Love's Someday

by Robin Alexander

  Ashleigh followed Vicki through the foliage to the main patio, where Drew and Erica were seated at a table still looking at the photo albums. Kaitlyn was sitting at the edge of the pool with her feet dangling in the water. Ashleigh looked at it longingly. It seemed Chantal was reading her thoughts when they joined her at the grill.

  “We should’ve told you to bring your swimsuits. We’re gonna be closing it down for the winter soon, so somebody should take advantage of it.”

  “It’s September, sweetie. We won’t put the cover on until the end of November. There’s plenty of time.” Vicki gave Chantal a playful nudge. “You’d close it up now if I’d let you.”

  Chantal made a face. “The upkeep is a pain in the ass.”

  “What are you fussing about?” Vicki asked as she laid the chicken out on the grill. “Alex is the one that keeps it up.”

  “Right and it’s a pain in the ass for her.”

  “She lives close by then?” Drew asked the question that was going through Ashleigh’s mind.

  “She lives around the corner.” Chantal pointed to an opening in the fence situated between two large oaks. “The house that used to sit on the lot behind us burned down last year.” Chantal wrinkled her nose. “Messy divorce. If you go through the lot and make a right on the street, she’s the second driveway on the left.”

  Drew filled Ashleigh in on the music store that Chantal and Vicki owned, which obviously did well for them. Their home was in one of the more expensive areas of Baton Rouge, and she knew what little money they’d made as musicians years ago wasn’t supporting any of them now. She wondered what Alex did to support herself. Did Momma McKinney still fund her every whim?

  “Didn’t you say she was a lawyer the night we met?” Kaitlyn asked.

  Chantal took a seat next to Kaitlyn. “Yep, she followed in her mother’s footsteps.”

  Ashleigh’s head spun with that revelation. “You have got to be kidding me.”

  Vicki shook her head and laughed. “I know what you’re about to say, but yes, it’s the same Alex McKinney who said she would rather slit her own throat than go to law school. Not only did she go, but she works with Momma McKinney.”

  Ashleigh rubbed her brow. “Will wonders never cease?”

  “Jaclyn and Lindsay bought Neiman’s,” Chantal called over her shoulder.

  Ashleigh sank down into one of the patio chairs. “Okay, catch me up on the last twenty years, but do it slowly because my head is already spinning.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Erica smiled at the two distinct snores coming from the backseat. Despite her best efforts, Ashleigh lost her battle and drifted off, leaving Erica alone with her thoughts. She was thankful that no one asked her what she thought of the afternoon. She wasn’t sure how she would’ve answered.

  She had to congratulate herself on the stellar performance she put on. She’d spent the afternoon poring over bits and pieces of Ashleigh’s life showcased in photographs. She laughed and joked as though her heart wasn’t deeply wounded. She pretended that it didn’t make her feel like a fool to sit there with everyone else seeing those photos for the first time.

  Chantal and Vicki were not what she expected. Erica had imagined them to be middle-aged pot-smoking throwbacks from the eighties, still wearing the same old clothes in hopes that they would come back in style. What she found were two very well put together women who still cared deeply for Ashleigh. Erica liked them, but despite their attempts to make her feel welcome, Erica still felt like she was on the fringe. She wondered if she would ever be able to feel like she belonged in Ashleigh’s old world.

  “I’m sorry I dozed off,” Ashleigh said after Erica dropped Drew and Kaitlyn at their door. “I just felt so drained, and I couldn’t keep my eyes open.”

  Erica pulled into the garage. “That’s okay. I had enough coffee to keep me up for a week.”

  “Did you have a nice time?” Ashleigh asked as she followed Erica into the house.

  Erica chewed at her lip as she opened the fridge and fished around for something decaffeinated. She wanted to say, “No I didn’t have a good time, and I can’t believe I agreed to go back next weekend, and the pictures of you and Alex making out especially sucked.” Instead, she said, “I like Vicki and Chantal. They’re a lot of fun.” Erica eyed the orange juice, wondering if the bottle of vodka they kept in the back of the pantry was still there.

