“I think maybe you just need a little of this to set yourself right,” Jeff said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to her knees.
“You’re hurting me.” Megan was shocked. Jeff had never done anything like this. He was the typical stodgy accountant who wanted a quickie on Sunday morning before he went golfing, and that was all.
“This is what you need,” Jeff said, pulling her face to his crotch. Megan started to cry. No one had ever done anything like this to her before.
“You need to think about the choices you’re making,” Jeff said, letting her go.
“Fuck you,” Megan said.
“That’s probably what you need,” Jeff said, leaving. Megan slammed the door.
The next day a dozen yellow roses and an apology card appeared on Megan’s desk. The only purpose they served was to remind her of the nightmarish incident the night before. It was as if Jeff had suddenly been abducted by aliens and been reprogrammed. He never sent flowers and he was never violent. She was beginning to wonder if she knew him at all.
“Isn’t that sweet?” Eileen said as she fluffed them up on
Megan’s desk.
“Very nice. Can you get me one of those Priority Mail boxes we always have hanging around here.”
“Sure,” Eileen said.
When she came back, Megan was feeding the roses one by one into her paper shredder.
“Can they do that?” Eileen said, indicating the shredder.
“It appears to be doing fine,” Megan said, emptying the first of the tattered roses into the cardboard box.
Eileen left, shaking her head.
Just then Rafferty came in. “Is that any way to treat such beautiful flowers?” she asked.
Megan could tell by her attitude that Rafferty was clearly hoping to dispel the obvious tension in the room.
“It is when they’re accompanied by a restraining order and a returned engagement ring,” Megan replied, neatly taping the ring to the front of the restraining order. She had called a friend who worked in the D.A.’s office and they had sent one over with a courier service.
“Did he do that?” Rafferty asked, pointing to the purple bruise on Megan’s wrist.
“Jeff has been stalking me, including last night, and he’d been drinking, which he doesn’t usually do.”
“So he knew you were at the bar. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” Megan taped up the box. She could feel
Rafferty watching her. “Then what did he do?”
“He grabbed me and pushed my face in his crotch. He was hard, like he was getting off on it,” Megan replied, not meeting Rafferty’s gaze. She was still mortified by the whole event.
“What did you do?”
“Well, I wish I knew martial arts because I would have liked to kick his ass. Instead, I starting crying and he let me go,” Megan said, starting to cry and wishing she wasn’t. She felt so weak and helpless. These were foreign feelings to her.
“It’s all right,” Rafferty said, touching her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You know what? Let’s go away this weekend. We’ll go fishing. Do you know how to fish?”
Megan shook her head glumly. She sat down in her leather desk chair and studied her neat piles of papers. She had a lot of work to do but she didn’t want to let Rafferty down, especially when she was taking the initiative. Under any other circumstances, Megan would’ve been thrilled.
“It’s fun. Fly-fishing. I know this great lodge we can go to in
Sedona. I’ll make reservations. What do you say?”
“Okay. But I’ll need an outfit,” Megan replied. She could go shopping at lunch. She loved good clothes and now she had an excuse to shop for something outdoorsy. She was imagining something between Dr. Jane Goodall and Martha Stewart.
“We can shop at lunch,” Rafferty said, picking up the phone and dialing. “They only have one cabin left and it has a king bed. It’s the honeymoon suite,” she said to Megan.
“So?” Megan replied, as she wrote out the address to Jeff’s office, knowing he would open it there without thinking about it.
“It only has one bed,” Rafferty said, clearly flustered.
“I won’t seduce you. I promise. You gay people are completely weird sometimes.”
“We’ll take it,” Rafferty said into the phone.
When Megan and Rafferty came back from lunch with a variety of Popular Sports bags, Rafferty’s mother, Bel, was standing in the reception area talking to Eileen, the receptionist.
“My, we had a busy lunch hour,” Bel said, pointing to the shopping bags.
“Megan needed some outdoor clothes. We’re going fly-fishing this weekend,” Rafferty said.
“I see,” Bel said.
“Well, I better get back to work,” Megan said. “Here, let me help you,” Rafferty said.
“Rafferty, when you’re through there will you stop by my office, please,” Bel said.
“Sure, I’ll be right there.”
“What do you think that’s about?” Megan whispered as they brought the shopping bags to Megan’s office.
“I don’t know but I don’t think it’s good,” Rafferty replied. “Sometimes, working for your mother isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” She dropped the bags and headed back to her office.
Ten minutes later, Eileen came into Megan’s office with a stack of papers and the afternoon mail. Megan looked up from her desk. “Thank you.”
“So Bel’s not real excited about you and Rafferty going away this weekend.”
“What do you mean?”
“I overheard them talking.”
“Imagine that,” Megan said snidely.
“Bel doesn’t want Rafferty dating you because she has such a bad track record with women.”
“We’re not dating.”
“That’s what Rafferty said. Because you’re straight.”
“Don’t you have some work to do?” Megan said, studiously avoiding Eileen’s gaze. She didn’t want to give her any ammunition. They might not be dating but Megan knew that she was developing some strong feelings for Rafferty, and she didn’t want anyone to know, except Rafferty. This was going to be a tricky course, but there wasn’t a thing in the universe that Megan had pursued that she didn’t eventually get. Rafferty wasn’t going to be the exception.
