Sumter Point

by K. G. MacGregor

  “Looks like I’m going to be a homeowner soon, at least for a little while.”

  “A little while?”

  “Yeah, Grammaw said if I didn’t want all the responsibility, I should sell it while the prices are up. Then I can get an apartment or something.”

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Sometimes I wish I had bought a house instead of a condo. I miss having a yard. And sharing a wall with people isn’t very private.”

  “Yeah, that’s the down side. I’m just not sure I want the hassle of taking care of everything. It’s a lot more responsibility than I want to bite off right now, what with Grammaw sick and Oscar pushing me to take that new job I told you about.”

  “Oscar’s your boss?”

  “Yeah, he’s the director at the shelter. Our board wants us to go to no-kill status, which means we keep every single animal that’s fit to be somebody’s pet until we find them a home. We all want to go that route, but we’ll need to ramp up our programs to get people to adopt. Oscar wants me to take an outreach job, because I’m pretty good at talking people into taking animals home.”

  “I bet all your friends have a shelter pet, right?”

  “No, I’m better than that. Most of my friends have two or three shelter pets.”

  “Uh-oh, something tells me I’m in trouble talking to you about this.”

  “I don’t know about trouble, but you’re at the top of my list when the next litter of kittens comes through the door.” She gave Beth a satisfied grin. “And that will probably be tomorrow, so you might as well go home and get ready.”

  “You sure don’t waste any time.”

  “Hey, you’re the one that brought it up.”

  “So I did.” Beth took the Frisbee from Audie’s hand and gave it a feeble toss to Buster. “It sounds like you’d be good at a job like that. Are you going to take it?”

  “I’m thinking about it. I could use the extra money if I keep the house and all. Like I said, I just wish everything wasn’t happening all at the same time.”

  “You look like you’re handling it all pretty well.”

  “My friends drag me out so I won’t stay home and feel sorry for myself. You ever go the Gallery?”

  “What’s the Gallery?”

  Audie couldn’t believe her ears. “What kind of self-respecting lesbian doesn’t know about the Gallery? It’s a bar and dance club.”

  “Sorry, bars aren’t my thing. I guess I didn’t get the partying gene like some of us did.” The mischievous smile she threw in at the last second saved her from Audie’s usual defensive retort.

  “What do you like about it?”

  “It’s a fun atmosphere. Most of time, it’s just a bunch of shameless guys looking to trick.”

  “If that was supposed to be a selling point, you lost me.”

  Audie chuckled. “Really, it’s fun. They have drag shows and karaoke contests. And Friday is Ladies Night, which means more girls are there, but some of the guys dress in drag so they can get in for five bucks too.” She saw the corners of Beth’s mouth turn up.

  “Admit it. That sounds like fun.”

  Beth gave her what looked like a grudging nod. “Who do you usually go with?”

  “Mostly my friend Dennis. Sometimes Joel and Dwayne.”

  “You don’t have any… girl friends? I don’t mean like… girlfriends. I mean… you know what I mean.”

  Beth’s question caught her off-guard. She was surprisingly embarrassed, not wanting to admit the truth, that girlfriends to her were only fuck-buddies. “I know most of the girls there.”

  “But there’s no one you’re close to?”

  “Some more than others. Nobody in particular.” She knew she was being cryptic, but for some reason, confessing her sexual habits to Beth was as hard as talking to her Grammaw. Her usual strategy when things got too personal was to change the subject. “I really can’t believe you’ve never even heard of the Gallery.”

  “Sometimes I feel like I’ve lived my whole life inside a bubble. I’ve never been much of a drinker, and at the risk of sounding like my parents, I’m not all that crazy about loud music either. You go in a place like that and you can’t even talk to anybody.”

  “It does have a certain deleterious effect on conversation.” For Audie, that was part of the appeal.

  “Deleterious?” Beth scoffed. “Where did you get such a big word?”

  Audie grinned. “I just threw that in to show off. You forget that Grammaw was a librarian. She made me learn a new word every week. I’m surprised she hasn’t started on you too.”