  If Ashleigh noticed that her question was deftly avoided, she didn’t show it. She reached around Erica and grabbed a bottle of water. “I’m going up to take a quick shower. Are you coming up or do you have work to do?”

  “I have a couple of things to look over, then I’ll be up.” Erica smiled weakly as Ashleigh brushed her cheek with a kiss and left the room. Orange juice in hand, Erica rifled through the pantry until she found the vodka. She added enough juice to turn the mixture a pale yellow and strolled into her office with the vodka bottle tucked under her arm and no intention of working. She gulped the drink in three large swallows and clutched her chest as the alcohol burned on its descent.

  “Let it go, Erica. You’re making a bigger deal out of this than it has to be,” she whispered as she sank into her chair. “God bless vodka and its healing properties.” A grin spread across her face as she set the empty glass on her desk, her lips tingling, as she poured herself another. She was halfway through the second drink when she realized that she wouldn’t be able to climb the stairs if she took another sip. The cool of the glass felt good against her temple as she felt the effects of what she’d rapidly consumed. She would give Ashleigh five more minutes, then she’d go up and take her shower.

  Half a glass of vodka dropping into her lap caused Erica to stir thirty minutes later. With a curse, she made a half-assed attempt to clean the mess before going upstairs. She crept through the dark bedroom and closed the door to the bathroom before turning on the lights. To her disappointment, the shower cleared some of the grogginess from her mind. When she lay down, her mind ran wild with worrisome thoughts.

  Ashleigh rolled over and draped one leg over Erica’s; her hand came to rest in the center of her stomach as she did every night when Erica finally crawled into bed. She waited for the sound of Ashleigh’s steady breathing to lull her to sleep. Had she been sober, Erica might have been able to keep the muscles in her stomach from fluttering beneath the touch of Ashleigh’s fingers grazing her skin. She couldn’t stop the jerk of her hips, as Ashleigh’s fingertips trailed below her navel and up again teasingly.

  Ashleigh moved, covering her body with hot skin and her mouth with even hotter kisses. Erica’s body betrayed her and eagerly gave in to the overwhelming sensations while her heart and mind pleaded with her to stop. Ashleigh’s kisses were bruising and desperate, and Erica found herself doing something that she’d never done with Ashleigh. She disconnected.

  Later when Ashleigh’s steady breathing made it clear that she had succumbed to sleep, Erica clamped her eyes closed tightly, but tears still seeped around the closed lids. She’d never been one to just have sex. For Erica, there had to be an emotional connection, but that night, that’s exactly what she’d done. It had only been sex.

  Ashleigh sat alone on the porch swing with her second cup of coffee, watching the sun creep across the backyard. She’d slept late—it was almost ten when she got up—and Erica was still sleeping soundly. Had she not tasted the alcohol in Erica’s kisses the night before, she’d be upstairs now making sure she wasn’t sick. It was odd for her to sleep in on any given day. Odd. The word squirmed around in Ashleigh’s brain. Everything seemed odd lately, and the night before seemed to be the pinnacle.

  In their most passionate of couplings, they’d ripped clothes and broken furniture. Ashleigh smiled at the memory of how they’d demolished the coffee table. She always felt the love in Erica’s touch, but the previous night, she didn’t feel like the bond between them was being renewed. She didn’t feel as though they were sharing something only reserved for the two of them. She
felt like she was taking something from Erica that she didn’t want to give.

  Ashleigh rubbed at the prickled skin that rose up on her arms with that thought. She felt almost ashamed to face Erica, and the need to get away from the house for a while became acute. She crept in through the back door and listened for a few minutes before moving into the laundry room. She’d been too lazy to put away the clean laundry and was praising herself for it now. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, tugged her hair through the back of a ball cap, and was out the door within five minutes. She’d left a note explaining that she had the impulse to do some shopping.

  Relief flooded Ashleigh as she pulled out onto the road with no particular destination in mind, and in the same moment, it made her feel sad that she felt relieved. She’d driven as far as the ferry, with the notion to take it over to New Roads, then she’d drive until she felt normal again. Her cell phone rang as she watched the boat pull up to the landing on the other side of the river. She wasn’t prepared to talk to Erica this soon and made up her mind to let it go to voice mail when she noticed it was Drew.

