by Gerri Hill
“So the room by the maple tree…that’s your bedroom?”
“Yes. My mother’s rooms are downstairs.”
“Good to know.”
Laura frowned. “Why good to know?”
“Just…good to know.” Laura heard voices and the sound of a door opening. “Listen, I need to go,” Cassidy said. “But think about the party.”
“No.”
Cassidy sighed. “Okay. Talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
She continued to lean against the tree. Should she reconsider the party? She shook her head. No. As she’d said, she’d seen the women who Cassidy had over. She couldn’t imagine having anything in common with any of them.
* * *
Cassidy opened the blinds to the sliding glass door, then opened the door as well. It was a warm, humid evening, but she wanted to be outside. For some reason, her apartment was stifling her, the walls seeming to close in around her. So she took her drink out to the balcony and sat down in one of the two chairs, trying to relax. Her view was not great—more apartments across from her—but at least there were large trees to make it seem as if she had some privacy.
She could imagine being at her house, sitting out by the pool. It would be cooler there, for sure. Maybe she’d go up Thursday instead of Friday. Even though she was having the party catered—fajitas—she still had some things to get. Namely, beer and the makings for margaritas.
Of course, if she went up Thursday, she might spoil Laura’s work plans. She smiled, thinking of the other woman. So she’d trespassed today, huh? Looking for a leaning tree, something from her childhood? She did regret that she’d never had the opportunity to explore out there like Laura apparently had. Even through the whole process of building the house—and saving most of the woods—she hadn’t taken the time to actually go out into the woods, to explore, to hike around. She’d been too busy.
Or maybe it simply hadn’t occurred to her to take a hike in the woods. Maybe this friendship she’d started with Laura would be good for her. Laura was different.
She had a lot of friends, she noted, but none were quite like Laura. They were more…what? Refined? Professional? Most, yes. Some younger, some close to her age. None older, none that she could think of. That was a little strange in itself.
She had a lot of friends. She just couldn’t think of a single one that she would call her best friend. She couldn’t think of a single one who she could bare her soul to, if she needed. Was there anyone in her group that she ever confided in? Erica would probably be the closest. She’d known her ten years or more. But if she truly needed to take someone in her confidence, would it be Erica? No. They had a lot of mutual friends and Erica was a bit of a gossip. So no, not Erica. Of course, there was Tanya. She’d known her forever. She’d played matchmaker with her and Derrick. But Tanya was more sounding board than anything. Tanya was straight. Tanya couldn’t really relate.
Again, a sense of loneliness settled over her. She had a lot of friends…yet sometimes, she didn’t have any friends at all.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Are you kidding me?” Laura murmured as the black Mercedes came through the gate—a day early. She stood up and put her hands on her hips, eyebrows raised as Cassidy lowered her window.
“Hey.”
“Hey? Really?”
Cassidy laughed. “I knew you’d be mad if I came early. I promise I’ll stay out of your way.”
“Oh, no. You’re here now. Go change into work clothes. You can help.” Cassidy stared at her blankly for a moment, and Laura smiled at her. “You don’t have any work clothes, do you?”
“I can find some old shorts, yes. And I know for a fact that I have a T-shirt with paint stains on it.”
“Perfect. My back’s killing me. I don’t think I can lift another stone.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “I’ll put you to good use.”
“Okay. I’m game. I’ve got a few things to unpack first, then I’ll be right out.” She started to drive on, then stopped again. “You want a beer?”
“God, yes. Thanks.”
Laura was smiling as she went back to her flowers. Her back wasn’t hurting her that much, but she thought Cassidy might enjoy helping with the flowerbeds. And she was actually alone today. That had to be a first. But it was Thursday. Probably whoever she had lined up for her date this weekend wouldn’t come until tomorrow.
Where does she find all of these women?
Was she envious? No. It had to be exhausting to date like that. But she wouldn’t mind going out on a date occasionally. This dry spell that she was in had lingered and lingered until it had become the norm. And her chances of meeting someone out here were slim to none. Of course, Cassidy had invited her to the party, had suggested that she might meet someone there.
“I’ve seen her party friends,” she murmured. “Way too girlie for me.”
“Who are you talking to?”
Startled, she jerked her head around, finding Cassidy standing beside her, holding two beers shoved into koozies. The shorts she wore did not seem old in the least, but the T-shirt was splattered with not one, but two different colors of paint. She reached for one of the beers.
“I’m alone too much,” she said as way of explanation.
“Ah. Talk to yourself, do you?”
Laura smiled. “Yes, but I rarely argue.”
Cassidy laughed. “I would hope not.”
Laura took a big swallow of the beer. “Thank you. I was parched.”
“I’m sure you’ve seen the fridge out back by the outdoor kitchen. Help yourself.”
“How do you know I haven’t already?”
“Because even though you sneak over to use the pool and go trespassing in the woods, I don’t think you’re the type to swipe beer.”
“You’d be right. I bring my own.”
Cassidy took a swallow too, nodding. “I checked out the new planters by the pool. They look really nice. You’ve done a great job.”
“Thank you. This is the last one. I finished the other one this morning before I mowed. I was going to finish this one up tomorrow, but since you’re here…”
“Free labor, huh?”
