but, mercury's not in retrograde!

by McCarthy, G. L.

“I’ve missed you, and I’m feeling great. How are you and Minnie? Have you been keeping this place together as always?” Alex knew that when he retired, Taylorwood wouldn’t be the same.

  “Minnie and I are just fine. But after you left, Cyn and I commented on the change around here. Maybe it just seemed different to us because you were missing. But now that you’re back we’re the Three Musketeers again. Have you heard about Cyn’s problem?” Frederick wasn’t too happy with someone messing around at the school that shouldn’t be there. If it was one of the staff, he would find out who it was.

  “You know Frederick, when it happened to Little Blue the first time, I never did feel like it fit in with my problem. Looking back, it still wasn’t obvious like a red herring, and Cyn mentioned it in passing when I was away. It didn’t sit well then either, but cars can be temperamental. So what happened this time? Cyn didn’t go into details as to what was wrong with her car.” Alex figured Cyn didn’t ask what was wrong because she wouldn’t understand anyway.

  “This time the cable leading to the starter was disconnected. It could be easily fixed, but it was something that took someone other than Cyn to correct.” Frederick was at a loss about this type of harassment.

  “I’ve given this a lot of thought this morning. You can only listen to someone telling about your heroic deeds once and then you tend to zone out. If it was someone at school, why? I’m sure the guys in maintenance know Cyn is gay or not interested in any of them. So possibly it’s someone wanting to have the car towed to a garage in town, so they would have more time to check it over. Tell me exactly what was wrong the second time it wouldn’t start. When you called me you were waiting for a tow truck.” Alex wanted to get all the facts about this most recent problem.

  “Let me explain from the beginning, after you left for the ranch. Your truck was still at school and I wanted to get it back to your carport and out of harm’s way. As you remember, I took you from the hospital back home to pack and then we left and I dropped you off at the airport. Okay, so I left my car at school on Monday, but not in my usual spot because of all the media parking all over the place. I drove your truck home and Dez was going to drive me back to school so I could get my car. But then an emergency call fixed that plan so she just took me home and said she would pick me up the next morning to take me to school, which she did. After second period I left my class reading so I could go move my car into my own space, because by now you were old news. When I went to start it nothing. I wanted to cry, so without thinking I called the tow service and then you. But while I was waiting Don came by and opened the hood. The battery cable had been disconnected. I felt like such a fool for not checking. I cancelled the tow truck and Little Blue started right up. Every time a very simple fix. I don’t understand what the point is in disabling my car with things the guys can correct in minutes.” Cyn was baffled by the why of it all.

  “Okay, so it sounds like harassment. But why? Can you think of anyone who’s been pissed off at you since the beginning of the year?” It seemed hard to believe to Alex that anyone could be angry with Cyn.

  “Not to my knowledge. But then that would be too easy for the person to be obviously annoyed at me.” Cyn couldn’t begin to think what she did.

  “One thing you can do is have hood locks installed. It wouldn’t allow anyone to get to your engine, then maybe they would give up and stop.” Frederick knew a fellow in town who could do just the job.

  “That’s a good idea, although if they can’t get at your engine they may get really creative and do something else to Little Blue to disable it. Is there a time frame that seems to fit, like every other Tuesday?” Alex’s stalker had surfaced every couple of weeks.

  “I thought of that, but no pattern at all. Very random, different days of the week. I even thought of stages of the moon. Not to mention I checked to see if Mercury was in retrograde. Nothing.” Cyn wondered what would happen next.

  “Well, so far they seem like harmless pranks, if you want to call them that. How about we put our thinking caps on and see what we’ve come up with tomorrow over another grilled cheese sandwich.” Alex popped in the last bite of hers and wished for that glass of wine. But the bell was about to ring and Alex needed to get back to an afternoon of more versions of her heroic deed.

  “Good idea and I’ll keep a watchful eye on the parking lot and brief the guys to be aware too.” Frederick loved this kind of stuff “007” was on the job again.

  “Cyn, after school can we go into town and check out refrigerators at the local appliance store?” Getting it in and stocked was at the top of Alex’s list.

  “Absolutely, we need to pick up a few things you’ll need for the place. You know the usual stuff, duct tape, light bulbs, paper towels, toilet paper and window cleaner.” Cyn had a cleaning lady go into Alex’s new house, but she didn’t do windows.

  “Terrific, plus a mop and broom. I don’t have either anymore.” Alex could hardly wait.

  The lunch bell sounded and the three parted and went back to finish their jobs, before they could spend the rest of the day running errands and doing spy work.

  Chapter 4

  By the end of the day Alex was so sick of hearing about her daring feat that she wanted to join a convent and begin a year of silence. But then she would miss Sam and all that having a lover would bring. She approached Little Blue and opened the hood just to check, as Cyn got behind the wheel. Everything looked in order as she signaled her to start it up. Little Blue fired up and Alex closed the hood and jumped in. Next stop Hastings Appliance and Hardware for the biggest refrigerator she could find that would fit in her kitchen.

