by Gina Dartt
Addy shrugged. “Kim put it on her bill, along with the rest of your meal. Since it’s already paid for, you might as well eat it.”
Touched beyond measure, Nikki grew warm with pleasure and picked up the fork. She didn’t know why people chose to be so kind to her. Such continual surprises made her feel warm inside. She decided that she was extraordinarily fortunate in her choice of friends.
Addy sat down opposite her, the diner quiet for the moment. “I heard that Marlene Shay’s heading to the city once she marries Wade next month. That means her job will be open soon, and Sandy is probably already looking for someone.”
“The night dispatcher at the police station? Am I qualified?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what Sandy does besides pick up donuts here every morning for the station and keep track of where the officers are in the course of a shift. Why don’t you give it a try and find out? The worst that will happen is that you won’t get it, and you won’t be any worse off than before.”
“Good idea, Addy. I’ll find out what’s required and start working on my résumé right away.”
“Plenty of time. Enjoy your pie.”
Chapter Nineteen
Kate fussed over the exact placement of the flowers in the center of the table until Susan finally said, “Give it a rest, Katie. What are you trying to do, intimidate the poor kid?”
Kate glanced at her. “Don’t refer to her like that.”
Susan held up her hands in surrender. “Fine, but you’re driving both of us crazy, and from what you tell me of this ki—young woman, she’s very down-to-earth and probably wouldn’t be impressed anyway.”
“She is.” Kate sighed. “You’re right. I’m acting crazy.”
“Besides, it’s not as if you’re trying for a seduction,” Susan said as she leaned back in her chair, scanning the daily newspaper. “I’m going to be here.” She grinned at Kate. “Unless you were serious about wanting me to make myself scarce afterward?”
“No. I guess I’m just a little nervous.” Kate left the table for the moment, wiping her hands as she returned to the kitchen where the pasta was boiling and the tomato sauce simmered slowly. Since Nikki liked lasagna, Kate assumed pasta was a safe choice. “This is our first date, remember?”
“Is that a gay thing?” The paper rustled as Susan turned the page. “First you sleep together, then you start to date?”
“Don’t you dare say anything like that to her.”
Susan laughed. “God, Katie, you don’t want me to say anything about the age difference, you don’t want me to say anything about the gay issue, you don’t want me to say anything about money. What’s left? Politics and religion?”
“Don’t say anything at all. How about that?”
Susan shook her head. “You’re hopeless.”
The doorbell chimed and Kate whipped off her apron, smoothing her hands over the navy wool skirt she had chosen to wear. “That’s her,” she said, feeling her heart rate make a decided jump. “Remember, be nice!”
“I’m always nice,” Susan said as Kate sprinted from the apartment and down the staircase, almost tripping in her haste.
Catching her footing, Kate forced herself to calm down and take a deep breath, descending the rest of the way down the stairs to the landing below in a more dignified manner. When she opened the door, Nikki beamed at her, and Kate felt her heart ricochet about her chest. “Hi,” she said, unable to manage anything more articulate.
“Hi,” Nikki said in her shy, absolutely adorable way.
They locked eyes for an eternity before Kate realized that she was not only leaving Nikki standing out in the cold, she was letting all the heat from her building escape into the snowy outdoors. “God, come on in,” she said, taking Nikki’s arm.
She rushed in and smiled bashfully. “You look wonderful.”
Kate lowered her head momentarily. “Thank you.”
They gazed at each other for another long minute before Nikki unzipped her jacket and Kate slipped her arms inside. Wrapping them snugly around Nikki’s waist, Kate kissed her until she feared they were both in grave danger of passing out from lack of oxygen.
“Kate, we are going to have dinner sometime tonight, aren’t we?”
Dizzy, Kate forced herself to draw back, glancing up the stairs to discover Susan standing on the upper landing, watching them. She looked back at Nikki, dismayed to see that she’d smeared lipstick all over her mouth. “That’s Susan.”
