Chapter Fourteen

The next morning Anne was sitting in the booth waiting for the show to start. She didn’t feel social so she pretended to be working.

She was really waiting for Hilton to show up so she could talk to her about last night. She kept replaying her gross error. She should have kissed Hilton. They should have been holding each other and waking up in a tangle of covers. Instead, she woke up alone and regretted her lost chance.

At ten minutes to the top of the hour Hilton showed.

Apparently she’d called Dave and gotten the Web site up and running via her home network. Anne had always been in awe of Hilton’s computer skills, but today they were not working in her favor. She couldn’t decide if Hilton had had a messed-up morning or if she was making a point to avoid her. She had a feeling it was the latter. She called the control room and asked Hilton to come in. Anne could tell she was angry and hurt.

“I am so sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to do that. I 163

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botched it big-time and I know that,” Anne blathered as Hilton stood there cold as a stone. This was going to take more than an apology and more than six-and-a-half minutes.

“It’s fine,” Hilton said. She ran her finger along the corner of Anne’s desk, clearly unwilling to look at her.

“That wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.”

“It’s fine. Perfectly understandable,” Hilton said matter-of-factly. She looked at the clock.

“I know. Can we talk later?”

“I’d better go check on my computer.”

Anne knew she should probably wrap Hilton up in her arms, kiss her and profusely exclaim her love and desire. Then take the rest of the day off. Instead, Dave tapped on the window and pointed at the clock.

“I know, I know,” Anne said.

“I gotta go,” Hilton said.

The show was like living in purgatory. Hilton was sullen and nothing Anne did could make her smile. It was the longest show in Anne’s life. Finally it was over and Anne came racing out of the studio. She looked at Dave. “Where is she?”

“She bailed. She put the Web site on some kind of auto-pilot. Is something going on?” He ran his fingers through his hair and looked nervous.

“Everything’s fine,” Anne said. She took off for the parking garage but Hilton’s pea-green Bug was gone. Anne dialed her cell phone and got no answer. She’d go to the house and prostrate herself on the front lawn and beg for forgiveness.

Liz was just getting ready to leave for class when Anne pulled up at twelve-thirty. “Hey, what’s up?” She slung her bookbag in the passenger seat of her beat-up black Toyota truck.

“I’m trying to find Hilton. She’s gone missing after last night’s faux pas.”

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“What happened? I mean, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No, I need to. I need some advice. I’m really out of my league here.”

“We all are in the beginning,” Liz said. Her face echoed her concern. “It’ll all work itself out.”

“I don’t know. Hilton is pretty hurt and angry with me.” She shoved her hands in the pockets of her suede jacket.

“Let’s go sit on the stoop and you tell me what happened.”

“Do you have time?”

“I’ll make time. Come on,” Liz took Anne’s hand and led her to the porch. It was a rare blue-sky day and it was brisk. They sat on the steps.

“Well, you know that moment when you think everybody is going to kiss and the romance starts …” She picked up a fallen leaf and twirled the stem between her fingers.

“Yes.”

“We were talking and then it was that time and I freaked.”

“What did you do when you freaked?”

“I was about to kiss her and then I got up and left, rather abruptly.” Anne looked up from the leaf and met Liz’s gaze.

“Like she had her eyes closed and puckering?”

“Kind of like that.” She ran her hand across her forehead and squeezed her temples. “I truly fucked up. This is horrible.”

“No, it’s not that bad. It’s not good, but it can be repaired.” Liz put her arm around Anne’s shoulders.

“How do you know that?”

“Because Hilton is madly in love with you and when she gets through licking her wounds, she’ll be back around.”

“But I snubbed her.”

“Yes, but once she figures out it was nerves and not denial she’ll come running. Trust me.”

“How’s she going to figure that out if she won’t talk to me?”

“I’ll make sure she does.”

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“Really?” Anne didn’t feel so confident.

“Hilton doesn’t give her heart lightly. How she feels about you isn’t going to fade in an afternoon.”

Anne nodded. “I’m going to go home, stay calm and wait.” She said this more to herself than to Liz.

“Very good idea.”

Anne didn’t burst into tears until she got into the house. After an hour she made herself a drink, a nice stiff gin and tonic, lay on the couch and waited. Waited for the phone to ring, a knock on the door, a message from above. She finally fell asleep convinced her love affair was over before it had ever really begun.

Hilton sat in the parking lot of the local McDonald’s feeding Shannon french fries and sipping black coffee. She was cold to her very core. They’d spent the afternoon at the beach. They were the only ones there. A cold Thursday afternoon in December was not prime beach-going time. Shannon chased gulls and Hilton watched the cold, gray waves come rolling into the equally gray shoreline. The only change in color was the frothy, white line of the surf as it met the sand. Shannon had devoured two cheeseburgers and was hungrily munching the french fries. It was nearly six-thirty and she decided it was safe to go home. She didn’t want to face Anne and she figured by now she’d long given up on her coming over and making amends. She’d had an entire afternoon to ruminate and it hadn’t lessened how she felt.

The house was dark when she pulled in. She was hoping that Liz and Jessie were both out with their respective new partners.

She and Shannon slipped quietly around back to the cottage, which was dark as well. “I think we’re in the clear,” Hilton told Shannon. She opened the door and stepped on something kind of hard, but squishy, and the something screamed. She flipped on the light. Jessie was lying on the floor.

“I think you crushed an internal organ or something,” Jessie said. She was holding her stomach.

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Hilton switched on the Tiffany lamp by the bed and then turned off the overhead light. She hated that light. It was too bright and made the whole cottage seem rather garish. “What are you doing on the floor?”

