Emily's Art and Soul

by Joy Argento

  Andi was doing her best to be a supportive friend. It wasn’t easy. Emily had given her the complete rundown on the experience. Most of it sounded like a waste of time, but Emily had met a couple of women she was interested in, although Andi wasn’t sure that three minutes of conversation gave Emily an opportunity to really get to know someone.

  “If you’re bored, you can give her a call. But she’s okay alone for a while. Listen, I have to get going, I don’t want to be late. I’ll call you when I get home. Bye. And, Andi? Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” Andi said, knowing that Emily had already hung up. “It’s the least I can do for my best friend—who I secretly have feelings for.”

  She took her sandwich into the living room and sat down just as Butch jumped up on the couch beside her. She gave the cat a quick scratch behind her ears and was rewarded with a loud purr. “So, here’s the story,” she said to the cat. “Emily’s going out on a date, and I don’t want her to.” Butch turned around a couple of times and settled in next to Andi. “Does that make me a bad friend? Should I tell her I like her? I mean like really like her?”

  Butch didn’t answer.

  “I’ll take that as a no. You’re right. We’ve been through this. If she had similar feelings, I would know it. Obviously she doesn’t. The only time I thought maybe she did, she was drunk and she never attempted to kiss me after that when she was sober.”

  Butch licked her paw and proceeded to run it over her head, cleaning herself.

  Andi was undeterred by the feline’s lack of interest. “She is too busy meeting new people and having a gay old time. See what I did there? A gay old time. Get it?”

  She took a bite of her sandwich and chewed slowly, not really feeling like eating after all.

  ***

  Emily walked into the small restaurant and looked around. She hoped she would recognize Jenny when she saw her. She didn’t have to worry because Jenny recognized her and came right over and gave a shy hug.

  “Nice to see you again,” Jenny said.

  “You too.”

  “I have a table already. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Certainly. Lead the way.” Antique tools and toys hung from the dark rustic walls in random groups scattered about. The fireplace in the corner added to the cozy feeling, and Emily could smell the real wood fire as it burned. Too many places used gas fireplaces these days, and Emily had never been fond of them. She followed Jenny to a small table in the corner.

  Emily looked through the menu. She made her decision pretty quick and set the menu down.

  “What are you going to have?” Jenny asked.

  “I was thinking a turkey burger and fries,” Emily answered.

  “Oh, are you a vegetarian?”

  What? Emily scratched her head. Oh my God, wait till I tell Andi this one. To the best of my knowledge, a turkey isn’t a vegetable. She did her best to suppress a giggle. “No. I love animals but have no problem eating a good steak or turkey burger now and then.” Emily smiled, but Jenny didn’t. Uh-oh. Wonder if I offended her. “Are you a vegetarian?”

  “No. I just don’t eat fowl.” She gave Emily a small smile. It seemed forced.

  “You’re a legal secretary, right?” Time for small talk and change of subject.

  “Yes. I’ve worked for Binder and Miles downtown for about six years now. I really like it. I love the law.”

  “I got called for jury duty last year but didn’t have to serve because I walked in and yelled, ‘let my people go.’”

  Nothing. No laugh or even a smile from Jenny.

  “I’m kidding. I did my civic duty and served on the jury.”

  “Good. I think it’s an important thing to do.”

  “I agree. We need to do the right thing in life.”

  The waiter arrived order pad in hand. “Are you ready to order?” He had an easy smile and a gap between his top front teeth.

  “We are. Go ahead, Jenny.”

  “I’ll have the garden salad with Italian dressing and a Diet Coke,” Jenny said.

  “And for you, miss?” the waiter asked Emily.

  “Can I get a turkey burger, fries well done, and a glass of water with lemon, please?” She handed her menu to him. “Thank you,” she looked at his name tag, “Kevin.”

  He nodded, took Jenny’s menu, and was gone.

  “My friend Andi told me this was a great place to eat. I recently moved here from Rochester, so I don’t know a lot about Syracuse yet.”

  “Oh. How come you moved?” Jenny unfolded her napkin and neatly placed it on her lap.