“Yes. I’ve got one more flat of flowers, then we pile on the mulch. Then the stone goes around the sides. Then we water.”
“All of that today? How about we finish the flowers, then get in the pool? I’ll help with the mulch and stone in the morning.”
Laura shook her finger at her. “You haven’t even started yet and you’re already trying to get out of working.”
Cassidy laughed. “Actually, I think it’ll be fun to play in the dirt with you. But you’ve been working all day out here. I thought you might be ready to call it a day.”
“Well, if you hadn’t shown up early, then yes, I was going to spend an hour or so in your pool,” she admitted.
“So? What do you say?”
Well, it was awfully hot, she reasoned. No need to finish this up today when—with Cassidy’s help—she could have the project completed in an hour or so in the morning. She nodded at Cassidy.
“Okay. We’ll finish it all tomorrow, flowers included. Let me go get cleaned up and changed. I’ll meet you there.”
“Great. I’ll supply the beer.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Cassidy hadn’t planned on interrupting Laura’s day. In fact, she was sincere when she said she was looking forward to helping with the flowers. But Laura looked hot and tired. She had dirt stains on her knees and elbows, a streak of mud on her cheek again—which Cassidy barely resisted cleaning off—and her tank top was soaked in sweat. Laura accepting as readily as she did confirmed Cassidy’s assumption that she was indeed hot and tired.
And they could take their time with the flowerbed. They’d have all day. For once, Cassidy hadn’t invited anyone over early. The pool party started at noon on Saturday with fajitas ready by six. She did extend an overnight invitation to a few friends, though. Erica and Amber were staying, thi
s time without their friend Kathryn. And Macie and Karon, even though they’d stayed last weekend, had opted for another weekend in the country…without Ashly.
It occurred to her then that she didn’t actually have a date for the weekend—a first. There was always Claudia, who she’d run into at lunch one day. She had blurted out about the party without thinking and Claudia had accepted with a wink and a light touch on her arm. Yes, Claudia would be willing. But Cassidy shook her head. Claudia might be willing, but she was not. She smiled, remembering Laura’s name for Claudia—the anorexic blonde. And Ashly—the model. Didn’t she refer to Larson with some name too?
“No laughing at my farmer’s tan,” Laura warned as she walked around the pool.
There was no farmer’s tan to see as Laura had on shorts and a T-shirt. She raised her eyebrows. “If that’s what you swim in, no wonder you have a farmer’s tan.”
Laura held a foot up and wiggled the flip-flop. Her feet were definitely whiter than her legs and there was a sock line at her ankles. Then Laura pulled her T-shirt off, revealing a rather conservative Speedo, the color pattern a splatter of multiple shades of purple mixed with black and white. She appeared to have tan lines from both a T-shirt and a tank top, as well as the straps of the suit. Cassidy wasn’t shy as she watched Laura remove her shorts. And yes, there was a tan line from the cutoff jeans that she normally wore.
She was smiling as she met Laura’s eyes. “Nice variation of tan lines.”
“Thank you. I do work outside for a living,” she said with a grin. “And this is why I won’t come to your party. I’ll be the only one with tan lines.”
“You’d probably be the only one with a natural tan and not the result of a tanning bed. I like yours much better,” she said, surprising herself by the comment. At Laura’s raised eyebrows, she said, “Real. Not fake. Much better than the perfection you get from a bed.” Then she smiled. “Of course, swimming without clothes would get you that same perfection.”
“Maybe I’ll work on that during the week when you’re not here,” Laura said with an exaggerated wink, then dove into the water.
Cassidy was still smiling as she tossed in two floats, then pulled her T-shirt over her head. She, too, was wearing a one-piece—black. As was her custom, she walked around to the diving board. She glanced over at Laura, who had already scrambled onto one of the floats.
“Hey, wait a minute,” Laura called. “Where’s that beer you promised?”
“Under that towel.” She pointed. “There’s a bucket, with ice.”
She waited while Laura paddled over and lifted up the towel, revealing the small bucket, big enough to hold four beers with heaps of ice. Laura pulled two from it and shoved the bottles into the koozies Cassidy had placed beside it. With a quick nod, she went to the edge of the board and jumped, diving into the cool water with barely a splash.
“You have great form. You took lessons as a kid, right?”
Cassidy shook her head. “Believe it or not, I hated the water when I was young. I was forced to take swimming lessons, but I hated it. It wasn’t until college that I really got into swimming.”
“Let me guess…girls in bikinis.”
Cassidy laughed. “Guilty.” She got on her float first, then took the beer from Laura. “I liked to fish, though. My dad has a boat. Fishing is his passion.”
“Do you go with him?”
“Not much anymore. He’s kinda semi-retired from the business so he does most of his fishing during the week.”
“Semi-retired? Meaning retired, just not officially?”
“Exactly. The last couple of years, he’s let me totally run the show.”
“So really, you’re responsible for those ads?”
“I am. And they’re not that obnoxious. We change them up every year.”
Laura splashed water at her. “I especially loved the one with the cranky wife complaining to the husband about the AC not working. I mean, she went after him until he snapped!”
