Christmas All Around Us ; The Perfect Time for Love ; Playing for Keeps

by Carla Kincaid

  "First of all, I want to say I'm sorry," Stacey began.

  The words squeezed Megan's heart like a vice.

  "I'm really sorry that you didn't get into the Sero Institute. I know how important that was to you and how much not getting in must have affected you."

  Megan felt her brow begin to furrow, unclear where Stacey was heading with her comments.

  "But I don't understand why your not getting into Sero had to impact the two of us the way it did. I thought we had something... Something more than that."

  Megan felt her face contort as the hurt she'd been struggling to keep in check was pushed aside by anger.

  "You think my not wanting to see you was about me not getting into Sero?" Megan said through clenched teeth.

  Stacey just shrugged. "If it wasn't that, then what was it?" she asked.

  That's when Megan lost it. She no longer had a desire to maintain her composure. She was no longer wrestling with confronting this woman who'd hurt her. Megan was now prepared to stand up for herself and tell Stacey exactly what she felt!

  "I saw you!" she yelled. "I saw you and Trish at the theatre. I saw the two of you kissing!"

  Megan wanted to stay angry but as soon as she said those words out loud her pain burst to the surface and she started to cry.

  "How could you do that to me?" Megan moaned.

  Stacey got up like she wanted to rush over and comfort Megan but she stopped herself, sat back down on the couch and lowered her eyes to the floor.

  "Megan, I'm so sorry you saw that," she began. "And I understand why it made you so upset but you've got to believe me -- I didn't kiss Trish, she kissed me."

  Megan's eyes met Stacey's with an icy glare.

  "Isn't that the kind of thing people say when they get caught cheating?" she asked.

  Stacey let out a long sigh. "Yes," she admitted. "But it's true."

  Stacey took another breath before she continued. "Megan, you've got to believe me when I tell you I never wanted anything to happen between me and Trish. The thought never even cross my mind. But," she continued in a voice filled with sadness. "I did get caught up in all the attention Trish was showing me. I was flattered that the star of the show thought I was talented and wanted to spend time with me." Stacey shook her head. "I was so silly and I realized a little too late that it was all a part of her plan."

  "What do you mean, her plan? Megan asked unable to resist her own curiosity.

  Stacey let out a long sigh. "Trish offered me a chance to perform the show -- if I was willing to come to her place to..." Stacey shook her head. "To do more than rehearse."

  Megan blinked rapidly as she processed what Stacey was saying. "But you didn't go?" Megan said feeling a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. After all, she knew how much Stacey wanted to perform on Broadway and passing up that opportunity was no small matter.

  "No. I didn't go," Stacey said. "Being on Broadway is something I really want -- but not that way. Not in a way that was going to compromise my integrity." Stacey paused and looked Megan in the eyes. "Or put a relationship I value in jeopardy."

  Megan sat quietly for a moment letting everything Stacey'd just said sink in.

  "I should have told you what I saw," Megan said softly. "But I was already so upset about not getting into Sero that I just couldn't think straight. And seeing you with Trish..."

  "Made you think of what happened with Renee," Stacey said finishing Megan's thought.

  Stacey got up from the couch, moved to the piano bench and sat down next to Megan. Suddenly Megan's mind flashed back to the first time the two women were in this position. The first time they'd kissed. The first night they'd made love.

  "Megan, I know you were hurt by what you saw," Stacey said. "And I understand now why you probably never wanted to speak to me again. But I need you to know that I'd never do anything to hurt you and if you give me another chance I promise I'll do my best to prove that to you every day!"

  "I'm sorry for overreacting," Megan said in reply. "I should have known better. Stacey you've never been anything but supportive of me and my dreams and I was crazy to think that had changed."

  Megan felt a wave of relief wash over her as she looked into Stacey's eyes once again able to allow her heart to feel all the love she had for the woman sitting beside her.

  "So does this mean you're still moving in with me," Stacey asked timidly.

  Instead of answering with words, Megan inched forward and pressed her lips to Stacey's in a kiss. You bet I am, she thought as she wrapped her arms around the woman she loved.

  Epilogue

  "That was good, Megan. Very good!" Adrik Baranov said clapping his hands together. "I'm really pleased with your progress over the past few months and I think you're ready for a recital to showcase your talent."

  Megan beamed under the compliments of her new mentor but she wasn't as sure as he was about a public performance.

  "Do you really think I'm ready?" she asked timidly. Megan knew that a recital sponsored by Adrik Baranov would be attended by every important figure in the New York classical world and the thought of it was a little unnerving.

  "Of course, you're ready!" Helen Baranov, Adrik's wife, said as she walked into the room.