  “I was running from the law.” No reaction. She isn’t getting my humor. “I’m kidding. I got a teaching job here.”

  Having a relationship with anyone that didn’t get her humor was out of the question. “What would you say if I offered you a kidney?” She was trying to keep herself amused now, knowing this was going nowhere.

  “What? Why would you do that?” The edge to Jenny’s voice was unmistakable.

  “I wouldn’t. Just me being silly. Silly me.” She said the last part under her breath.

  Emily did her best to enjoy the evening but all in all found it pretty boring. They split the bill at the end of the meal and neither mentioned a second date. That was all right with Emily. She had no interest in seeing Jenny again. There had to be more interesting women out there. Emily was determined to find them.

  ***

  Mindy was already in bed, watching the small TV Emily had bought for her. “How was the movie I got for you?” Emily sat down on the side of the bed.

  “Great. Shrek is my best friend. How was your d-d-dinner?”

  “The food was good.”

  “Did you have fun?”

  “No, but that’s okay. It was a learning experience. I’m going to go get ready for bed. Don’t stay up too late. I’ll see you in the morning.” Emily kissed the top of Mindy’s head.

  “Good night, Emily.”

  Emily went into her room and closed the door. She sat on her bed and called Andi. “Hi, it’s me.”

  “Hey. How was your evening?” Andi asked.

  “Her head didn’t spin around or anything like that.”

  “So is that good or bad?”

  “It would have been really bad if her head spun around, so I guess it was…no, wait. Now that I think about it, it would have been a step up if her head had spun around. At least that would have entertained me. The evening was very boring.”

  “I’m sorry, Em. Personally, I hate when I am on a date with someone and her head spins around. It always scares me, ’cause it’s usually followed by green stuff pouring out of her mouth.”

  Emily laughed. “This is what was missing,” Emily said. “Humor. A connection. A personality.”

  “She had no personality?”

  “She was nice enough but she had no sense of humor—and apparently she thinks that turkey is a vegetable.” Emily tried to stifle a giggle.

  “Do I even want to know what that means?”

  Emily relayed the story and other details of the night. They were both laughing hysterically by the time they hung up the phone.

  Emily always felt better after talking to Andi. She was so lucky to have her. She set the phone on the nightstand and went to take a shower. The hot water felt good on her skin and she leaned her head back farther under the spray. An image of Andi in the shower with her flashed through her mind. Andi’s lips were on her exposed neck. Her body reacted with a surge of moisture. Wow. Where did that come from? She tried to push the thought aside, but the feeling in her body remained. Emily adjusted the faucet to cool the water down. But it did little to cool the fire she was feeling inside. What the hell? This sort of thing seemed to be happening more and more when she was near Andi or merely thought of her. Maybe her body was trying to tell her something. She wasn’t sure she was ready to listen. She wasn’t sure she wanted to risk the friendship. Was she?

  Chapter Sixteen

  Andi and Emily ran to Andi
’s house just as the sky opened up and it started to pour. Andi sprinted ahead and unlocked the door. She pushed it open and stepped in as Emily reached the house.

  “That was close. I almost got wet.” Andi said, panting.

  “A little rain won’t hurt you.” Emily bumped Andi’s shoulder with her own. She wiped a drip of rainwater as it ran down from her forehead.

  “Oh yeah, it would. I could melt.”

  “Like the Wicked Witch?”

  “No! Not like the Wicked Witch. More like I’m made out of sugar.”

  “You’re made out of sugar all right.” Emily laughed as she sat, sinking down into the overstuffed chair.

  “This isn’t funny, Emily. I am made out of sugar and I’ll melt, I tell ya. When I was younger I had some water spill on my leg, and now I am all deformed where my sugar leg melted.”

  “Prove it. Let me see.” Emily was half hoping Andi would bare her naked leg.

  Andi sat down in the rocking chair across from Emily. “You want to see my deformed leg? Is that what you’re saying? It isn’t pretty, Emily.”

  “I’m having trouble believing this story of yours, especially since you won’t show me the evidence.”

  “I am not going to show you my leg. I don’t care how much you beg.”

