Clicking Stones

by Nancy Tyler Glenn

  Erica touched her lips. "I just spent a couple of hours with Morgan."

  "Morgan!" Kelly yelped. "Your heart of hearts? Your dream woman? When do you see her again?"

  "Sunday," Erica gulped.

  "Is she here for the opening of her show?"

  Erica shook her head. "She lives here now. I'm going to the opening tomorrow. Want to come?"

  "Can't, I have several appointments - one with your father. I'll try to catch it before I leave."

  "She is so..." Erica drifted off.

  "I'm glad we're friends," Kelly remarked some time later. "You haven't said a word in ten minutes."

  "Sorry, pick a subject. I'll try to talk," Erica promised.

  "Come sit down. You're making me tired."

  "Would you like something to drink?"

  Erica came back from the kitchen with two glasses of guava and sat next to Kelly. "What have you been doing since you got here?"

  "I watched TV for a while."

  "I don't watch much TV myself. I like old movies and once in a while I try to catch Reverend Kerry on Sundays if-"

  Kelly interrupted, "She's a Clicker, isn't she? She always has her hands in her pockets. It reminds me of you when you were a kid. You had one hand with your Stone in one pocket and the other hand with your spare in the other."

  "I don't know if she is a Stone Clicker, and even if I did - we don't reveal the identities of our membership."

  "I'll tell you who is a Clicker," Kelly looked amused. "Jeremiah Schlafer."

  "I find that a bit unlikely. He hates Clickers. Several members were thrown out of his church when it was revealed they had Stones."

  "It isn't just a rumor," Kelly assured her. "I have a friend who owns a store near where Jeremiah lives. When Jeremiah comes in they go into the back room to Click."

  "Julie said that Clickaphobics were all a bunch of closet Clickers. I just never thought that..." Erica drifted off again. She was thinking about Morgan's Stone. She wondered if they would Click before dinner or after. After dinner there would be more time to…

  "Why did everyone downstairs glare at me?" Kelly asked her. "I thought the women here liked my books."

  Erica looked at her. "It doesn't have anything to do with that. You're wearing makeup. It's politically incorrect. When I wear eye makeup I always wear sunglasses. Then they think I'm on dope which is politically correct... I think."

  "I can remember," Kelly mused, "when politics were about different things - like human rights, war, peace, environment and freedom of expression."

  "I guess we're getting old," Erica said.

  "Does Morgan still have the Stone with the M on it?"

  "Yes," Erica said dreamily, "we're going to Click it Sunday. Kelly, she's so..." Erica touched her lips. "Our lives could have been so different if I hadn't been so..."

  "Naive," Kelly suggested.

  "I don't know if I would call it that," Erica maintained. "Just think - if we had become lovers when we were young-we could have had so many years of bliss."

  "It wouldn't make an interesting story," Kelly asserted.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I'm a writer," Kelly reminded her. "Girl Clicks girl, girl falls in love and lives happily ever after. No drama."

  "I could use a little less drama and a little more Clicking," Erica said. "She's spending the next few days with Britt and Britt's daughter, Britain."

  "Your old nemesis!" Kelly was gleeful. "That's drama!"

  ~ Chapter 27 ~

  Erica was one of the first patrons when the gallery opened.

  "It's nice to see you again," Leona said. "It's good that you got here early. We're expecting quite a crowd. Collectors have been very interested in her work."

  Erica took a first glance around the room and was dazzled. "It's quite spectacular," she said breathlessly. "I never found out why Morgan never comes to her own openings."

  Leona winked. "She says it's because she's so busy, but I've always suspected it's because all of her many... Excuse me a minute, Erica. The Dakrons are here and I wanted to..." Leona wandered off.

  Erica caressed an elegant sculpture. She thought of Morgan's strong hands.

  She was suddenly aware of two hands on her shoulders and whirled around. "Guy!"

  "I hardly recognized you. You've... matured, you look wonderful," he said enthusiastically.

  "I would recognize you anywhere," Erica said, "you look younger than you looked... it must be at least twenty-five years. How do you do it?"

  Guy pointed to tiny little scars behind his ears. "I told the doctor, 'Baby, I don't want anything subtle!'"

  "What have you been doing? I haven't seen you in so many years, you never come to the Center any more. You just disappeared after you and Mike broke up."

  "Well, I got pretty busy. I'm in international banking now."

  Erica looked at his silk suit. "You certainly look prosperous. Do you Click any more?"

  "I've done fairly well," Guy admitted. "I still love Clicking, but I only Click with David." He indicated a young man across the room admiring Morgan's work. "And maybe a few close friends."

  "How do you know about Morgan's work?" Erica asked.

  "Oh," Guy laughed, "I've known Morgan for years. In fact she's the one who introduced me to that cute little hunk."

