by Melissa Good
"That was idiotic," she remarked to herself.
A knock came at the door, and she left the problem to sit as she went and answered it, letting in the room service waiter complete with a little wooden cart full of her selected breakfast. She signed the check and handed it back, then sat down as the waiter left and closed the door.
In the midst of opening her cereal box, her cell phone rang. Dar cursed, launching herself over the bed to the nightstand where the device was rattling, and grabbing it. She opened it and managed to get it to one ear without falling off the bed, but without time to see who it was. "Yes?"
"Hey honey."
Dar stuck her tongue out and stifled a laugh. "Hey."
"You okay? You sound weird."
"I'm upside down." Dar squirmed into a more comfortable position and relaxed. "What are you doing up? It's late."
"I can't sleep," Kerry told her. "You're not here in bed with me."
Dar chuckled. "Sorry about that. I didn't realize you had me on speaker until it was too late."
"No problem I absolutely loved having my brother and sister hear what you said to me. Angie said we sounded so married."
"Aw."
"So how's it really going? I almost threw peas at my mother here. She finally stopped with the snarky BS about halfway through dinner."
"It's fine." Dar assured her. "I was pissed off about the bar, but that's no one's fault. I'm looking forward to the meeting at ten. You got more packing to do?"
"Yeah," Kerry agreed mournfully. "Then we're going over to the house and haul everything in there. I'm having fun with Ang and Mike, but boy I'm not looking forward to hanging out with my mother."
"Want me to invent a disaster for you to fix?"
"You keep teasing me with that offer," Kerry reminded her dryly. "Don't jinx us, hon. We're both out of the office and we don't really need something to crash, y'know?"
"Mm."
"We'd just have to fly back to Miami and fix it."
"Hm." Dar's low grunt grew far more cheerful. "We'd be in the same place then," she offered. "That can't be all bad, can it?"
Kerry laughed softly, for at least thirty seconds. "Let's see," she said. "It's been what-- two days now? That must be a record for us before we start whining about being apart. We're so nuts."
"But in a nice way."
Kerry was silent for a brief moment. "In a very beautiful way," she said. "Being with my mother, and my sister, and my brother, who is on his fourth girlfriend this year, made me realize all over again how blessed my life is."
Dar studied the ceiling, feeling a stupid grin stretch her lips. "You're better than Frosted Flakes for breakfast, you know that? Ah, Ker. Go back to sleep. You're going to be toast tomorrow if you don't and you'll end up going off on everyone."
Kerry made a small, grunting sound.
"Won't you?"
"Probably." Kerry sighed. "This bed's not comfortable, and I miss my dog, and I want some chocolate milk," she admitted. "And you're the only one I can say that to who won't look at me funny or tell me to grow the hell up."
Dar chuckled.
"I'm not sure I even know who these people are anymore," Kerry added. "I feel like I hardly know them."
"They hardly know you," Dar said. "Give it a few days. You sounded pretty rambunctious with them in the car."
A small silence. "Yeah, I guess I did. It's all right. I think I just keep freaking them out. "
Dar's eyes flicked over the ceiling, her sensitive ears catching the change in her partner's tone. "Hey."
"Hey."
"Just be who you are, Ker," Dar advised gently. "They'll get used to it. Don't be afraid to not pretend, you know?"
Kerry sighed. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of," she confessed. "It's hard to make everyone change the way they see me. It's easier for me to pretend I'm someone else. It always was," she paused, "but you know something, I don't think I can do it anymore."
"Would it help if I sent you flowers at your Mom's house?" Dar asked, with a hint of a wry chuckle. "You know I always get you the most expensive ones."
Finally, Kerry chuckled. "I can do this," she said. "I'll be fine. I just needed a Dar time out."
Talk about freaking out. "Anytime, sweetheart," Dar assured her. "I'll always be there for you." She heard the slight inhale, and the faint sound of Kerry swallowing. "Now go to bed, and let me eat my English Frosted Flakes and weird tasting milk for breakfast."
"I love you," Kerry replied, simply. "Talk to you later, okay?"
