Serious Potential

by Maggie Cummings

  Good night, Megan.

  *

  At three forty-five the following Tuesday afternoon, Meg was watching the clock, calculating the minutes before she could leave work and head out for dinner with Jesse and Lexi, hoping she might beat the storm that was clearly on its way in.

  “Take a walk with me?” She heard Sasha’s voice in her doorway before she looked up. Sasha spoke again before Meg answered. “I need new glasses.”

  “You wear glasses?”

  “Contacts, mostly.” Sasha bit her bottom lip. “I hate the way I look in glasses.” She hung off the doorjamb, lolling her body halfway in. “But I’m due for a new pair and I would love some help picking out frames.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Meg signed off her computer and grabbed her thin jacket from the back of her chair.

  Once at the optician, despite having 20 / 20 vision, Meg entertained herself trying on several different pairs of glasses while Sasha squared away her script and insurance with the girl at the counter.

  “Oh my God, you look adorable.” Sasha came up behind her, smiling at a four-eyed Meg in the small mirror.

  “Oh, thanks,” Meg responded, blushing at the comment. “Ready to shop?” she asked, still not quite able to meet Sasha’s eyes.

  “Yep.” Sasha reached for Meg’s hand and hooked her pinky, completely catching her off guard. “Come over here. I want to check these out.”

  Sasha stopped by a large wall display and giggled, reaching for a pair of fifties-era cat-eye frames. “What do you think?” She turned to Meg with a toothy grin.

  Meg played along. “So you.”

  Sasha chuckled, returning them to their rightful spot, and reached for the next pair. She was a touch more serious this time, picking small wireless rims that Meg scrunched her nose up at.

  After at least fifteen frames, Sasha had it narrowed down to two. She held one pair in each hand, alternately trying them on, then looking in the mirror and at Meg for her approval.

  “They’re nice,” Meg said when Sasha looked at her.

  She swapped them again with the other finalist and turned, clearly waiting for Meg to weigh in.

  “Also nice.”

  Sasha took them off and eyed the specs she held in each hand. She chewed her lip deep in thought. “Meg, do me a favor?” She nodded with her chin at the clunky tortoiseshell model Meg had been playing with earlier. “Grab me those.”

  Meg reached for them and handed them over, but Sasha shook her head. “I don’t want to put these down.” She wiggled the frames she was still holding. “Put them on me?”

  Meg swallowed, hoping her hands didn’t shake. She slid the glasses gently onto Sasha’s face, unable to conceal her smile as she admired Sasha’s deep blue eyes, light skin, and dark hair against the medium brown frames. She looked gorgeous and smart and a touch geeky in the best way. Meg didn’t even try to hide her reaction and Sasha’s facial expression signaled she’d read it in an instant.

  “These?”

  Meg nodded through her grin. “Those. Definitely, those.”

  Sasha smiled big. “Thanks, Meg.” She leaned forward, surprising Meg with a sweet kiss on the cheek. “You’re the best.”

  *

  Meg headed straight for Jesse’s after work, fighting through the rain as she sprinted from the bus stop. She didn’t even bother to knock, pushing the door open to escape the downpour. Inside Jesse stood shoulder to shoulder with Lexi as they leaned on the counter scrutinizing a piece of paper.

  “Hey, guys. Am I late?” Meg asked.

  “Not at all.” Jesse turned around. “But you’re drenched.”

  “It’s a disaster out there,” she responded, shucking her jacket and patting her face dry with the dish towel Lexi handed to her.

  “No Tracy?” Lexi wondered aloud.

  “She has therapy tonight.” Meg made two repeated fists in illustration.

  “How’s that going?” Jesse asked, as she traded Meg’s jacket for a glass of red wine.

  “So far, so good, I think,” Meg offered. She took a healthy sip from her glass before gesturing to the counter with her chin. “What are you guys reading so intently?”

  “My parents’ additions to the guest list,” Lexi said seriously.

  “That’s a good sign.”