Jessie grabbed her wrist and slapped on a pair of handcuffs and then clicked them into a brass ring attached to the side of the bed.

It happened so fast she didn’t have time to react. She just stood there stunned. She went to pull away and tripped on the heavy drill Jessie had left on the floor, stubbing her toe.

“Watch out for the drill,” Jessie warned.

“It’s a little late for that,” she said, wincing. “What the hell are you doing? And look what you did to my bed.” She pointed to the brass ring bolted into the side of her waterbed.

“It was great improvisation. Look, it’s an old sash holder I found in the shed.” She pulled Hilton’s arm. “See, it works great.”

“But why am I being held hostage?” Hilton sat down on the bed as that seemed the only way she could be somewhat comfortable. Standing there with her arm attached to her bed was hurting her lower back.

“In a minute,” Jessie said. She dialed her cell phone. “Mission accomplished.”

Liz came out immediately.

“What? Were you guarding the house?” Hilton asked.

“Yes,” Liz confessed. She noted the handcuffs. “Jessie, what have you done?”

“You told me to make sure I kept her here. So that’s what I did.”

“Jessie, I think your measures might be just a little over the top.” Liz sat on the bed next to Hilton. Shannon apparently decided it was all too much for her and she went to her bed in the corner of the room, letting out a heavy sigh.

“What exactly are you two up to?” Hilton asked. She took off her shoe and sock and examined her big toe, the one she stubbed on the drill.

“It’s called an intervention. We’re trying to save you from yourself,” Jessie said.

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“What’s wrong with your toe?” Liz asked, peering down at it.

“I tripped over the drill Jessie left lying around.”

Liz frowned at Jessie. “It was an accident,” Jessie said defensively.

“Hilton, Anne is madly in love with you. She freaked and, frankly, considering she’s switching sides, you could have been a little more supportive instead of acting like the demure, passive woman you imagine yourself to be,” Liz said.

“That was brutal,” Jessie said to Liz.

“No, it’s honest.”

“You really should have jumped her bones. What’s with this playing Cinderella crap and waiting to be kissed. Where are the huevos rancheros, baby?”

Hilton got up to leave and was snapped back into place.

“See, I told you we’d need restraints,” Jessie said.

“Hilton, calm down,” Liz said.

Hilton sat back down. “She really told you that she loves me?”

“Yes, she came by looking for you and she was extremely upset.

We had a talk. It’s not about denial. She was scared.”

“I see. It’s all so weird. I thought we were on the same page and then bam—she bails. What was I supposed to think?”

“Love is always whacked like that, but running off and not letting her explain, that’s kind of harsh,” Jessie said. She went to the beer fridge. “You got any beer in here? I’m feeling a little jangled.

I’ve gone from sound asleep to having my organs stepped on to the fucking Spanish Inquisition.”

“Can I have one?” Hilton asked. She was sort of feeling the same way.

“Come and get it,” Jessie said holding up a bottle of Rolling Rock.

“Jessie, that’s mean,” Liz reprimanded.

“I’m thinking being handcuffed to my bed has got to be a violation of my civil rights,” Hilton said.

“Jessie, unlock her.”

Jessie handed Hilton her beer. “Not until we get the correct response out of her.”

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“Which is?” Hilton asked. She tried to get the bottle cap off the beer but it was proving difficult with one hand cuffed.

“Here, let me,” Liz offered. She opened the bottle and handed it back to Hilton.

“The correct response is you’re going to tell Anne how you feel and apologize for being such a crass asshole and then you’re going to live happily ever after,” Jessie said.

“But now it’s all weird. Can’t I just kiss her instead?”

“That’ll probably do it,” Liz said.

“The only thing that concerns me is what if after a couple of months she decides this gay thing isn’t really her scene?” Hilton had sat on the beach all day studying all sides of this wily conun-drum that loving Anne had proposed.

“Hilton, how many hasbians do you know?” Liz asked dryly.

Jessie lay back on the bed and rubbed her stomach. “I’m hungry.”

“None.” Hilton thought back to all the conversions she’d ever known and not one of those women had ever gone back to men. It was like once they made that leap they lived happily ever after in Homoslavia even if they didn’t stay with the first woman who kissed them. Surely that counted for something.

“Can we get a pizza?” Jessie asked.

“Is that all you ever think about?” Liz reprimanded.

“Yes. Well, I mean I can have sympathetic moments, but Hilton really did botch this one up.”

“Jessie!” Liz reprimanded.

“No, she’s right. It is my fault,” Hilton said woefully.

“Hilton, don’t give up on love. It’s a nice thing. I almost did that and it would have been a tragic error,” Liz said.

“I won’t. I promise. Let’s get a pizza and drink some beer. I’ll go see her in the morning.” Hilton put her beer down and pulled the cell phone from her pocket. “I could dial a lot faster if I had my good hand.”

Jessie unlocked the handcuffs. Hilton ordered two large pepperoni pizzas.

“Happy now?”

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“Happy, very happy.” Jessie reached over and kissed her on the cheek. “We really need to appreciate this time because our lives are really going to start changing with the introduction of new people and new commitments that we’ve not known before.”

Hilton and Liz broke out in mad fits of laughter.

“What?” Jessie said.

“It’s like you’re possessed,” Hilton said. She pinned Jessie to the bed and sat on her chest. “Jessie, are you in there. Come back, Jessie. I think the aliens have abducted her.”

“What are you talking about?” Jessie asked. She tried to wrestle free but Hilton was stronger.

“You almost sounded like a grownup. It was pretty scary,” Liz said.

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Date: 2015-04-20; view: 666