"Later." Dar hung up the phone and let it sit on her chest for a few minutes. Then she chuckled and got up, taking her box of cereal with her back to the tray. "Dar time out." She shook her head and poured the cereal into the waiting bowl. "And she thinks her life's changed."
Chapter Five
KERRY HUMMED SOFTLY under her breath as she neatly flipped a set of pancakes. A plate of omelets and bacon were already waiting nearby. She had her back to her sister's servants, aware of their nervous anxiety, and wondered briefly if they were more worried about her getting burned or if that she was auditioning for their jobs.
Not really much danger of either. She'd cooked long enough and often enough to know how to avoid getting hurt and even when she'd been younger and willing to take about any job, short order cook had never been in her personal horizon.
She didn't mind cooking for herself, or for Dar, or for family. Cooking for strangers, however, was another story especially after a night of little sleep and a morning full of gray rain outside. Her ears pricked, as she heard footsteps in the hall, and she caught the nervous jerks from the staff as they heard them as well.
"Wh...Kerry!" Angie entered, spotting her at the stove. "What in blazes are you doing?"
Kerry looked at the pan, then she turned her head and looked at her sister, then she looked back at the pan. "You have done this, Ang. I know you have. I used to live with you, remember? Don't tell me you never told these guys about those banana brownies you used to make."
Angie came over and peered over her bare shoulder. "You're cooking," she said, avoiding the brownie issue.
"I am," her older sister confirmed. "I said I was going to. You didn't believe me?" She scooped the last of the pancakes into their dish and covered it, and then turned off the gas to the stove. "I didn't get much sleep last night so I figured I'd better make something I liked for breakfast so I didn't whine all day."
Angie picked up one of the dishes, a bemused but understanding look on her face. She gave her staff a wry smile as she turned and headed after Kerry to the dining room. "Don't worry about my sister. She's just got a mind of her own."
"Got that right." Kerry set the plates she had in her hands down. "Well, good morning." She greeted her brother, who was rubbing both eyes. "Fine state of affairs when I'm the early bird in the family." She took a seat near one end of the big table, the warm light bathing her tanned arms very visible in her tank top.
"Pissant," Mike grumbled, sitting down across from her before he peered at Kerry, and jerked upright. "Holy shit. You did get a tattoo." He scrambled out of his chair and came around the table, as Kerry continued to calmly butter her toast. "Wow."
"Eat breakfast first, gawk later," Kerry advised him. "It's not going anywhere." She dumped some pancakes, an omelet, and a slice of bacon on her plate.
"Did it hurt?" Mike asked.. "What made you get it?"
Angie motioned the staff to bring coffee over. "I think it's pretty."
"Can I touch it?" Mike asked.
Kerry put her fork down and half turned to face Mike. "Sure." She moved the strap of her tank top over to give him a better view. "Yes, it hurt," she said, as he bent closer. "It hurt a lot, but it was worth it."
"Wow," he repeated, putting a finger out hesitantly and touching the design. "Oh," he said. "It feels like skin."
Angie appeared on her other side, running her thumb over it. "It is," she said, in surprise. "I thought it would be raised up, like those inoculations."
Kerry felt herself twitch a little as they touched her. "Well, when he first did it, it was kinda," she said. "It was pretty swollen."
"It was?" Angie looked up at her at close quarters, nearly making her eyes cross. "Is it like a burn?"
"It's--yeah, I guess," Kerry said. "I mean, they take needles and jab them into your skin over and over again, so it kind of gets all sore and puffy. But it heals pretty fast." She went on. "It stops hurting really bad as soon as they stop sticking needles in you."
Mike shook his head and went back to his seat. "You are totally crazy," he announced. "But it is really nice looking, Ker. Did Dar like it? She should. It's her name there."
Kerry went back to sorting out her breakfast. "She did. I think one of the reasons, maybe, that I got it was because I knew it was something I could do that she probably wouldn't."
"She doesn't like tattoos?" Angie eased away from her and went back to her place at the head of the table.