“And we were there at his door in a flash,” she said with a laugh. “Record time.”
“Saved a marriage, I’m sure.” Laura spun her float around to face her. “Why Cassidy?”
“Huh?”
“Your name.”
“Oh. My mother had a huge crush on David Cassidy. Huge.” She grinned. “Guess what my brother’s name is?”
“Oh, no…she didn’t.”
“She did. Although everyone calls him Dave, except her. He’s three years old than I am,” she offered.
“I have an older sister. Carla. She has twins. They were cute when they were babies, until they turned into holy terrors. She’s just a year older than me.”
Since they were sharing personal things, Cassidy didn’t think it was out of line to ask why she was living here. She wondered if this eight-year writer’s block—and no job—had turned her destitute. It wasn’t really any of her business, but… “So what’s the story with you living with your mother? I know you said she was an invalid. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her.”
Laura met her gaze for a moment, and Cassidy wondered if maybe she should have kept the question to herself.
“My mother and I used to be very close. Always were, really. But I was the tomboy tagging along with my father, following him everywhere. After he died—my mother was only fifty-eight—we got even closer. Then she met Frankie. Six months after my dad died, Frankie moved in with her. They got married.” She shrugged. “I couldn’t stand the man. My relationship with my mother deteriorated.”
“Your sister?”
“Yeah, she stopped coming around too. Then the car accident three years ago. He was driving and wasn’t injured. She was in the hospital for weeks. Came out in a wheelchair. I blame Frankie not only for the accident, but for not pushing her to walk.” Laura waved her hand. “Doesn’t matter. Frankie died. Heart attack, out by the shed. My mother can’t get around enough to be on her own…so here I am.”
“Gave up your own life? That’s admirable.”
Laura once again splashed water at her. “I’m no saint. I came kicking and screaming. But we couldn’t afford to hire someone to stay with her so…I had no job, no family.”
“Sister guilted you into it, huh?”
Laura laughed. “Pretty much. But it’s worked out. My mother and I have gotten close again. We called a truce regarding Frankie. And I’m making her use the walker instead of the chair. She’s gotten stronger. I don’t know if she’ll ever feel confident enough to live on her own, but I hope she can at least gain some independence.”
“You ought to get her in the pool,” Cassidy suggested. “Water therapy is supposed to be great.”
Laura smiled at her. “That’s so sweet of you. I was going to sneak her in next week.”
Cassidy shook her head. “You don’t have to sneak. I’m not paying you nearly enough for all the work you’ve done.”
Laura stretched her arms out. “Reminds me that I’m not as young as I used to be. Hauling that stone about killed me.”
“How old are you, anyway?”
“Just turned thirty-eight. Last Wednesday.”
“Really? You had a birthday. You should have told me.”
“I spent the day here in your pool. I had a picnic. I blasted music. It was a good day.”
“You were alone?”
“Yes.”
Cassidy thought that sounded like a depressing way to spend her birthday but not everyone needed to have people around all the time. Laura, obviously, was comfortable being alone.
“What?”
Cassidy brought her attention back to Laura. She sighed. “I envy you.”
“Why on earth?”
“I’m not very good at being alone.”
“I’ve gathered that. You almost always have company with you when you come here.”
“I don’t really know what the reason is. I always feel compelled to invite someone or a couple…or have a party.”
“So you don’t like being alo
ne?”
“Apparently not.”
“Do you not like yourself?”
Cassidy frowned. “Meaning?”
“Meaning…do you not like your own company? I like you. You obviously have a lot of friends, so you must be nice. But is there something that you don’t like?”
Cassidy moved her foot, using Laura’s float to push off, setting her in motion. What didn’t she like? How honest was she willing to be here?
“I sometimes feel like I’m…entitled.”
Laura raised her eyebrows questioningly.
“This is going to sound so conceited.”
“Oh, I get it. You’re attractive. You have money. You have a nice house. You own a successful business. You can have any woman you want. Conceited like that?”
Cassidy smiled. “Yes. Except I have horrible taste, according to you.”
“God, yes. What do you see in those women?”
“I’m not sure. They’re just…who I’ve always dated.”
“Yet you’re still looking. You know what they say about insanity, right?”
Cassidy nodded. “Doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.”
“Exactly. But at least you have options. The last real date I went on was six or eight months ago. And it wasn’t even a blind date. I went willingly.” Laura shook her head. “I knew she wasn’t the one, but you have to give it at least two dates before you give up on them.” Then she smiled. “Now I’m sounding conceited. She probably didn’t like me either.”
“I told you to come to the party. There will be single women here, you know.”
“And I told you, those skinny, girlie types are not for me.”
“Claudia will be here,” Cassidy said with a wiggle of her eyebrows.
“The anorexic blonde?” Laura rolled her eyes. “God, are you dating her again?”
“No. I saw her out at lunch one day and felt obligated to invite her.”
“Why?”
“Well, she was into me a whole lot more than I was into her. She was hurt when I called things off.” Cassidy bit her lip, wondering if she should tell Laura the real reason Claudia was hurt. “She insinuated that I was only using her. For sex.”