“Hi, Susan.”
“Hello, Nikki. I don’t suppose you remember me? I taught you in Sunday school.”
Nikki frowned while Kate closed her eyes, wanting to groan out loud. “Miss O’Brien?”
Susan tilted her head, a hint of amusement in her face. “Yes, though it’s Carlson now. How are your parents?”
“Fine.”
Kate, who still had her arms wrapped tightly around her lover’s waist, realized Susan was staring at her.
“She can’t make it up the stairs with you hanging onto her like that, Katie,” she said, and then disappeared back into the apartment.
Nikki glanced back at Kate, who managed a weak smile. “I guess I have to let you go.”
“Not by my choice.” Nikki hugged her tighter. “I’m perfectly happy to stay here all night kissing you.”
Kate laughed and reluctantly released her hold. Then she reached up and wiped Nikki’s lips gently. “I’m afraid I covered you with lipstick.”
“I’ll freshen up before we start dinner.” Nikki plunged her hand into her coat pocket. “I have something for you.” She pulled out a small package, gift wrapped with a bow. “It isn’t much.”
Delighted, Kate accepted the box and opened it. Inside was a small teddy bear about four inches high.
“It’s so you’ll have something to cuddle when I’m not there.”
“I love it,” Kate said, slipping her arm around her lover’s neck and kissing her again. A bashfully pleased expression on her face, Nikki offered a soulful look from beneath lowered lashes, and Kate took her hand. “Come on.”
Upstairs, Kate took her coat and directed Nikki to the bathroom where she could remove the lipstick. In the meantime, she carried the small stuffed toy over to the breakfast bar and placed it prominently on the counter so that she could look at it while eating dinner.
Susan, in the kitchen stirring the pasta, eyed the bear irreverently but didn’t say anything.
Kate shot her an admonishing glance before turning to greet the freshly scrubbed Nikki.
“Anything new?”
Nikki shook her head. “I may have a line on a new job. A dispatcher at the police station. I’m going to do some research on the Net to find out exactly what a dispatcher does, then emphasize those skills on my résumé before I drop it off.”
“I think you’d enjoy that.” She made a mental note to lean on Rick as much as possible the next time she saw him; maybe he could put in a good word for Nikki. “Plus, you’d actually be involved in solving the cases.”
“At least dispatching the guys that do.”
Again, Kate discovered they were staring at each other, and with an effort, she led Nikki over to the living room. “Here. You and Susan get to know each other a bit better while I finish making dinner. We’re having rigatoni.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
Kate returned to the kitchen and took the spoon from Susan. “Be nice,” she murmured again in a low voice, as Susan obediently moved into the living room.
As Kate checked the pasta, she tried to keep tabs on the conversation going on in the living room. Susan was behaving herself as far as she could tell, utilizing her not inconsiderable charm to ask Nikki what was going on in town, skillfully drawing out a great many personal details from her in the process. But now the conversation was turning to Kate and their relationship, and she wasn’t sure she was entirely comfortable with that topic.
“So you met Kate when you heard she was carrying gay and lesbian books,” Susan s
aid. “Was it love at first sight?”
Nikki looked vaguely uncomfortable. “No, we became friends first. I mean…she’s very attractive—”
“For a middle-aged woman,” Susan agreed amiably and glanced into the kitchen where Kate favored her with a poisonous look.
Nikki straightened on the sofa, her eyes narrowing. “Do you have a problem with our relationship, Mrs. Carlson?”
Kate stopped stirring for a moment, listening closely.
Susan, apparently realizing she had gone a bit too far in the jibe aimed at her friend, lifted her hands up in a gesture of surrender. “Not at all. I adore Kate. I’m just glad someone else does, as well.”
Nikki leaned back. “I think that you only have so many chances in this life to love. You can always find reasons not to pursue a relationship, but what do you gain by that?”
“Not being hurt?”
“We all get hurt in life, Mrs. Carlson.”