  “I bet I could get you to take my nursing boards for me.”

  “That’s next month, right?”

  “October fifth. Two weeks from today.”

  “I’m sure you’ll do great.”

  “If I don’t, it won’t be because I didn’t put the time in. I feel like it’s all I’ve done for the last year.”

  Buster suddenly took off, prompting Audie to sprint down the trail in pursuit. She cut through the woods at a turn in the trail, grabbing him by the collar before he snagged his prey, a furious brown squirrel. “No!”

  “I bet he’s a real prince around cats,” Beth said.

  “He’s all right once he gets the introductions over with.” Audie clipped the leash into place. “He just hadn’t met that particular squirrel yet.”

  The trail’s end was just ahead, a bluff overlooking the river.

  Already, several clusters of people were staking out their space to watch the sunset.

  “Want to find a spot?” Audie hoped she would say yes, but she had caught Beth looking at her watch earlier.

  “God, I can’t remember the last time I stopped long enough to watch a sunset.”

  “Sounds like you’re overdue then.” She tugged Buster’s leash and led the way to a grassy perch. “I try to come out here at least once a week. Sumter Point’s one of my favorite places.”

  “It’s beautiful. I was out here once with Shelby, but she wouldn’t sit down because she was afraid of getting her pants dirty.”

  “She would have loved Buster.” Audie scratched his head as he settled down. “It’s prettier when there are a few clouds.”

  “I have a view off my balcony, but it’s nothing like this. There’s something pristine about a sunset where all you can see is water and trees.”

  “So if you like it so much, why you don’t get out here more often?”

  “I’ve just been busy with class. I’m supposed to be reading two chapters tonight for my class tomorrow night. I was going to do it today but I got called in.”

  They watched in silence as the sun disappeared behind the rolling hills. As it grew darker, the familiar, pungent odor of marijuana smoke drifted to where they sat. Without even realizing it, Audie closed her eyes and inhaled the scent.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Beth asked.

  “Mmmm… probably.”

  “People just… smoke that in public?”

  “Not just anywhere. But you can’t really see who it is.”

  Beth looked around the bluff with a scowl. “When you’re a nurse, you don’t think about people using drugs just to get high. Drugs are for saving lives and fighting pain.”

  Audie bit her tongue to keep from pointing out the virtues of marijuana. “I guess you haven’t been around pot all that much.”

  “Maybe once or twice back in high school, but not since.”

  “Have you ever gotten high?”

  Beth snorted. “You’re kidding, right?”

  Come to think of it, it was pretty farfetched to imagine Kelly Hester’s big sister toking on a weed. “I just wondered.”

  “I never quite understood the appeal. Why would people want to do something that makes them feel out of control?”

  “It’s not out of control. It’s…” Audie suddenly realized what she was admitting, but it was too late to stop now. “Sometimes it’s nice to feel relaxed.”

  “I take it yo
u smoke marijuana sometimes?”

  Audie nodded, trying to appear casual. “Once in a while.”

  Practically every night was more like it. In fact, if she had been here on her own, she would have searched out the source of that smell.

  “Kelly had some trouble once back in high school, but I think she learned her lesson.”

  Audie recalled sharing a bong with Kelly and a couple of her friends at a party, but she knew better than to volunteer the memory. It was clear that Beth wasn’t comfortable at all with the idea. Time to change the subject again. She stood and held out her hand to help Beth to her feet, gesturing at the pink sky. “Was it worth it?”

  “Sure was. I need to make time for this.”

  “Like I said, I try to come at least once a week. You’re welcome to join us whenever.”

  “Thanks. I might take you up on that.” They started down the path toward the parking lot.

  Audie was surprised to hear herself invite Beth along for future walks. This ritual was usually a quiet time for her to work out important decisions or just relax and enjoy the solitude. But she liked the idea of sharing this walk with Beth and getting to know her better. They connected pretty well, better in some ways than she and Dennis did. Of course, she was a different person with Beth than she was with Dennis. She doubted Beth would have much use for the partying and pot smoking she shared with some of her other friends. Beth was more like Joel and Dwayne, mature and responsible. But that didn’t mean Joel and Dwayne weren’t fun.