  “Okay, okay. Don’t show me your leg. I didn’t want to see it anyway.” Emily suppressed her laughter. “Hmm, want to get into your hot tub with me?”

  Andi feigned a shocked look. “Are you trying to kill me, woman?”

  The sound of laughter filled the room as both women broke into hysterical giggling.

  Andi wiped tears from her cheeks. “Let’s do it.”

  “Do what?” Emily asked.

  “Let’s go in the hot tub. It’ll be great. It sounds like the rain is slowing down, and it’ll take the chill off. Besides, the roof overhang will protect us.”

  “I didn’t bring a bathing suit, and besides, I thought you would melt.”

  “I was just funning ya on the melting stuff. Come on, I’m sure I have a suit you can wear—or you can go in naked.”

  Emily put her finger on her chin and looked up toward the ceiling. “Hmm, let me think about it. Um, no, I don’t think so. Don’t think I will be getting naked in the hot tub.”

  “Then let’s go see what I have for bathing suits.” Andi stood up. She grabbed Emily’s hand and dragged her into the bedroom.

  Emily had never been in Andi’s bedroom before. The warm blue walls were glazed with a glossy dark blue that matched the trim around the windows and doorframe. “This is beautiful,” Emily said. “Who did you get to paint this for you?”

  “I did it myself,” Andi said.

  “You did a wonderful job. I love it.” Emily’s attention was drawn to the queen-sized bed. “And who made the quilt?” She pushed an image of Andi lying across the bed from her mind and tried to concentrate on the pattern.

  “My grandmother made that for me. Isn’t it great?” Andi ran her hand over the quilt lovingly. “The pattern’s called Friendship Garden. Some of the fabric pieces were taken from my baby clothes. The yellow material in the center of each block is from my first baby blanket. And this one,” she said, pointing to a pink floral fabric, “is a maternity shirt that my mother wore when she was pregnant with me.”

  “Oh Andi, it’s beautiful.” Emily’s eyes met Andi’s and held for several moments. Emily looked away, suddenly realizing that what she wanted more than anything else in that moment was for Andi to kiss her. She pretended to be interested in the collection of tiny dolls lined up on the top of the dresser. It was beginning to feel too warm in Andi’s bedroom.

  “Most of those were gifts from my mom. I guess she figured if I could get interested in girly things like dolls it might turn me straight.” Andi’s voice brought her out of her own thoughts—almost.

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope. It’s the truth. She hasn’t given me one in a few years, so I’m thinking she’s given up. Funny thing is, I like the dolls. Some of them are collector’s items.” Andi pulled open the top drawer of the dresser. “Here you go. Bathing suits. Take a look and see if there’s anything you want to wear.”

  Emily pulled a black one-piece bathing suit with small gold rings that connected the material together at the hips. A quick peek at the label also told Emily that it should fit. “How about this one?” she asked.

  “What a lovely choice,” Andi said with a smile. “Go ahead and change in my bathroom there and I’ll change in the bathroom down the hall. I’ll meet you at the back door with towels.”

  Andi pawed through the other suits while Emily went to change.

  Alone in the bathroom Emily took a few moments to gather her thoughts and tell herself how ridiculous she was being. She took her time undressing, carefully folding her clothes and setting them on the closed toilet seat. She eased the suit up over her butt and hips, taking a quick look at her legs, glad that she shaved them that morning. The bathing suit fit snugly, but not too tight that it was uncomfortable. She attempted to close the clasp that held the suit together behind her neck but couldn’t seem to get it to work. It worked perfectly fine when she pulled the straps down and tested it. She tried once again to fasten behind her neck. No luck. Holding the two pieces firmly in place she set out looking for Andi’s help.

  Andi hadn’t come out of the other bathroom yet. Emily, in an attempt to lighten her mood, tiptoed over to the closed door and leaned against the jamb, her face inches from the door. She waited. Her plan was to yell “Boo” as soon as Andi opened the door.