“Will you please call me Susan?”
“Susan,” Nikki repeated obediently. “I’m just saying that an opportunity might not always work out the way you hope, but at least you tried. Otherwise, at the end of your life, all that’s left is regret for the things you didn’t do.”
Susan was silent for a moment before finally nodding. “You’re probably right.”
Kate was relieved when she realized the pasta was cooked. She lost track of the rest of the conversation as she became busy draining the noodles, transferring them to a large glass bowl, and filling another with sauce. She carried them out to the table and then returned to the kitchen to retrieve the bread and pitcher of water. On the counter, a bottle of Jost’s finest red wines was breathing, ready to be served. “Dinner’s ready,” she announced, pulling out a chair for Nikki as she, followed by Susan, walked over to the dining area.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Susan flick an eyebrow as she sat on the other side of the table. She also noticed Susan smile faintly as she watched Kate fill Nikki’s plate with pasta, making sure she had precisely the right amount of sauce, pouring her a glass of wine, and retrieving some garlic bread for her. Susan could serve herself as best she could, Kate decided. She wanted there to be no secret of where Nikki ranked on her list of priorities.
Returning her attention to her lover, she saw how tentatively Nikki sipped her wine. “You don’t like it?”
“I, ah, don’t really drink it as a rule. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll get you something else,” Kate said immediately. “What would you like?”
“Water’s fine.” Nikki picked up her other glass containing the ice water. “The food is really delicious, by the way.”
“Have I told you how exquisite you look?” Kate asked, captivated by her soft eyes and shining hair. She hadn’t even really seen what Nikki was wearing and only belatedly looked over the blouse and trousers...probably the best outfit she owned...which at least combined into a reasonable ensemble. She could have used some jewelry to set it off, Kate noted, and wondered if she dared remedy that lack sometime in the near future.
Until now Kate hadn’t been aware of her emphasis on appearance. Suddenly she realized it was probably just a by-product of the community in which she had grown up. She had acquired the same unconscious, automatic appraisal of other women that most in her social circle routinely utilized. Nikki’s lack of such an emphasis had clued her in on her own attitude.
Nikki blushed at Kate’s compliment. “Thank you.”
Though Kate was totally engrossed in Nikki’s appearance and her thoughts about her attitude toward appearance, in a tiny corner of her mind, she watched Susan roll her eyes and dig into her meal. Kate supposed she felt left out and experienced a momentary twinge of guilt. She fleetingly thought about how they had grown up in the same community, though Susan’s family was a little less well off than the Taylor household had been. They had both attended the same Catholic private school, then the public junior and senior high schools in town. Applying to Acadia University, they lived as roommates in the same sorority house. Susan had been her maid of honor at her wedding to David, and she had performed the same function for Susan when she later married Ted.
She supposed Susan was shocked at what was happening with her, and perhaps even a little dismayed at this unexpected side of her old friend. But Kate knew that Susan had experienced things through her children’s eyes while they grew up, which helped her to realize certain of her cherished perceptions and beliefs weren’t always necessarily proper, or even enlightened. Perhaps she was really doing Susan a disservice. Perhaps at the moment, she was less interested in worrying about what the rest of their social circle might think and far more concerned that Kate might be hurt in this relationship.
Surely Susan must see the love in her eyes when she looked at Nikki. She couldn’t deny that Nikki had touched something new in her. Something David hadn’t. Kate could only hope that her best friend would just be happy for her and not make any further judgments on something that was obviously beyond her influence to control.
“Nikki, Kate tells me that you and she have been investigating the Madison murder,” Susan said suddenly.
“I don’t know if you’d call it investigating,” Nikki said, lifting her brows. “We’ve just been poking around to see what we can find out.” She explained what had happened Saturday, filling in some of the details that Kate had left out, such as how impressive she’d been, first in the harrowing drive up the lane, then, by the amazingly cool…Nikki’s word…way she had dealt with Katherine Rushton.