  Upon their arrival they noticed that the store had some activity, but most people weren’t off work yet so they could have most of the store to themselves. Cyn had already measured all the rooms for Alex and the space for the refrigerator. There were several units that would fit, so they just had to pick a style. Deciding on one with the freezer compartment on the bottom was easy, but now there was a choice between black or white. The black one was beautiful, but then Alex realized the fingerprints would drive her crazy. They couldn’t be seen on the white model, so white it was. She went to the register to purchase the unit and hoped they had one in stock. Upon approaching the cashier Alex recognized the woman behind the counter.

  “Good afternoon, Carol. I didn’t know you worked here.” Alex had met Carol at the Hastings football game two weeks ago, where they nearly froze to death.

  “Hey, Alex, you look great. I heard about your ordeal at Taylorwood. How do you feel?” Carol was the mother of the quarterback and a very proud parent.

  “I’m fine now. I just spent two weeks in New Mexico lying around getting fat. How’s the team doing? I’ve missed a couple of games.” Alex really wanted to keep going to watch the Hastings Lumberjacks football team.

  “So far we’ve won the last two you’ve missed. But we need you out there cheering the boys on. They need as much positive energy as they can get.” Carol liked this woman. She had genuine enthusiasm when cheering on the team.

  “That’s fantastic. I will be at this week’s game. It’s at home again, right?” Alex had remembered the schedule and since the last two games had been away, the final two would be at home.

  “Yep, we play Monroe here. Can you come by the store and we can all go together? Makes finding a parking space a lot easier. But then again if it’s colder than the last game here we won’t have any trouble parking.” Only the diehard fans came out when it got really cold.

  “That would be great. What time do you all meet?” Alex was enjoying this new found social group.

  “We meet at five-thirty and have a little tailgate party

  at the game. It’s a lot of fun and we really get revved up for the

  game.” Carol didn’t mention that they also had a few drinks to

  help the process.

  “Excellent, I can be here. I also wanted to buy your

  Model RLF 600 refrigerator fre
ezer in white. Do you have it in

  stock?” Alex noticed the store was beginning to get more

  business and figured she should get this purchase moving. While Carol checked her inventory, Cyn was off

  getting the other essentials that were on their list. The motion

  light sensor was a priority that Alex had insisted on buying

  today. In fact they were both going to have them on their front

  porches and on the garages. Hopefully she could get the one on

  the porch installed this evening for Cyn. Then she could sleep

  easy knowing if anyone approached the house they would be

  found out. The deer would just have to learn to come early in

  the morning when the sun was coming up and the sensor

  wouldn’t be set off.

  “You’re in luck, Alex. We have one in the warehouse.

  We can deliver it tomorrow afternoon for you.” Carol pulled

  her order book out to write down the address.

  “Excellent. Tomorrow would be perfect. Can it be

  after four? I will be off work and home by that time.” Alex

  suddenly realized she didn’t know her new address and looked

  around for Cyn.

  “Now this model isn’t on sale, but because you’re a

  diehard Hastings football fan and our only local hero, we are

  going to give you our lowest price. That would be cost plus ten

  percent. How does that sound?” Carol was aware teachers

  didn’t make that much money and also the word had gotten

  around as to why Alex needed a refrigerator. The gossip in a

  small town travels fast and if Alex thought the locals didn’t

  know what was going on she was in for a big surprise in that

  department.

  “Oh, Carol, that’s very generous, but I don’t want to

  get you in trouble with the owner. I can pay the listed price.

  It’s fine really.” Alex was grateful she had been so easily

  accepted by the parents, because she was pretty sure they knew

  which team she and Cyn played for and Lucy was a lesbian

  poster girl. As for the hero part, she felt very guilty accepting

  this title.

  “That’s one of the perks of being the owner. I get to

  make deals for people I like who deserve a break now and

  then. But you have to come to all the games that my son plays

  in the rest of his high school career. Is it a deal?” Carol hadn’t

  told her how many teams her son was on and that he was a

  junior.

  “That’s such a deal. How could I refuse?” Alex was

  hoping her son wasn’t a senior as the school year would be up

  too soon for her liking and Carol was such a terrific woman, as

  were several other nice people here in Hastings.

  “I’ve got everything on the list. Are you ready to

  check out?” Cyn must have known this store by heart as she

  was extremely efficient with her time.

  “Great. What’s my new address? I don’t think I’ve

  ever known it, have I?” Alex looked at Cyn and shook her

  head.

  “No, you never did. I took care of everything while

  you were away.” Cyn wrote the address down for Carol to fill

  out her order for delivery and then gave the paper to Alex so

  she would know where she lived along with her new phone

  number.

  “My own phone number, I mean land line. I have a

  cell number. Cyn, do they have DSL out in our area?” Alex

  was crossing her fingers for the answer she wanted. “The phone company said they hoped to have the lines

  in by the end of the year. How cool is that?” Cyn really didn’t

  care, but knew how much Alex did.

  “Woo hoo, I’m going to get DSL, I’m going to get

  DSL. Hallelujah and all that jazz.” Alex was in a great mood.

  She had her refrigerator, DSL was coming and so was Sam.