  The silence from the piano was her cue that Megan's weekly Wednesday night tutoring session was over and she usually came baring snacks for Megan and her husband.

  "It's time for the rest of the city to enjoy what I've had the pleasure of listening to every Wednesday," she said with a bright smile."

  "There you have it, Megan. If my wife says you're ready, then you're ready!" Adrian said with a laugh as he put his arm around his wife's shoulders.

  Megan smiled at the couple. She loved seeing the two of them together. They were so supportive of each other's careers. Helen, a retired ballerina, was now a choreographer with the New York Ballet. Both of them were well respected in their professions and it was obvious they championed each other's careers. It was the kind of partnership Megan both admired and wanted to emulate.

  Megan, are you staying for dinner?" Helen asked.

  Megan could smell something wonderful coming from the kitchen. Helen was an incredible cook and was always introducing Megan to some new Russian delicacy. But tonight, Megan had other plans. Plans she couldn't miss or be late for, she thought as she looked at the time on her cell phone. She still had to stop and buy a bouquet of flowers before she made it to her designation.

  "No, Ma'am," she said apologetically. "But count me in next week!" Megan said as she buttoned up her heavy winter coat. She wrapped her scarf around her neck and pulled her hat snugly over her ears in preparation for the winter cold she was about to face outside.

  ***

  "Ten minutes 'til places!" a familiar voice called out over the intercom.

  "Thank you, ten!" Stacey answered back as Anna zipped up her dress.

  "Break a leg," the friendly dresser said as she gave Stacey a wink.

  The hallway was filled with people offering Stacey the same greeting as she made her way down the stairs and out to the stage left wings. She could hardly believe it. Her first performance on Broadway, she thought taking a deep breath.

  Stacey wasn't surprised when she found out that Trish was cast in the television show she'd auditioned for but what did surprise her was finding out the producers wanted her to come back as the standby for Trish's replacement. The previous standby had moved on to another show and when the producers asked Stacey to come back to The Open Window they did so adding a perk. This time, Stacey was guaranteed one performance a week until the end of the run.

  "Ladies and Gentlemen, we're at places! Places, please!"

  Stacey followed the voice's instruction and headed to stage. Just before taking her place she peeked between a gap in the curtains and looked out into the house. She didn't have to search for who she was looking for, she knew exactly where they'd be sitting. She smiled as she saw Bill, Lori, Tony and of course, Megan smiling and la
ughing with each other as they pointed to the special insert in their programs with Stacey's bio on it. The house lights dimmed and a voice came over the loud speaker.

  "Ladies and Gentleman, tonight the role of Rachel will be played by Stacey Taylor."

  Stacey could no longer see her friends but she could hear them whooping at the mention of her name. It was just the kind of send-off she needed as she stepped on stage to perform her first Broadway show!

  The End

  Playing For Keeps

  Chapter 1

  Wisps of Kate Warner's shoulder length blonde hair freed themselves from her loose ponytail and slashed across her face as she gunned the engine of her family's vintage -- ie. old -- pickup truck up the mountain pass toward the only place she'd ever called home -- Hersh Falls, North Carolina -- a small town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains along the North Carolina, Tennessee border.

  Hersh Falls was a favorite spot for families in the lowlands to spend their summers hiking and fishing and in general pretending to be mountain people. Only forty-five minutes from Charlotte, Hersh Falls gave city dwellers a taste of life in the wilderness without the effort required to actually tame anything wild or get their hands too dirty. For Kate Warner, it was the little slice of heaven she called home.

  Kate knew the mountain pass she was driving like the back of her hand. If she wanted to she could drive much faster than the cautious 40 miles an hour she was traveling. But Kate had a respect for the mountain -- etched in childhood pain -- and never pushed too far above the posted speed limit.

  "And we'll never be royals!" Kate sang out into the warm Summer air. "It don't run in our blood. That kind of lux just ain't for us!" Her voice flowed out the open windows, bounced off the mountainside to her left and flowed down the steep valley slope to her right.

  The CD player laying on the seat beside her was turned up to full volume as Kate belted out her favorite pop tune. The ancient piece of stereo equipment was attached to an equally ancient truck radio with one of those cheap cassette tape adapters that allowed the music from the CD player to play through the truck's speaker system.

  Whenever Dana -- Kate's fourteen-year-old daughter -- got into the truck she just shook her head at her mother's version of technology. But Dana knew better than to complain about the vehicle or it's jerry-rigged stereo system. The truck -- and the song playing on the CD -- had deep sentimental meaning for Kate and after all the losses she'd suffered, sentiment was more valuable than gold.