"She's scared to death of needles." Kerry responded, with a wry grin. "Don't you remember in the hospital?"
Angie's eyes widened, as she helped herself to the plates. "Oh my gosh. I do. That's right!" She gave the woman at her shoulder a nod, and sat back as coffee was poured into her cup. "She almost went crazy there before everything got horrible."
They all fell briefly silent as they started breakfast, and Kerry was left in peace to think about Mike's first question.
Why. Why had she really gotten the tattoo? For herself? For Dar? Kerry chuckled a little under her breath and shook her head. She still really didn't know for sure. "So anyway." She broke the quiet. "I love the thing. Dar was in New York when I got it, and I had a day or so to let it heal before I showed it to her. I could see it was going back and forth in her mind if she wanted to get one too."
"Kerry?" Mike looked up. "Thanks for making breakfast. This rocks."
Angie looked around, but the two servant women had retreated back to the kitchen. "Yeah," she said. "Thanks. I know I used to make brownies, but I have no idea how to tell these people to make things I like."
Kerry waved a fork at them, busy chewing.
"Have you decided what you're going to speak about at the banquet tonight?" Angie asked. "You know, Marga Smithton called me last night and said she saw us in the restaurant with Mom and she said everyone's been talking about it."
Kerry rolled her eyes.
"Hey, slow news week," Her sister held a hand up. "C'mon, Kerry. You used to live here. How many weeks did duck racing make the front page?"
Kerry swallowed and wiped her lips with her napkin. "They need to get a life," she said. "I've figured out two different ways to go tonight, and it depends on how they react when I get there. Either they're going to get my professional presentation, or they're going to get the radical biker dyke. All up to them."
Both her siblings blinked at her.
"Ah. Forgot to tell you I got a motorcycle too." Kerry grinned, and took a sip of her coffee. "Actually, it was a joint purchase. Dar and I use it down at the cabin in the Keys," she explained. "Which by the way, you both have to come down and stay some time."
"I'll take you up on that," Mike said. "Can I ride the bike?"
"Sure." Kerry could still sense the faint waves of shock rolling around the table. "We go down on weekends a lot and just bum around there. It's quiet, and it's right on the water, I love chilling out on the beach in front."
"Sounds gorgeous." Angie recovered and picked up the conversation again. "Is it a long drive?"
"Well, it's about an hour and a half, I guess, but we also take the boat down there and that's a little longer. We don't care though because we stop and dive on the way down."
"Man," her brother shook his head, "what a life."
Kerry smiled and took a forkful of pancake to eat. She felt a faint buzz in her pocket and pulled out her phone, setting it on the table and opening it. "Excuse me." She put the forkful down and pressed the answer button. "Kerry Stuart."
"Hello, Ms. Stuart?" a male voice answered. "This is ops. We have kind of a situation here and we need someone to make a decision."
"Called the right person." Kerry regretfully glanced at her plate. "Go on. What's the problem?"
"There's a new sales account, the International Cellular group?" the tech ventured. "Do you know about them?"
"Sure," Kerry said.
"Okay, well, they were supposed to come live next week, but it turns out their stuff came early so they want to bring up the circuits into the network, but the change control's not ready."
Ah. Kerry leaned back and folded her arms, considering the issue. "Does Mark have the network provisioning ready?" she asked.
"He says he can have it."
Ah. Kerry almost laughed. That meant everyone really wanted to help out their new customer, and no one wanted to stand on procedure--but no one wanted to cross her strict insistence on documented change control either.
Only Dar would casually do that, and often did. But to be fair, if anyone else asked Dar if they could do it, Dar sent them to Kerry. She reserved the right to bypass the rules for herself and Kerry had accepted that without much qualm, not only because Dar was her boss, but because she trusted her instincts.
"Okay, you have my verbal approval to proceed, so long as Mark files the paperwork in the system and it comes up after business hours."
"Right oh, ma'am." The tech sounded happier. "Mark's on the way to do that now. Thank you!"
"Anytime." Kerry hung up the phone and went back for her fork, glad the issue had been simple.