Chapter Three
It was Saturday morning in Sedona and Rafferty was holding a cup of coffee under Megan’s nose.
Megan peered up at her. She still felt groggy. “Are you sure fish get up this early?” Megan said, taking the cup of coffee. She sat up and felt the early morning chill in the room. It felt good to feel cold in the desert. Sedona was north of Phoenix and the climate reflected that. Megan drew the covers up around her shoulders.
“Yes, they do. We can come back later and take a nap,” Rafferty replied.
Megan sat up and rubbed her eyes. She watched as Rafferty wandered off in search of her coffee cup. Last night they drank wine, sat by the fire and laughed about the stupidities of love. She had never felt closer to Rafferty and later they talked in bed. Megan tried to imagine it was a slumber party, but by the end, she wanted to hold Rafferty and whisper all the things she was feeling.
Rafferty had kissed her cheek and fallen promptly asleep. Megan could not help thinking that she would make the perfect girlfriend, if only . . . She was starting to ponder the politics of sexual orientation. After all, she was straight, right? Wasn’t she? Before she fell asleep she told herself that having a good friend was oftentimes better than a lover. You kept them longer. This sentiment didn’t last long.
“I think fish are completely crazy,” Megan said, getting up and putting on her hip waders. She went into the other room, where Rafferty had put the bagels they’d brought in the toaster oven. It smelled good.
“Megan, you can put them on when we get to the stream,” Rafferty said, opening a container of cream cheese.
“Hell no, I’m up and now I�
�m dressed,” Megan said. “You’re not right,” Rafferty said, laughing.
“Like that’s something new. Come on. I’m ready to catch some fish.” Megan grabbed her rod.
“You’ll need some pointers on the shoreline first.” She handed
Megan a bagel with cream cheese.
Megan peered down at her outfit. “How do I look?”
“You look good,” Rafferty said.
“No, I don’t. I look green.” She jammed her hat on. Rafferty laughed.
“Maybe when I get some fish guts on my vest and a little river spooge then I won’t look like I walked right out of the store. Look at you. You look like you’ve been to the river.”
“I have been to the river but I promise to teach you everything
I know by this afternoon,” Rafferty replied.
The spot Rafferty had chosen by the creek was sufficiently hidden from the road to afford the illusion that they were alone on the planet. Megan liked this. It felt nice to get away, far away from the city and people and talk and noise. She couldn’t help thinking that fly-fishing was the most peaceful thing in the world. Rafferty was definitely widening her horizons. It felt good to get away from work and stand in a stream in the middle of nowhere and hear nothing but birds and crickets.
Rafferty held Megan’s wrist as they stood on the bank of Oak Creek. The sun was just starting to peek through the canopy of the trees, hitting the forest floor like a patchwork quilt. Megan gave Rafferty her full attention as Rafferty demonstrated how to gently flick the fishing line out into the stream.
“Even, controlled follow-through is the key,” she said. Megan nodded.
“Now try it on your own.” Rafferty let go of her wrist and stepped back.
“All right,” Megan said, taking her first stab at launching. Megan studied the distance between her pole and the stream filled with the mythical fish she was supposed to catch. She flicked the rod. “Ouch!”
The line had wrapped itself around her. Rafferty started to laugh. The line had encased both of them like a silkworm beginning to weave a cocoon. Not to mention the fly and hook, which had firmly ensconced itself in Megan’s butt.
“Where did it go?” Megan asked, frantically looking about for the lure and then pulling at her waders that were suddenly pinching at her.
Rafferty had untangled herself from the line and was now sitting on the ground and laughing hysterically. “It’s stuck in your butt.”
“Very funny.”
“No, I’m serious.” She took her sunglasses off and wiped her eyes.
“What did I do wrong?”
“You need to watch the end of the pole,” Rafferty said, pulling her set of pliers from the front pocket of her hip waders.
“The end of the pole?”
“Yes. Where it goes the line will follow.”
“Well, I certainly didn’t want it to go up my butt,” Megan said, trying to turn around and see where the lure was located.
Rafferty laughed again.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you laugh like this,” Megan said. “I don’t know if I like being the cause, but if it makes you happy, I guess it’s not all bad.”
“Thank you. I haven’t had this much fun in ages. Come on, we’ve got to cut the line and get you out of this.”
“Please. Is it really stuck in my butt?” Megan carefully fingered the rear of her pants.
“Yes.”
“How are we going to get it out?”
“Very carefully.”Later that night, as they grilled the trout they had caught, they laughed about the hook incident again. Megan had successfully caught three trout, of which she was extremely proud. The thrill of casting out and then patiently waiting for the fish to find your lure the most promising was thoroughly exciting, but even better was the look on Rafferty’s face. She was proud of her and Megan liked how that felt.
“I knew you could do it,” Rafferty said as they cleared away the dishes.
“I had a great teacher.”
“So are you ready to do it all again tomorrow?” Rafferty asked as she started the dishwater.