  “What kind of class are you taking?”

  “Geriatric care management. It’s my last class and I thought it was going to be _ breeze, but the woman who’s teaching it buries us in work every _.___

  “You just go once a week?” She smiled to see Buster ___᠀_ഀ਍Beth’s hand for a pat, which she delivered.

  “Seven to ten _. Tuesdays. Can’t you tell by the bags under my eyes on Wednesday ___᠀ÿ䔀_

  “I noticed those, but I figured you were up late doing _¶_Y᠀ÿ㠪_ÿ_ഀਊelse… maybe something a little more fun.” Audie enjoyed __ blush that crept up Beth’s neck.

  “If that was a dig _Ð me for commenting on your alcohol breath, it was pretty cheap.” Beth __ÿ᠀‘her tongue in her cheek. “And way off base.”

  Audie threw _ê_†head back and laughed. “So no late nights fooling around and __†drinking or loud music. What does that leave?”

  “I go to _____ sometimes,” she said, sounding almost defensive.

  “But I guess I’m basically _ homebody.”

  “Then that makes me an away-from-homebody.”

  “Are ___ out every night?”

  “Not every night, but four or five nights _ week. If I’m not at the Gallery, I’m usually at a friend’s _8__ or something. Or at somebody’s party.”

  “It wears me out just __†hear about it.”

  “You should come out with us one night. I guarantee you’d have fun.”

  They had reached the parking lot and Buster began tugging toward the Xterra.

  “Thanks for asking me along on your walk.”

  It was hard not to notice that Beth had simply ignored her invitation, but she wasn’t going to give up so easily. “I’m glad you came. Buster likes you, so you can come again whenever you like.”

  “I passed the Buster test, eh?”

  “Don’t knock it. Animals see things about people that the rest of us can’t see.” She opened the driver’s door and the dog jumped inside, trying out every seat until he settled for shotgun. “I mean it about coming out with us. We don’t do anything fancy, just a few drinks and laughs. And somebody always stays sober to drive home.”

  “Maybe after my boards.”

  “We’ll celebrate.”

  “I’ll definitely be ready to drink to that.”

  Beth stretched to grab the portable phone, which she always brought with her when she soaked in the tub. “Hello.”

  “My long lost friend!”

  “Ginger! God, I was wondering if I was ever going to hear from you again.”

  “Yes, I’ve come up for air.”

  “I’m not sure I want to know what that means.”

  “It means I wish I’d met Mallory about ten years ago. I would never have given Tonya a second look.”

  “But then you would never have met me.”

  “I knew there had to be a cosmic master plan for all that suffering. Where were you all day?”

  “I worked for Glenda. But she’s working for me on Saturday.”

  “Good! You can have lunch with me. Mallory has to work eight to four.”

  “Where can we go that serves second bananas?”

  “Funny, Beth. When you meet somebody and drop me like yesterday’s horoscope, I’ll be sure to pout too.”

  “Oh, stop. I’m not pouting. I just missed you is all.”

  “I’ve missed you too. What have you been up to?”

  “Studying my tail off.”

  “See? You haven’t even had time to miss me. But now it’s time for you to take a break, woman.”

  “I’m having a break right now. I’m warm and naked… and wet.” Beth rolled her eyes, not believing those words had come out of her mouth.

  “I know you. That means you’re in the tub. You need some real action.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like come with Mallory and me on Friday night to Nashville. It’s Ladies Night at a dance club called the Gallery.”

  What were the chances two people who didn’t even know each other would make an invitation like that on the same day? Freaky.

  Or maybe it was that cosmic master plan. Either way, if she went to a place like the Gallery, she didn’t want to go as a third wheel. “It so happens you’re the second person today to invite me to the Gallery.”

  “Who was the first?”

  “Audie Pippin. We took a walk out to Sumter Point today and talked about a bunch of stuff. She mentioned that she goes there a lot.”

