No,” Blue Ivy said.
“Too bad. It was nice.”
“Yes, it was.”
Episode 12
BLUE IVY STOOD PERFECTLY STILL IN the file room as the echoes of her intimate talk with Laura rang in her ears. As Laura headed towards the door, Blue Ivy remembered Laura’s warm words, and she was glad they talked. Almost out the door, Laura turned to face Blue Ivy and flashed her huge smile. “You may look different on the outside, but you’re still the same good person that you always will be. See you around, Blue Ivy.”
And Laura was gone.
Laura’s honey-coated words warmed Blue Ivy’s heart. Her eyes stayed focused on the closed door, and she continued to relive her poignant moment with Laura. The layers beneath Laura’s exterior made her even more of a remarkable woman, and on many levels, Blue Ivy was flattered. Incredibly flattered.
Thursday afternoon.
Blue Ivy came from the ladies’ room after gulping down a quarter bottle of Chardonnay. With her boss out of the office, Blue Ivy was left with too much idle time on her hands. Except for answering the phones, which rang sparingly, she was left with absolutely nothing to do. She listened to her desk radio while she made a list of her new outfits. She wanted to figure out how she could work six new outfits into a 5-day work week schedule.
It was close to five o’clock when Blue Ivy saw a flustered Camina, heading out. She was bundled in her fur-collared coat with a designer hat to match, and she was in tears. Having never seen Camina cry before, Blue Ivy was startled by the experience. Wherever Camina was headed, she was in a huge hurry.
Denise Sterns, the floor coordinator, in charge of finding coverage for the attorneys working past five, approached Blue Ivy’s desk fast. “Blue Ivy, I hate to impose on such short notice, but Bruce has a huge deal going on this evening and needs some help. Do you think you could help him out?”
That was music to her ears. “Of course, I can help him.”
This was the opportunity Blue Ivy had been waiting for─a chance to acquaint herself with the attractive and sexy Mr. Bruce Colby, and she couldn’t wait to let Bruce know that she would be working for him.
As Denise left, Laura approached Blue Ivy. “Did Denise ask you to work for Bruce?”
“How did you know?”
“Because she was asking everyone.”
“What happened to Camina?” Blue Ivy asked.
“That�
�s what everyone wants to know,” Laura said. “She was upset about something.”
Thirty minutes later, Blue Ivy finished making revisions to the document Bruce gave to her. Quick to return it to him, she stood at the entrance of Bruce’s office door, which stood ajar. She observed him dictating into his handheld recorder, and then stepped inside his large corner office. He was not wearing his suspenders that she liked so much, still his crisp white shirt and clean-shaven face turned her on the same.
Upon closing the door behind her, she leaned against it as if she were about to audition for him. Bruce stopped dictating and delivering her his full attention. “Are you finished already?” he asked her.
“I am.”
She stepped towards his desk and politely handed him the document.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Is there anything else I can get for you?” she asked with a warm smile.
Before he could answer, she made her way around to his side of the desk. She stood in front of him, her hands neatly at her sides as if about to make an announcement.
She was ready to make her move.
He set his handheld recorder down on the desk, looked up at her and their eyes locked into to each other. Blue Ivy pointed to the seat of his pants and said, “I saw that in my dream last night. It was tan and rigid, and now I want to see it again. Only this time, I want to touch it.”
“Blue Ivy, are you all right?”
“Call me Blue. My special friends call me Blue, and you have just become my special friend.”
Bruce scooted his chair back away from her, but not shifting his eyes away from her. To bypass his little innocent I don’t know what’s going on bit, she kneeled down on the floor and placed her hands on his knees. She then placed her fingers on her eyelid and softly massaged it. “I think I have something in my eye,” she said, all the while pretending.
Not a word uttered from Bruce’s lips as she continued to pretend she had something in her eye. She stared down at the floor, knowing she held his full attention, then lifted her head up. A warm smile penetrated her face. “There. I have it.”