“Katherine Rushton,” Susan said thoughtfully. “Which branch of the family?”
“I don’t believe any of those around Colchester County,” Kate said, feeling disdainful. “She looks as if she may have had money at one time.” Kate knew there were two types of wealthy people in the town: those who flaunted their money as if it somehow made them better, and those who simply existed with it because it was there. Sam Madison, with his shiny red Corvette, and this Katherine Rushton, in her black Lexus, were of the former type.
During their dinner conversation, Kate felt relieved to discover that Susan apparently liked Nikki. She had known Susan long enough to recognize what was politeness on her part and what was sincere interest. Perhaps Susan was beginning to understand some of what Kate saw in Nikki: her honesty and her protective fierceness. No matter what happened, Kate understood instinctively that Nikki would stand by her, prepared to do whatever it took to support and care for her despite her youth. Susan would respond positively to that allegiance, particularly since she had such a protective streak of her own.
After dinner, the women retired to the living room with cake and coffee—chocolate milk for Nikki, which generated an amused look from Susan directed Kate’s way—where they discussed the weather, books, and current events. Susan appeared pleased to discover that Nikki was quite knowledgeable about the issues of the day, though her opinions varied greatly from those of the older women, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. She was able to present her views concisely and intelligently, forcing them to reconsider their assumptions. Every time she did, Kate felt achingly proud of her, which made Nikki respond with a vulnerably pleased look all her own, while Susan bit her bottom lip, amusement glinting in her emerald eyes.
When it was time for Nikki to leave, Kate escorted her downstairs to say good-bye.
By the time she finally wandered back, the dishes had been washed, dried, and put away, with Susan comfortably tucked up on the sofa with her novel. She peered at Kate over the top of her book. “Sweetie?”
Kate started, as if awakening from a trance. “Yes?”
“You should really learn to button up your blouse correctly if you’re going to make out in the stairwell.”
Horrified, Kate glanced down to see her shirt was open to below the line of her bra, feeling her face burn as Susan let loose the laughter she’d undoubtedly been holding in all evening.
Chapter Twenty
Heading toward the pol
ice station after work to drop off her résumé, Nikki took the time to enjoy the fresh layer of snow on the ground, the intense blue of the sky overhead, and the sheer joy of being alive and in love. Kate was constantly in her mind, and a quick glance at her watch told Nikki that her love, along with her best friend, would be at the funeral home now. Nikki had detected some wariness in Susan the night before, but she was undoubtedly worried about her “straight” friend becoming romantically involved with a woman. She couldn’t blame Susan for that. In her shoes, she’d probably be worried as well, and all she could do was hope that Susan would eventually understand how much she truly loved Kate.
In any event, Susan would be heading back to the city later that afternoon, and Nikki began to plan for the evening. The heated kisses and caresses they had shared in the stairwell of Kate’s building the night before did little to compensate for having to spend their night in their separate cold and lonely beds, deprived of each other’s company. They would have to make up for it later.
Striding past Kiwanis Park where ducks crowded about the thawed outlet of an ice-covered pond, Nikki watched as the vigorous creatures waddled about the frozen reeds, searching for food. Though a large sign instructed people not to feed the ducks, well-meaning animal lovers over the years had ignored it and had ended up disrupting the normal migration patterns of the flock. Nikki considered that no duck in his right mind was going to fly thousands of miles overland, dodging buckshot and predators, when he could settle into a nice northern town pond with shelter and all the free food he could eat, plus several other ducks to keep him company.
Now the town was stuck with the animals, having to continue to feed them through the winter or have them starve to death en masse in the park, which would outrage the animal-loving taxpayers, most of whom had caused the problem in the first place. These ducks were doomed never to leave town, Nikki knew, because they had essentially become domesticated. Worst of all, the population never seemed to diminish, the permanent settlers laying eggs every spring to produce a new generation that contained a certain percentage of birds that also refused to migrate south in the winter.