  "We're driving Cadillacs in our dreams!" Kate sang out -- along with Lorde -- as she drummed her hands on the steering wheel in time with the song.

  She pressed her foot to the accelerator and the behemoth vehicle chugged up the hill taking the mountain turns with more ease than she imagined a Cadillac ever could. There were plenty of road signs to warn unfamiliar drivers about the twists and turns along this stretch of road but Betsy -- Kate's father's affectionate name for their truck -- was as old as Kate and both of them knew how to respectfully take the curves in the road at a speed just high enough to outrun the memories that always chased Kate along this particular stretch of the road home.

  Suddenly, as if in response to Kate's vocal declaration about another mode of transportation, Betsy started to shimmy.

  "Come on old girl, we're almost home. You can do it!" Kate coaxed. But even as she pressed more firmly on the gas pedal Betsy began to decelerate -- letting out a loud whine as Kate tried to push the car into a higher gear.

  "No, Betsy. Not now. Not here." Kate begged as if she was talking to an old friend, but Betsy didn't respond to her plea.

  Before she totally lost speed, Kate steered the truck off the smooth road and onto the gravel bordering it. Rocks and dust flew into the air as Betsy slowed to an inconvenient halt. Kate pressed the stop button on the CD player -- silencing Lorde -- and let her head fall to her chest. With the cab now quiet all Kate could hear in her mind was her mechanic Steve's voice.

  "Look, Kate. I know money is tight for you and your dad right now, but I'm telling you that transmission is gonna give out real soon. You're not going to be able to keep making those trips down to the farmer's market in Charlotte every week. Betsy's got more than 300,000 miles on her and it's time to let her rest."

  Kate hadn't exactly ignored her trusted mechanic's warning. She knew the thirty-year-old truck was way past her prime and it was getting to the point where pumping money into the fixes Betsy required just didn't make sense. But the real reason Kate hadn't started looking for a new truck just yet didn't have anything to do with her current financial situation. Betsy housed some of Kate's favorite family memories and there was a part of her that was afraid if she got rid of the truck the memories might vanish too.

  Kate let out a long sigh, opened the cab door and jumped down to the dusty ground below. When she closed the driver's side door she brushed her hand over the advertising letters painted on the side of the truck.

  WARNER LANDSCAPING.

  Under the letters, there was a silhouette of a family of three. A father and mother each flanked a small child who's arms were stretched upward holding both of her parent's hands. Kate felt something mixed with joy and pain as she looked at the logo image. Back then the Warner family had been perfect -- or at least it seemed perfect in Kate's five-year-old mind.

  The silhouetted figures brought back memories of playing in the mud while her parents -- the owner's of Warner Landscaping -- worked in the yards in and around Hersh Falls. Images of Kate's parents -- hands, clothes and faces streaked with dirt but still sharing bright smiles with each other -- flashed through Kate's mind and joined the ones of picnic lunches in the back of the truck and the smell of rows and rows of beautiful flowers that made the yards managed by Warner Landscaping come alive like brightly colored paintings. But that beautiful picture changed one night when Kate was six.

  Kate felt her jaw tense as she walked to the front of the truck -- purposefully keeping her eyes from looking just up the road. She didn't have to look. She knew the spot where Betsy had chosen to give up the ghost was close enough to where the little white wooden cross had lived for most of Kate's youth.

  From the passenger seat -- before she was old enough to drive Betsy herself -- she always squeezed her eyes shut when her father drove past the ominous marker. Now -- more than 20 years later -- the cross was long gone but the memory still caused Kate to avert her eyes when she neared that part of the road.

  "Of all places to break down," she mumbled as she lightly kicked Betsy's front tire. "Why here? Why now?"

  ❤️❤️❤️

  The sports announcers voice road across the wind as the tiny convertible sports car zoomed up the mountain road.

  "In this critical matchup between the two top National Fast Pitch teams, it looks like the Chicago Bandits are going to pull it off. Hanson, their strongest pitcher is smoking it over the plate at 65 miles per hour and they only need one more..."

  Suddenly the announcer's voice drifted across the wind and was replaced with garbled static sounds and then silence.

  "Damn it!" Joy shouted as she hit the dashboard of her rental car as if that would somehow bring the radio signal back.

  Big mistake. As soon as her hand made contact with the leather interior a piercing jolt shot through the length of her arm leaving a throbbing shadow of pain from her shoulder to the tip of her fingers.

  "Damn it!" she exclaimed again, this time wincing and clenching her teeth.

  All she wanted to do was distract herself for the last hour of her drive but clearly, that wasn't going to happen. Joy made tiny circles in the air with her elbow in an attempt to sooth the worst of the pain in her shoulder.