  It was only a matter of seconds before the door flew open and Andi stepped out, directly into Emily. Emily wasn’t prepared for Andi to come out so quickly. Or so forcefully. Both women were startled by the sudden appearance of the other. Instead of yelling “Boo” as planned, Emily dropped the straps to the bathing suit, causing the front of the suit to drop down as Andi stepped into her. Andi’s arms came out in front of her in an attempt to keep her balance. She ended up with her arms wrapped around Emily. It stopped Emily from falling backward out of the bathroom doorway and sent a rush of electricity through her at the skin-to-skin contact.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Andi asked as she burst out laughing.

  “Scaring you.” Emily looked up into Andi’s eyes. Deep eyes. Brown eyes. Beautiful eyes. She swallowed hard and then joined in the laughter.

  Andi started to release Emily from her grip when Emily’s arms went around Andi and held her tightly, preventing her from stepping back. Emily’s heart beat wildly. She wasn’t sure if it was the close contact with Andi or embarrassment from the fact that the top of her bathing suit had fallen and was down around her waist.

  Andi looked into Emily’s eyes in an apparent attempt to read them. “What are we doing?”

  “Not what you think.” Emily could feel the heat inside her rising. “My top fell down and I’m trying to keep myself covered…um…with your body.”

  Andi put her arms around Emily again. “Okay.”

  Andi’s breath on her face sent a tingle down Emily’s spine and goosebumps erupted across her skin.

  “What do you want to do about this?” Andi’s face radiated warmth as a blush traveled up her neck to her face.

  “How about you close your eyes and I turn around and pull my top up?” Emily suggested.

  “Okay, you got it.” Andi closed her eyes.

  “Andi?”

  “Yes?” Andi said, eyes still closed.

  “You need to let me go.”

  Andi opened her eyes. “What?” Her arms were still tightly wrapped around Emily. “Oh sorry.” She closed her eyes again and released her.

  Emily took a step back and spun around pulling up her top in the process. “Okay, you can open your eyes now.” Emily held the suit’s material tight against her chest. “Would you mind helping me with this?”

  Andi fastened the straps together. She set her hands on Emily’s bare shoulders when she finished. �
�All set.”

  Emily closed her eyes, soaking in the feeling of Andi’s warm hands on her. She took a deep breath before opening them again and turning around. The sight in front of her made her breath stop altogether. Andi’s deep blue bathing suit hugged her body like a second skin. The sides were cut away, showing the curve and soft skin above her hips. The top was cut low and Andi’s breasts pushed upward, adding to their fullness.

  Emily forced her eyes from Andi’s chest to her face. She cleared her throat. “I’m ready whenever you are. Do you have the towels?”

  “I’ll get them.” Andi pulled two towels from the hall closet and handed one to Emily. Out on the deck, they removed the hot tub cover and set it aside. Andi slipped into the tub in one quick movement.

  Emily sat on the edge of the tub, swung her legs over the side, and let her body slide into the hot water. She settled down next to Andi. The tension left her body as the hot water surrounded her. The strong jets forced water and bubbles toward her and dimpled her skin where they hit.

  The rain had stopped and steam rose from the hot tub into the cool, damp mid-October air. “I don’t see that you’re melting.” Emily tapped Andi’s knee. “And I didn’t see any deformities on your legs either.”

  “You were looking at my legs?”

  “No. I wasn’t looking at your legs. I was just looking and your legs happened to be in my line of vision.”

  “I keep my deformities hidden. You can’t see them, but I know they’re there.”

  The conversation took a serious turn for a moment. “I guess to some extent we all keep our deformities hidden.” Emily paused, choosing her words carefully. “Sometimes I wonder if Mindy has an advantage or a disadvantage because her”—Emily did air quotes with her fingers—“‘deformity’ is there for all the world to see. She doesn’t get to hide it, like the rest of us.”

  “Do you have deformities?” Andi asked quietly. “Because, Emily Sanders, you seem perfect to me.”

  The two women looked at each other for what seemed like hours but was only seconds as the water swirled around them. Emily leaned toward Andi without breaking eye contact and ran her hand swiftly through the water, her palm leading the way, causing a large splash of water to hit Andi in the face. She needed to do something to keep herself from kissing Andi full on the mouth. Splashing water seemed like the perfect solution.