  Lexi nodded. “It is.” She stole a brief glance at Jesse. “I mean, it’s not like we really ever talked about anything,” she said, jutting her chin out in mild annoyance. “I shouldn’t say that. They did apologize.” She walked to the counter and picked up the glass of wine Jesse had poured for her.

  “So your scare tactic worked, then? From the summer, when you threatened to not come to dinner or whatever?” Meg asked.

  Lexi let out a heavy breath. “Yeah, I guess. That’s just it, though. I mean, I’m happy they’re finally coming around.” She took a small sip of her drink, considering her words before she spoke again. “But I basically had to ultimatum them into it.” She shrugged. “I mean, is it totally greedy that I want them to actually be happy for me?” She took a seat next to Meg at the kitchen table and rested her chin on her palm as Meg rubbed her back. “But you’re right, I guess. It is progress, and I am thankful for that.” She looked over at Meg, finding some optimism to share. “I even looked at dresses with Marnie over the weekend.”

  Lexi’s smile was genuine and contagious, and Meg noticed Jesse smile too as she began slicing a loaf of Italian bread as she stood at the counter. “So Jess, how is your mother adjusting? Any progress since Lexi flashed the fam?”

  Jesse swallowed a laugh. “Not really, I’m afraid.” She glanced over her shoulder and added playfully, “Surprising, right?” She ogled Lexi openly before returning her attention to Meg. “She has such a fantastic body. I can’t believe it didn’t win my mother over.”

  Lexi mock-glowered at her and Jesse gave her a wink as she finished the prep work. “Alas, my mother is a lost cause,” Jesse said, getting a little more serious as she directed her response to Meg, even though it was clearly for Lexi’s benefit too. “Honestly, it’s not even about Lexi. Nobody’s good enough in her eyes.”

  “Oh, I think Lauren Carlisle would pass muster,” Lexi countered, her voice dripping with jealousy as she referenced Jesse’s ex.

  Jesse placed the bread down in the center of the table and leaned against the edge. She looked right at Lexi. “I know you think that, but she’s really not a fan of Lauren’s either. All that stuff she says”—Jesse shrugged, pushing off—“it’s just to see if it will get to you.” Jesse shook her head. “She would be doing the same thing to Lauren if I were marrying her.” She met Lexi’s look of disbelief and continued to explain. “It’s ridiculous and petty and I don’t know why she does it. But I’ve seen this exact thing play out with both my brothers’ wives. Trust me, she tortured Zoey and Steph before they married John and Jake.”

  “Yeah, well, she’s not that nice to them now, either, if that’s the point you’re trying to make.”

  “She may not be all warm and fuzzy. Don’t hold your breath for that.” Jesse sneaked a peek at the stove to check if the water was boiling before walking right over to Lexi. “But they’re family and she loves them. She’s going to love you too. That is the truth, whether you believe me or not.” She kissed Lexi’s forehead. “And even if she never came around, what difference does it make? I love you.” Jesse kissed her again, a sweet peck on the cheek this time, and Lexi reached for her hand and squeezed it as she met her girlfriend’s eyes.

  “You guys are so cute, it’s ridiculous.” Meg tipped her head to the side, admiring her friends as she reached for the heel of the bread and dipped it into the olive oil and herb mixture on the table.

  Jesse smiled in response, turning to Meg. “How was your day, kid?”

  “Weird,” Meg said, between chews. Over the next half hour she explained, relaying the entire story of shopping for Sasha’s new glasses, sparing her friends no details over their pasta dinner.

  Jesse wiped her mou
th with a napkin. “Are you sure she’s not gay?”

  “I’m with Jess. This whole story sounds really gay,” Lexi chimed in.

  Meg shook them off. “Straight as they come.”

  “How do you know?” Jesse asked. When Meg didn’t answer right away, Jesse pried further. “She has a boyfriend?”

  “Not right now.”

  “That’s a plus.” Lexi was quick with her two cents.

  “When?” Jesse fished for the details. “When did she have a boyfriend?”

  Meg shrugged. “I don’t know. A while ago.”

  Jesse continued with leading questions. “You said she’s pretty, right?”