  “Where are you going?” Drew sounded cheerful. “I saw you pass.”

  “New Roads, wanna come?” Ashleigh surprised herself as the question slipped from her mouth, then she hoped Drew would say no.

  “What are you going over there for?”

  “The ferry is loading on the other side of the river right now. If you want to come, you’ll have to be standing outside in five minutes.”

  “See ya in five.”

  Ashleigh snapped the phone shut and looked in the rearview. “Shit,” she said as she threw the car in reverse. Drew was standing by the road as Ashleigh pulled up and stopped just long enough for her to climb in.

  “I’ve told you before about taking off before both of my feet were in the damn car,” Drew said, trying to look angry. “If the boat was on the other side, we’ll make it.”

  “You know I do it to piss you off.” Ashleigh did her best to sound normal, but she could see Drew staring at the side of her face. She knew the question was coming before Drew opened her mouth.

  “What’s wrong, Ash?”

  Ashleigh pulled into the line of cars waiting for the ferry’s return and shifted into park. “I’m not ready to talk about it yet.”

  Drew flipped the visor down and checked her hair in the mirror. Apparently unsatisfied, she ruffled it with her fingers, then smoothed it back out. She repeated this process until she gave up and used her sunglasses to pull it back off her face. She was in the process of perching them on her head when Ashleigh shifted into gear and followed the line of cars down to the ferry.

  “Let’s get out,” Ashleigh said once they were parked.

  Drew rolled her eyes and plucked the glasses off her head as they climbed from the car. Neither of them spoke as they walked to the railing and looked out over the water.

  Ashleigh had never ridden on a ferry before moving to St. Francisville and never would’ve had Erica not talked her into it. The strong current of the Mississippi was terrifying and fascinating, but no matter how many times she had ridden it, Ashleigh could not stay in her car. She was too scared to be confined to her vehicle on the ride and couldn’t resist the urge to stand in the wind and watch the turbulent water around her.

  Drew stood next to her with her back against the rail examining the other passengers. She nudged Ashleigh in the ribs and jutted her chin out at another pair of women as if she were being covert. “They’re family.”

  “You need glasses. That’s Charlene Milbourne and her sister.” Ashleigh turned back to the water. Drew waved and smiled at the two women and turned around as well.

  “So what’s in New Roads?” Drew scuffed her shoe on the gritty surface of the deck. “Are we shopping?”

  Ashleigh rested her chin in her palm. “Maybe.” She watched as Drew turned her back to the railing again and resumed people watching.

  “Are you ready to talk yet?”

  The ferry wasn’t far from the dock. “Yeah, but I don’t want to have to yell over the engine noise. Wait until we get back in the car.” The words were no sooner out of Ashleigh’s mouth and Drew was already halfway to the car. Ashleigh waited until the boat was nearly at the dock, fighting the urge to laugh at the impatient expression on Drew’s face.

  “Now, what’s on your mind?” Drew waited until Ashleigh had disembarked and was on her way up the levee.

  “Erica and I…” Ashleigh gnawed her lip as her face heated. She and Drew never had any problems discussing sex, but now she was finding it hard to describe the previous evening. “We did it last night.” Ashleigh rolled her eyes, disgusted with herself for sounding like a teenager.

  “Define ‘it.’”

  “Butthole, you know what I’m talking about.” Ashleigh turned into the parking lot of a restaurant that sat facing False River, an oxbow lake of the Mississippi. “Let’s order appetizers and sit on the deck. I feel like being outside.”

  “So you finally did ‘it.’ I’m so happy for you,” Drew said with a smile after they were seated and rubbed her hands together. “Was it hot?”

  The waitress arrived at that moment, sparing Ashleigh from having to answer for another minute or two, for which she was grateful. She wasn’t entirely sure how to answer. “I think we’d like the nachos and the potato skins.” Ashleigh looked at Drew, who nodded her approval. “And I’d like a glass of water and a Bloody Mary.”