  “Audie… the hot chick you called a baby dyke?”

  “I did not call her a baby dyke. I said she still looked like a teenager, and she does. Besides, it wasn’t like she was asking me out or anything like that. She just offered to have me come along with her and her friends.”

  “So are you going?”

  “No.” Beth almost laughed aloud at Ginger’s dramatic sigh.

  “You know how much I hate bars.”

  “When have you ever been in one?”

  “I went to that one with you in Atlanta.”

  “That was a pool hall. The Gallery is a dance club. And Ladies Night means you might even get lucky.”

  “Yeah, right! Audie says half the women are really drag queens. My luck I’d go home with one of them.”

  “You could always go with a date, you know. If you don’t want to go with Audie, Mallory has a few friends who are—”

  “Hold it, Ginger.” Beth sat up in the tub, her relaxed mood crumbling. “I really am happy you’ve found something special with Mallory. You believe that, don’t you?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then believe this too, because I really mean it. I’m not the least bit interested in meeting anybody right now. I’ve got too much on my plate to worry about somebody else.”

  “So if that’s the case, what’s with you and Audie Pippin?”

  “Nothing.”

  “But you’re out strolling with her down by the river.”

  “Yes, but that was sort of spontaneous. We were walking out of the nursing home together and she said she was going and asked me if I wanted to go too.” She pulled the plug on the tub and began to wipe the soap film from the sides as it drained.

  “And then she asked you to come to the Gallery.”

  “Yes, but that doesn’t mean—”

  “You may not think it means anything, but it sounds to me like Audie might be interested.”

  For reasons she couldn’t imagine, Beth broke into an embarrassed grin. “That’s just… abs
urd. We’re not even from the same planet.”

  “Why is it so absurd? If you were interested in someone, wouldn’t you ask her to do things with you? What did you guys talk about?”

  “We always talk about—” Beth started to say Audie’s grandmother, but she realized they hadn’t discussed Miss Violet at all today. “Today, we talked about dogs and houses and jobs… nothing too personal.” But then she related the secondhand story about Shelby.

  “If you two talked about Shelby, I’d call that personal.”

  “No, Shelby’s name only came up because Audie asked about Diva. She works at the animal shelter, you know.”

  “What I know is that you’re either not paying attention or you’re holding out on your best friend.”

  “I am not holding out! There’s nothing to hold out. Audie seems like a nice person and I’ll admit she’s hot to look at. But she’s also a party animal and she probably thinks I’m an old maid.”

  “You’re not that much older.”

  “It’s not just our age, Ginger. Nine years isn’t all that much. But we’re at totally different places in our lives. I’m thinking about my next career move and she’s thinking about her next drink.”

  “Would you go out with her if she asked you?”

  “She would never ask me. I’m nowhere near her type.” Beth shivered as she climbed out of the empty tub.

  “Okay, you win. You’ve obviously got this all figured out.”

  “I don’t have anything figured out.” Beth was irritated at her friend’s attitude, and couldn’t keep the sharpness out of her voice.

  “But I know myself better than you do.”

  “Okay, I said. No need to make a federal case out of it. I just thought you might appreciate having a friend that cared about you.”

  Beth sighed. Ginger could be quite the drama queen. “I’m sorry. You know I appreciate you. I just felt like you weren’t going to let it go, no matter what I said. If there was something there to tell, I would. There’s nothing there. And that’s fine by me, because I have enough to do right now.”

  “I’m sorry too. I know you’re stressed and I didn’t mean to add to it. I still want to have lunch with you on Saturday.”

  “Now that, my friend, is a date.”

  They said goodbye and Beth dabbed the few remaining drops of water from her skin. How could any sane person think somebody like Audie Pippin would find her interesting? They had virtually nothing in common, and Audie could have practically anyone she wanted… and she probably did, Beth figured. Besides, Audie seemed like the kind of person who wanted to keep her life simple—the house, the job—so why would she want to complicate things with a relationship?