“Only if we go to bed early. The crack of dawn comes much earlier than one expects.”
“We’ll go to bed early. Let’s have a hot tub, then have a piece of that berry pie you bought and then go to bed.”
“Now that sounds like a plan.” Megan stacked the rest of the dirty dishes on the counter. “Rafferty . . .”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for making me come this weekend. I’m having a really good time.”
“No problem. You make a great fishing partner.”
Megan smiled. She thought, I’d make you a great partner if you’d let me. She knew the time was coming when they’d have to have that talk and she was going to be ready. She was going to have to be if she wanted to convince Rafferty that going out with a straight woman was a good idea.
The following Monday morning, Helen Kohlrabi checked her e-mail and saw a note from Megan. She hoped it was good news. As a therapist she told herself that her daughter was a grown woman with choices, but as a mother she couldn’t help worrying about her. She sometimes thought that motherhood was the bane of good decision-making. She opened up the attachment to find a picture of Megan and Rafferty standing at the edge of a stream holding two large rainbow trout. The look on Megan’s face was one of complete and utter joy. She looked at peace with the world and so did her friend.
As a child Megan had had that look often when her father was still around, the look of a child who was still fascinated with the world. That contented look had been gone for so long that Helen had forgotten about it until this moment. She printed the picture off on photographic paper. She would stop and buy a frame for it on the way to work. She wanted to remind herself that her daughter had been happy once and that she had been an instrumental part of that happiness.
Helen thought about the day when they had gone shopping for wedding dresses. Megan tried on flowing white dresses, looking more lovely in each one, but Megan wasn’t happy. She was highly critical and at times combative and they had left the store without making a decision. Helen thought this should have been a happy time, but instead it had ended in Megan’s threatening to go to a Justice of the Peace and have the whole thing done with. Helen pleaded with her. They went to lunch and Megan apologized, attributing the entire episode to bride-to-be jitters. Now she knew better. Megan wasn’t ready to get married.
When Helen got to work she called Megan at the law firm. “I loved the photo. You look happy.”
“I was. We grilled the fish that night, had a fire outside. It was so peaceful.”
“I’m glad. Honey, have you spoken with Jeff?”
“No, and I don’t plan to speak with him. Why?”
“The printer called the other day about the wedding invitations.”
Megan laughed. “I’ll call and cancel the order. Perhaps we could have him change the wording and invite people to the not-to-be wedding. They can still have cake and Champagne. I’m sorry, Mom, but it’s better to have discovered that this wasn’t going to work out than have it end in a nasty divorce.”
“I know.”
“I’m sorry I disappointed you,” Megan said sadly.
“Sweetheart, you have never disappointed me. You’re making a decision that affects the rest of your life. If you think it’s the wrong one then I commend your courage in changing your mind. Most women would go through with it because they had told everyone that there was to be a wedding. If the time isn’t right, or the man, or your heart, it’s best left alone.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Megan said with a sigh Helen assumed was relief.
At the weekly staff meeting Megan and Rafferty had a laughing fit that Bel did not take lightly, considering they were discussing a nasty divorce case where the husband had attempted to kill his wife by lacing her dinner soup with Drano and then claiming it was an accident. It was only nine o’clock in the morning. Megan’s butt was killing her and she
kept fidgeting in her chair. She didn’t know how she was going to make it through the day. Rafferty obviously noticed and one thing led to another. After Bel thoroughly chastised them the meeting continued. They both lasted until Bel was finished and then left the boardroom in tears and giggles. Bel gave them a dirty look and left them to their private joke.
“It still hurts?” Rafferty asked, once she had stopped gasping. She wiped her eyes.
“Yes, it hurts. I’m glad you’re getting so much mileage out of my misfortune,” Megan said, rubbing her butt. She didn’t want to go to the doctor but something was definitely not right.
“Maybe you should let me look at it,” Rafferty offered.
“It’s fine.”
“I was the one who dug the hook out of you in the first place. I can look at your butt, and besides, if it’s giving you trouble then you probably have an infection.”
“I’ve tried to keep it covered and put antibiotic cream on it, but nothing is working.”
“Let’s go to the bathroom,” Rafferty said. Megan noticed she looked around furtively.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Megan said, pulling her pants down around her ankles once they were in the bathroom.
“Your shirt is kind of long. Can I lift it up?” Rafferty asked, standing behind her.
“Please, don’t be weird. I like when we’re together and we can’t be that way if you get all freaky every time we get close,” Megan said, taking a huge risk. She took Rafferty’s hand and ran it up her torso, pulling her in tight. She felt Rafferty nuzzle her neck.
“Megan . . .”
“Just stay like that for minute,” Megan said. She could feel Rafferty’s breast against her back and it made her tingle.
“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Rafferty said.
“You feel really good.”
Just then the restroom door opened and Bel walked in. “I was looking for you two.” She stopped in her tracks. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” Rafferty said. Megan could tell Rafferty was flustered. She quickly backed away from her.
“It doesn’t look like nothing,” Bel said, peering down at Megan’s ankles.
Talk of the Town Too Page 4