  Lexi reached for her phone and handed it to Jesse. “Here’s a picture of them from the summer.”

  Jesse nodded approval, continuing to analyze the image from the day Meg and Sasha had gone to the movies. “She looks, I don’t know…” She cocked her head to the side as she scrutinized the image. “She looks comfortable with you. That’s something.” She handed the phone back to Lexi and speared a tube of penne with her fork. “You guys work together? Talk all the time?”

  “Yeah,” Meg answered, curious where this was going.

  Jesse continued to probe. “Did she ever mention having a crush on a girl? Even a celebrity or anything?”

  Meg paused. “No. Not really.” She took a sip of her drink. “I mean, she did tell me—” She stopped herself midsentence. “But I don’t think it means anything anyway.”

  “What did she tell you?” Lexi asked eagerly.

  Meg toyed with her fork. “She mentioned how once she kissed a girl in college.”

  Lexi and Jesse exchanged a knowing look before fixing their attention directly on Meg. Lexi said, “Go on.”

  “That’s it.”

  “That is so not it.” Lexi was animated. “Who was she? How many times? What did she look like? Was the other girl gay?” Lexi puckered her lips as she nodded, obviously proud of herself for coming up with the last question.

  Meg laughed. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”

  Jesse hung her head a little in disbelief at Meg’s offhanded response. “How could you not ask? These are crucial facts.”

  “Fucking lawyers,” Meg teased them both. “Sorry I didn’t cross-examine her.” She picked a cucumber from her salad and popped it in her mouth. “I was trying to be cool.”

  “Missed opportunity.” Jesse raised her eyebrows.

  “Well, we can’t all be super suave, like you.” Meg said it with both wry humor and complete jealousy of Jesse’s legendary ease in talking to girls.

  Meg looked out the window at the front of her own house and at the rain, still coming down in a steady stream. “Hey, can we talk about something else?” Meg wiped her hands on her napkin. “What do you guys think is going on with Betsy and Tracy?”

  Jesse looked at her blankly. “We figured you could tell us.”

  “Tracy says they’re just friends.”

  “You don’t believe her?” Jesse was curious.

  “I don’t know. You should have seen them the other night at my house. They were, like, gazing into each other’s eyes. Apparently they spent all night talking about art, politics, crap like that.” She looked right at Jesse. “You know, analyzing every last thing to death, because what you really want to do is rip each other’s clothes off.” She flashed an eyebrow raise at Jesse. “Like you guys used to do. When Lexi was your intern.”

  Jesse brushed off Meg’s comment by reaching back and pretending to throw a punch. “You’ve known Tracy a long time, huh, Meg?” she asked, abandoning her fake threat.

  “Since high school.”

  “You guys went to high school together?” Lexi was taken aback.

  “Not the same high school,” Meg clarified. “We played softball against each other. She was my first gay friend. My first girlfriend,” Meg added, sounding a little nostalgic.

  It was Jesse’s turn to be surprised. “You dated her?”

  “I know,” Meg affirmed with a nod. “It’s funny to think about it now.”

  “What’s the story there?” Jesse asked.

  Meg shrugged. “Nothing. It was high school. She graduated and moved to California. We transitioned to friends, simple as that.”

  Lexi cocked her chin at Jesse. “Why do you sound so surprised? Half of your exes are on that list.” Lexi shifted her eyes to the wedding guest list, which was still on the counter.

  Jesse met Lexi’s jab head on. “Babe, do I need to point out you’ve got an ex on that list also?”

  “Oh my God, are you talking about Julie?” She huffed. “Nice try. I’m going to remind you Julie is not actually on the list. Her girlfriend is. And I don’t think Sam can come anyway, which I’m devastated about. And while we’re on the subject, babe, don’t pretend Julie, a girl I dated for a few months, is even in the same category as Mary Brown or Lauren Carlisle, because she’s not. And you know it.”

  Jesse dipped her chin. “I know.” She looked genuinely affected. “I’m sorry.” It was a rare moment of humility for Jesse, and while Meg felt awkward being witness to her friends’ tiff, it also gave her the full spectrum of how they worked together.