  “I’ll have the same, but I’d like an extra celery stick in mine, please.” Drew turned her attention back to Ashleigh when they were alone again. “So…it wasn’t hot then?”

  “I don’t know what it was, but it wasn’t…it was different.”

  “Oh,” Drew said as her eyes widened. “Y’all experimented. What’d you do, and was it something I’d enjoy?”

  Ashleigh sighed as the waitress set the drinks down in front of them. Her insides were twisting into knots as she thought back on the night before. She took a sip of the Bloody Mary, then another before answering.

  “When she came to bed last night, I did what I always do. I throw a leg over her and put my hand on her stomach. That’s how we sleep.” Ashleigh massaged her brow as she took a bite of the celery stick that came in her drink. “I’d made up my mind, like I told you, that I wasn’t going to try to come on to her anymore. But her skin felt so good, I couldn’t help but run my fingertips over it, and she reacted to my touch.”

  “Which is a good thing.” Drew waved her celery stick, imploring Ashleigh to continue.

  “So I kissed her. Normally, it’s like a wrestling match between us, both of us trying to make love to the other first, but she just laid there and let me…”

  Drew leaned back in her chair sporting her best analytical expression. “She just laid there and didn’t participate?”

  “She did and she didn’t.” Ashleigh shook her head. “Last night was kind of like, ‘do me and I’ll do you next.’ It was more like being serviced, so to speak.”

  “Maybe she really wanted to, but she was tired. She didn’t get the hour long power nap that we got on the drive home.”

  Ashleigh agreed with the logic, but in her heart, she knew that wasn’t the answer. She and Erica had made love countless times over the years, and tired or not, this was still different.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Erica was no fan of Mondays, but hers was shaping up to be the mother of all. There had already been a forklift accident before she’d had her first cup of coffee. Fortunately, there were no injuries if she wasn’t counting the roll-up door in bay one.

  Kaitlyn and the shop foreman locked horns before her second cup of coffee, and surprisingly, there were no injuries in that incident, either. E-mails with inquiries and issues were filling her inbox so rapidly that she cut the sound on her computer, the incessant ding signaling a new message was driving her to the brink.

  To add to her misery, she’d spent the previous evening arguing with Ashleigh after she’d spe
nt the day on a whirlwind shopping spree. Food and clothing, she understood the need for, but nearly a thousand dollars of gardening supplies she did not. Ashleigh and Drew had come home with the car loaded down, then they’d taken her Forerunner back to collect the rest of their purchases. They claimed that the inspiration for a new backyard garden came to them over lunch.

  Erica looked up to see Kaitlyn leaning against the door frame with a sour expression. “What are we doing for lunch?”

  “Let’s get out of here,” Erica said as she stood. “It’s a pretty day and I need some air.”

  They grabbed a couple of sandwiches and took the road to their favorite secret spot. They’d explored and laid claim to many secret spots over the years, but there was only one that they still visited when they needed a break from adulthood. Erica crossed the one-lane bridge and pulled off onto a dirt road maneuvering around potholes until she saw the familiar path.

  Erica grabbed the sandwiches and followed Kaitlyn, who had the drinks, down the narrow trail that eventually led them to the shallow creek. Kaitlyn kicked at the fallen tree that they used as a bench to make sure there was nothing lying in wait beneath it. Satisfied that it was critter-free, they took a seat.

  “Remember fighting Trent Brumfield for rights to this place?” Kaitlyn asked before taking a bite.

  Erica chuckled at the memory. “If you wouldn’t have hit him in the nuts, he’d have beaten me to a pulp.” The twelve-year-old Trent had also discovered the coveted spot where they were now sitting. Two years older than Erica and Kaitlyn then, he wasn’t much bigger. He’d tried to defend his claim with a volley of dirt clods, one of which hit Kaitlyn squarely in the forehead. When Erica saw the tears, she was inflamed and charged Trent with all she had. He managed to get her in a headlock and was pummeling Erica in the head with his free fist. Kaitlyn came to the rescue, her fists swinging like a windmill, indiscriminately hitting Trent and Erica. It was the one that caught Trent in the crotch that won the war.