"So who was that?" Angie asked.
Kerry held up her finger, and managed to get a mouthful of her breakfast. She patiently chewed it and swallowed. "Our operations center in Miami," she said. "We put some new policies and procedures in place and they're determined to stick by them."
"So you really do run that place, huh?" Mike said.
Kerry nodded, but kept eating.
"She does," Angie said. "I don't know if Mom googled you last night, but I did. Holy bananas, Kerry. You're an executive vice president."
"Uh huh." Her sister nodded again.
"So, I have a question. "Angie leaned forward a little. "If you make what you do, and Dar makes what she does, and you live in a gillion dollar condo on some ritzy private island, and you own a boat, and a snazzy cabin in the Keys--why the heck do you cook for yourself and drive your own car?
Kerry stopped chewing and looked up at her, head tilted slightly to one side. After a second she hastily swallowed and picked up her coffee cup, washing her mouthful down. "Huh?"
"Yeah." Mike had no such worries. He plowed through his pancakes as he talked. "How come you don't have a half dozen people chasing after you holding your briefcase? I could be one of them."
How come? Kerry was honestly perplexed, never having even considered anything remotely like it.
"Well," she said, after a long pause. "I like cooking, and I like driving. Why would I let someone else do it for me?"
She looked at her siblings, and they looked back at her, and she suddenly felt the gulf between them like it was a physical void. It was strange, and upsetting, since she'd grown up in this same type of home, in this same type of environment and yet living like her sister lived, like her mother lived, was as alien to her as winter had come to be.
"Huh." Mike grunted. "I like people doing things for me. Who likes to do laundry and stuff? I'd rather have clean clothes appear like magic."
"Me too," Angie agreed. "If I didn't have someone helping me with Andrew, I'd go crazy."
Kerry sucked on her fork tines then shook her head. "I don't have time in my life for that," she said. "It's way too complicated, dealing with people doing stuff for me. It's a lot easier to do it myself."
Angie looked at the plate, and then she chuckled and shrugged. "Well, no one can argue. You know what you're doing, sis. Whatever makes you happy."
"Right on," Mike agreed. "You can cook for me anytime."
"Thanks." Kerry went back to her breakfast, more than a little bemused. "Now can we shut up and eat? Before I have to get up and cook it all over again?"
"Oo--she's the boss."
DAR TOOK ADVANTAGE of being slightly behind Alastair to take a moment to pull her cuffs straight as they stood waiting to enter the sturdy oak doors to the conference room. She then put her hands together over her leather binder, shifting her shoulder a little under the weight of her laptop case as she listened to Alastair's cheerful chatter with their hosts.
She was the only one with a laptop, naturally. The rest of the team with them were sales executives, who had thick leather portfolios clasped under their arms, dark suits, light shirts, classy ties and appropriately confident, but reserved expressions.
Like theirs, Dar's business suit was a conservative charcoal grey, but that's where the resemblance stopped. She was wearing a knee length skirt and a creamy beige silk shirt, and her lapel was impudently decorated with a jewel encrusted microchip just to drive the point home that she wasn't one of the front of the house boys.
Nerd. Dar licked her lips and hid a smile, straightening her shoulders as she heard the doors start to open, and the chatter died down.
"Well, here we go." Alastair turned, glancing behind him as if to make sure Dar was there. "Ready, lady?"
Dar wrinkled her nose at him, and chuckled.
"Gentlemen," the polite man opening the door paused, "ah, and lady. Please come inside. Welcome."
"That's twice in sixty seconds," Dar muttered, as she followed Alastair inside, the rest of the team deferring to her. She glanced around as she crossed the thick carpet, appreciating the high ceiling and expansive proportions of the conference room.
At the head of the table sat Sir Melthon Gilberthwaite, who was such a stereotypical forties movie style British magnate Dar half suspected there was a film crew around somewhere. Seated next to him was Hans, who solemnly winked at Dar as their group entered.
"Ah, Sir Melthon." Alastair advanced confidently. "It's good to see you again."