  Erica was incredulous. "When did you meet Morgan?"

  "Years and years ago," Guy stated. "My parents lived in New Mexico. I stayed with her a few times - but I need my beauty sleep. That woman never slept. She was at it all night long!"

  Erica looked around. "Yes, she has worked very hard, she's a very productive artist," she said proudly.

  "Work, hah!" Guy grinned. "I wasn't talking about work."

  "Oh," Erica whispered.

  ~ Chapter 28 ~

  The telephone awakened Erica from a deep sleep.

  "Erica, it's Isa."

  Erica looked at the luminous read-out on the clock. "At four in the morning?"

  There was silence, then, "Sorry, mi vida. I forgot about the time difference, but I have good news. I have met a wonderful woman and I'm going to settle down."

  "That's great," Erica yawned. "I can't wait to meet her. When will you be back?"

  "Mi vida, we're staying here."

  Erica sat up. "The girls have missed a lot of school."

  "There are schools here, mi vida."

  Erica was angry. "The girls belong to the light!"

  "Hah!"

  "What is that supposed to mean?" Erica could feel the muscles in her shoulders tighten.

  "Julie told me," Isa said sourly. "I was not the only one not to see the light. She said nobody saw the light. You and Mike had a great money-making scam."

  "You're just trying to start a fight because you don't want to talk about the girls. Julie saw the light and so did you. Why would Julie lie about seeing the light?"

  "No, mi vida. I did not see the light. I lied about it for the same reason Julie did - I wanted to go to bed with you."

  "That's ridiculous!" Erica switched on her lamp. "I never made seeing the light a requirement for..."

  "She told me that too," Isa assured her. "She said you went to bed with all the women who came to Central... and those little trips out of town!"

  "She exaggerated," Erica said tiredly.

  "Besides," Isa said with authority, "seeing the light was a requirement for managing a center."

  "No," Erica defended. "Mark has a center. Many..."

  "Not when Julie started working at Central," Isa proclaimed.

  "If Julie asserts that no one sees the light, what were all the statistics she so carefully kept?"

  "Mike told her to," Isa informed her. "He said they needed better stats so she put twenty percent in every category. Is there anything else, mi vida?"

  "One thing," Erica said coldly.

  "Yes, mi vida."

  "Please stop calling me mi vida," Erica spat.

  Erica stared at the ceiling for a long time. Would people li
e about something as important as seeing the light? Finally she knew what she had to do. She would find out once and for all.

  ~ Chapter 29 ~

  When Kelly came in, Erica was sitting with all the lights off staring at her Stone.

  "Why are you sitting in the dark?"

  "I'm trying to decide whether or not I can really see the light from my Stone," Erica told her.

  "Is something going on with your eyes?" Kelly asked. "You know, I had to get reading glasses last year."

  "How do you know I can see the light from a Clicked Stone?"

  "Because you told me," Kelly said.

  "Why did you ask me why I was sitting in the dark?" Erica asked suspiciously. "I have five Stones here. Didn't you see the light?" she turned on the lamp.

  Kelly shrugged. "It was just a figure of speech - besides, only two of the Stones are lighted, and one of them is fading."

  Erica relaxed. "I was beginning to doubt myself," she said. "I've been testing people all day and besides you, Becky and me, I haven't found one Lantern."

  "I thought you didn't use gibberchatter," Kelly challenged.

  "I use it sometimes in the privacy of my home - with friends," Erica confessed. "How did it go today?"

  "Great." Kelly flopped on the sofa. "I got a lot of good information from your father - he sure is a horny old man!"

  "Well," Erica defended, "all the years he was living at the cabin he was celibate..."

  Kelly looked at Erica. "He told me the whole time he was living at the cabin he was shacked up with Jenny Nye."

  "Oh," Erica whispered.

  "He told me about Swami Chichinanda," Kelly beamed. "He visited him last year."

  Erica brightened. "Swami Chichinanda was my first grown-up Stone Clicker. I'll bet he has all of India lit up by now."

  Kelly shook her head. "Your father said Swami considered Clicking a fakir's trick, like walking on hot coals."

  "Oh," Erica whispered.

  "He taught your father to meditate - he gave him a mantra."

  "But," Erica said uneasily, "my dad still Clicks."

  "No, he gave it up when he started meditating."

  "Oh," Erica whispered. "What else did he say about Swamichi?"

  Kelly opened her attaché case. "He gave me documentation. Swami has reportedly been seen in two places at the same time - like Padre Pio. It's happened several times. Also your dad gave me a couple of articles he cut out of the National Enquirer."

  "My father," Erica said with authority, "is a philosopher. He does not read the National Enquirer."

  "He subscribes to it," Kelly told her.

  ~ Chapter 30 ~

  As soon as Erica awakened on Saturday morning she knew what she had to do. Call Billy and set up a strategy meeting. Billy must be warned. Together and with the help of Becky they could get all the cheats out of Clicking.