  Now she just needed the right time to tell Cyn. Maybe they

  should go out to dinner. She still wanted that glass of plum

  wine.

  Paying for her purchases and thanking Carol several

  times for such a generous discount, Alex loaded all her new

  stuff into Little Blue. She then mentioned dinner at the Tea

  Room to Cyn who was all over that invitation. They jumped in

  and pulled up to the front of their favorite restaurant in

  minutes. They were early so they beat the crowd, but then

  again it was Monday and there was a football game on. They

  should have the whole restaurant to themselves.

  Chapter 5

  Ping was happy to see Alex and gave her a big hug. He had read all about her ordeal. He said her glass of wine was on the house and didn’t want to hear another word about it. Upon confirming that they were having the usual, Ping rushed off to the kitchen to get their order in and bring their plum wine which was all of a minute before he put down their glasses and returned to the kitchen. After making a toast to her place, new refrigerator and good friends, Alex took a big sip, and then a deep breath as she looked over at Cyn and wondered how to break the news about Sam. Just starting at the beginning and letting the story of their meeting and mutual attraction unfold seemed to be her best option. So she told Cyn just that, how they met and how Sam looked like Jessie. Also, she told her how much she missed Sam now and could hardly wait for Cyn to meet her. The silence that followed seemed to be endless until Ping arrived with their appetizers.

  “Thank you, Ping. So what’s going on behind those big blue eyes of yours, Cyn?” Alex figured she was in shock. She had left for the ranch two weeks ago without wanting a girlfriend, and now Cyn was hearing otherwise.

  “I guess I’m wondering if your falling for a Jessie look-a-like is going to work out in the long run.” Cyn felt a little betrayed. They had made so many plans and now she was back on the outside looking in at Alex and her new girlfriend.

  “Well, I had that same conversation with Jessie and it’s not just Sam’s looks that kept me interested. She is truly a terrific person and she wants me to have my own life and friends. She has her own interests and a horse of her own to take care of. I guarantee you we won’t be joined at the hip. I’ve made it perfectly clear that I have a very good friend I intend on spending time with and she’s fine with it.” Alex figured time would tell if that was going to be the case.

  “Sam knows about me?” Cyn was surprised to hear she had been a topic of conversation.

  “Absolutely. It was one of the conversations I made a point of having with her.” Alex saw the expression on Cyn’s face change for the better. “I know you probably don’t believe it will actually happen, but it needs to for the sake of the relationship. The first week of my trip I did a lot of different things, some unbelievable, but I did them without Sam glued to my hip. The second week we spent the afternoons together and it was great. But then the beginning of any relationship starts that way. Spending time apart for me is what makes me miss the other person’s company. I don’t want us to burn out on each other and then have nothing to look forward to when we do something special together. I want to look forward to seeing my girlfriend at the end of the day, and not dreading the time we will spend together.”

  The conversation was put on hold as Ping arrived with the main course and quickly assembled the moo shu pork they had ordered. He asked if either wanted another glass of wine. Alex passed, as the memory of the last time she had two glasses after only having a sandwich for lunch was somewhat still fresh in her mind. Cyn declined too as she wasn’t much of a drinker. As Ping left them to their meals, the conversation picked up where it had left off.

  “Okay,
so she’s not going to get all possessive if we spend time together?” Cyn thought this would be a first.

  “Correct. You and I will still have our Wednesday nights and a weekend here and there to go look for amazing things to do when she visits. Sam is coming for a month, as a trial run so to speak. We’ll see how it goes and then make a decision about the future. But either way we are going to share each other’s lives, not try to run them. Okay?” Alex thought it sounded realistic, but they still had to put it into practice and that could be the stumbling block to this perfect plan.

  “Sounds good. Will I like Sam?” Cyn had to think about sharing Alex with someone else. She hoped they didn’t clash.

  “I hope so. She is very easy going and treats me great. We have so much in common, you know like horses and a love for New Mexico.” Alex realized she didn’t want to compare the two of them too much as Cyn may take offense.

  “Yes, horses would definitely be something the other person would have to feel passionate about.” And the love of horses was something Cyn didn’t share with Alex.

  “Absolutely. I can’t imagine someone being jealous of my time with Beau. Although in the past I gave up my time with him for Dez. But the new me is going to jump back into it with both feet. I didn’t realize how much I missed it until I went to the ranch.” Not having to answer to anyone, Alex could spend a lot more time with her horse.

  “How old is Sam?” Cyn figured if she was a lot younger, Alex should be concerned about the age difference. Most May-December romances didn’t last forever, although age didn’t matter to her, so maybe it would work.

  “She’s thirty-five and I know that’s eight years younger. But she’s an old soul, if you know what I mean.” Alex figured eight years wasn’t that much, although she could have been Sam’s babysitter at one time. So looking at it that way it did seem like a big deal.

  “Has she made any mention of the age difference?”

  “Come to think about it, I don’t really remember if we even talked about age.” Alex would try to remember to discuss it again with Sam. “She must know. I’m sure Jessie would have told her my age at some time. So if I know how old she is, she must know how old I am.”