  Lexi walked up to the sink with a few dishes, and on her way back to the table, Jesse grabbed her by the waist and pulled her onto her lap. She buried her face in Lexi’s neck, placing a kiss there before moving up to her lips. “I love you. You know that.”

  “I know.” She ruffled Jesse’s short dark curls and settled farther into her lap, turning toward Meg. “Oh my God, I have the best idea.” She looked right at Meg. “You should invite Sasha to the wedding.”

  Meg tipped her head to the side. “How does that help anything?”

  Lexi was full of excitement. “Come on. Lesbian wedding. Love in the air.” She looked back and forth between Meg and Jesse. “It would be perfect.”

  “Except you’re getting married in July.” Meg furrowed her brow. “It’s October. So I’m pretty sure that will just make me look desperate.”

  A half hour later as she crossed the street to her house, Meg thought about her predicament and felt slightly bad about taking the wind out of Lexi’s sails so quickly. But even though her friend’s plan was made with good intentions, it actually made Meg feel worse than before.

  The thought that eight months down the road she might be in the exact same position she was now—single and lusting after a straight coworker—was enough to make her reassess her priorities for good. Until this evening, she had been grouping herself and Tracy in roughly the same category. Two single girls on the hunt, each with their sights set on a particular prospect. And while that was true, there were some major differences.

  For starters, at least Betsy dated women, giving Tracy a more than marginal chance at success with her strategy of playing the long game. From what Meg had seen so far, Betsy was interested, that much was clear. Whether or not she would allow herself to act on that interest was another matter altogether.

  Meg, on the other hand, was chasing a fantasy. It was time she moved on.

  Chapter Fourteen

  At six o’clock Friday evening Meg sat at her desk contemplating the happy hour email announcement that had landed in her inbox hours ago. This week’s event was at JD’s, an Irish pub right around the corner on Lexington Avenue. She was dying to go. She loved the Friday night ritual of light drinks with her colleagues followed by partying with Sasha’s crew of friends. And truth be told, she didn’t have anything else to do anyway. Lexi and Jesse were at the Cape for the weekend, Tracy had flown back to California for her dad’s birthday, and there was nothing going on at the development. But she’d made a promise to herself a week and a half ago to forget about Sasha and get on with her life.

  It was proving way harder than she’d thought. She spent countless hours with Sasha at work helping her strategize her projects. They did lunch more than once a week. They had a million inside jokes they briefed each other on daily, either in person or b
y phone or text.

  Meg swayed back and forth in her chair, searching for the courage to get up and go home, head to her sister’s, or steal Betsy for dinner, when Sasha texted from the bar asking where she was. Meg fired off a quick response stating she was still in the office and added she wasn’t sure if she was going to make it to happy hour. Sasha didn’t ask if Meg had other plans or was working to a deadline, she simply texted, Please come, and just like that Meg’s mind was made up. That was precisely the moment she knew she was in serious trouble.

  She was already a few drinks in by the time Sasha found her hanging out halfway down the narrow bar. Meg watched her sauntering over, and she used all her resolve to keep her eyes up and avoid checking out Sasha’s figure, complemented tonight by a slim black skirt and fitted top that outlined her curves.

  “How come you weren’t going to come tonight?” Sasha started. “Something going on at your development?”

  Meg shook her head into her pint glass. “Not really.”

  Sasha looked offended. “So you were just going to not come?”

  “Why are you taking it personally?” Meg challenged, even though she was aware of the irony in her question.

  “Because this is our thing.” She looked into Meg’s eyes. “I mean, we sort of started it.” Sasha clasped her drink with both hands, holding it close to her. “I thought you liked coming.”

  “I do.” Meg sipped her beer. “It’s not that.”

  “Then what is it?”

  The place was getting crowded and Sasha was standing a few feet from Meg in the center of the aisle, blocking the way of people trying to pass. Meg took Sasha’s wrist and pulled her closer so some Wall Street types could get by.