  "Listen, Billy." Erica's voice was earnest. "We've had some developments here - I find that ninety-nine percent of our Clickers don't see the light - and worse, they've been lying about it."

  "Yes," Billy said, "you indicated before that there were problems. That's why I'm coming-"

  "No," Erica insisted. "It's much worse than I thought. This is an emergency. The first thing I want you to do is to test all the members of the Martins Ferry Stone Clicking Center to determine how many actually see the light. I'll tell you how to do it."

  "But, Mother..." Billy protested, "I've already told you. All of our group sees the light."

  "How do you know?"

  "They told me, Mother."

  "That's just it," Erica warned her. "You're like me, Billy, we're too trusting and gullible. People take advantage. I don't want you to get hurt the way I did. I demand you test your people."

  "Mother, I must... respectfully decline. These are my friends. I trust them."

  Erica was adamant. "That's the attitude that got us into this mess. I insist you do as I say. Start testing today. Get five Stones and light..."

  "Mother."

  "Yes, Billy, what is it?"

  "I decline your request, Mother."

  Erica looked at the telephone in disbelief. Angrily she shouted, "Don't ever call me Mother again!" She slammed down the phone and went back to bed.

  When Kelly came home the apartment was dark. She opened Erica's door and switched on the light. "Are you sick?"

  Erica sat up and lit a cigarette. "No, but I wasn't feeling very good today. I got up for a little while and went downstairs but everything is such a mess down there. If people would just stack their own chairs and pick up their own shit, it would be a big help."

  "So the Great Lady of Light has to do the janitorial work." Kelly was amused.

  "It isn't funny," Erica grumbled. "I'm considering giving up the Center."

  "But you've worked so hard..."

  "For what?" Erica said bitterly. "They don't care anything about the light. Today while I was down there I watched women coming in. They just flashed their Stones like a membership card. Most of them weren't even lit. And then there are the tourists. Today after I came back upstairs Becky buzzed me and said there were a couple of women who wanted to meet me. One was from out of town and she wanted to have me Click a couple of Stones she had bought from us."

  "Did you?"

  Erica looked at her faded stone. "No, I'm not Clicking anyone these days. I'm even thinking about the possibility of not Clicking anyone but Morgan."

  "That's not like you," Kelly stated.

  "I'm not so sure," Erica mused. "Once I had Clicked Morgan as a kid I never really wanted to Click other people."

  "You Clicked me," Kelly reminded her.

  "I know," Erica admitted, "and I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, it's just that it never meant the same thing to me. Then I started Clicking everybody I could. It was great. I got a lot of strokes for it when I was a nobody. Now that I am known, people who Click me take great delight in putting me down and trading stories about my weaknesses and faults."

  "If you can't take the heat..." Kelly waxed philosophical.

  "That's what I'm saying," Erica affirmed. "I'm getting burnt out from all the heat. I just want to Click Morgan, spend some time with the girls, ride my horse, play my flute and at night I want to go to bed with Morgan and make love instead of going to some damn Click where my very presence makes people uncomfortable. I also need to work out something with Isa so I get to spend time with the girls. I don't want them to forget me." Erica wiped her eyes.

  "Didn't you have an arrangement with her before, when she was with Julie?"

  Erica nodded. "She was very good about it, but when I talked to her the other day she seemed hostile. I got the feeling she didn't want me involved with the girls anymore. Maybe it's her father... or her new lover."

  "Don't you have any legal rights?" Kelly wanted to know.

  "No, who ever heard of a lesbian step-parent getting custody of her lover's natural child? Besides, we don't sue each other here. We have a lawyer to keep us straight with the IRS and to make sure we're operating within the guidelines of our charter, but I have never heard of a Clicker using the law against another Clicker."

  "What about Jessica?" Kelly persisted. "She isn't Isa's natural child."

  "Jessica and Isica are as close as twins. They even have their own language. I would no more dream of separating them than..."

  "No wonder you've been so depressed," Kelly said sympathetically.

  "It's not just the girls," Erica confessed. "It seems that everything happens at once. One day I was flying... after meeting Morgan again after all these years, and seeing some indication from her that she is attracted to me. "It's more than an attraction isn't it?"

  "I thought so at first, then... well, you know some women need more than one... I mean I am monogamous. When I'm in a relationship I don't even look at another woman... but Morgan may not feel the same way about it. She might need to be with other women. She's a very energetic person. When I'm sitting next to her I can feel energy pourin
g from her... and her hands!" Erica touched her mouth. "I don't know if I could bear it if I found out she was with another woman. I have to protect myself. It's like learning about my dad and Jenny. I felt so bad I cried myself to sleep that night. He left my mother and me for sex!"