Part Two - Another effect of a force is to alter the state of motion of the body.
Two days after the pool cue incident the body of a woman was found less than a mile from the small cove where Grace tended to Dana. The dead woman was an older lady in her early fifties who worked at a seafood restaurant near the local marina. She had been stabbed five times in the chest with a large double edge knife, an obviously act of rage. Still buzzing from the excitement of discovering the body the previous evening, Beth divulged all the gruesome details to Grace over Sunday breakfast.
A few days later, over a rare dinner together, Beth
described the forensic discoveries that the victim had struggled with her attacker, and
that preliminary genetic testing on skin taken from under the victim's fingernails showed
that the killer was likely a woman. The police had also discovered a bag of bloodied
clothing in a trash barrel less than a mile from the body. Grace found herself unable to
finish her bisque after that surprising news.
She had not seen or heard from Dana since that evening,
and when she drove past the beach she did not see the boat moored where she thought they
had been. She did not know that the following morning, Doc pulled up anchor and sailed
south, past the Carolinas, past Florida, and back to the cool warm blue waters of the
Caribbean intending a two month cruise.
By mid September, five weeks later, the summer weather
had cooled as quickly as the police leads. All they had to go on were a bloody T-shirt and
gauze, surgical gloves ,and fingerprints that did not match any known criminals in the FBI
supercomputer databases. Beth was still pushing Grace to move in with her, and Grace was
running out of excuses for putting off a decision.
The first crisp sensations of Autumn blew through the coastal town from he northern forest
the second Saturday in October. Grace awoke late, a rarity, but a personal preference,
with an abundance of energy. She had not volunteered her time to the clinic this weekend
because she was starting to feel haggard. She needed the break after four seventy hour
weeks at the hospital, and partly because she somehow expected Dana Papadapolis to show up
there, and she always went home disappointed. She wondered where the dark enigmatic woman
sailed. She decided the murder must have spooked the ex-con with a self proclaimed
attraction to trouble.
After brushing her teeth and hair, Grace decided to skip
a trip to the gym. Instead, she opted to find Beth who was probably at the park playing
basketball with her partner. She liked to play after a shift to blow off tensions of
Friday night madness. Grace rarely had time to play, and was not as good as Beth or most
of the others, but she loved the game. Dressed in gray cotton shorts, and a blue
sweatshirt, she grabbed a bottle of water and headed for the marina park where they
played.
There were only seven people shooting around when Grace
arrived, five men, Beth's kid brother Ben, Beth, Beth's partner Charlie, who lived nearby,
and three faces Grace did not recognize. The seventh person was unmistakable. Haired
pulled back from a deeply tanned regal face, Dana bounced a worn ball on the edge of the
court and watched the others shoot around warming up. A black floppy-eared dog was laying
next to the metal bleachers that overlooked the court. Rip gave the approaching Jeep an
uninterested doggie yawn that shook the compact ebony body.
"Shit!" Grace muttered for more than one
reason. Beth had noticed the Jeep as soon as it pulled up and was walking over to greet
her.
"Are you gonna play?" Beth inquired a thick
New England accent. Grace could read in her expression how surprised the cop was to see
her. Grace had not told her she had taken a break from the clinic."
"I was hoping to." Grace climbed to the ground
and gave Beth a hug.
"Perfect, we were odd out, now we have eight." She led her by the hand to the
court. Dana was on the court now, and if she was surprise to see Grace she did not show
it. She concentrated on shooting and stretching her arms. Ben was watching her carefully,
then when he caught Grace's eye, he wiggled his eyebrows. He still had their secret. Such
a good boy, Grace thought thankful of his loyalty.
Beth decided they should start playing and set to the
chore of choosing teams. She struggled to decide which team should get Ben and which
should get Grace. Neither were very good in her eyes. Dana decided for her, her first
words of the morning to the group. She opted to take Grace on her team, stating she looked
fast, scrappy, and smart. That set the tone for the rest of the morning.
Beth did not like the way the stranger, especially when
she made Beth feel like a jerk about Grace, and also, because she played so well. As her
frustration grew she began to miss shots. Touch fouls suddenly became shooting fouls. And
calling a shooting foul was always a basis for a playground argument.
A particularly soft nudge by Grace on Beth's arm before
the shot suddenly became cause for a heated debate between the two teams, mainly between
Beth and Walter, a five-ten man, mid thirties with very little curly brown hair on top of
his head, but plenty on his chin.
"It's a friggin foul, Wally," Beth complained.
"I'm shooting."
"No way. It was before the shot, and she barely
touched you."
Dana was holding the ball against her hip and waiting
for the childish disagreement to play out. She watched Grace out of the corner of her eye.
The cute blond looked embarrassed by her friend, or possibly girlfriend?
Grace was talking quietly to Ben, both trying to feign disinterest in the conflict. They
both stole an occasional glance at Dana while the others' argument escalated. The guards
at the pen would have shot at the troublemakers if they were playing in the yard. At least
the game would continue, Dana thought to herself.
"What do you think, Legs" Wally address the
tall, silent one with the ball.
Dana's dark side took hold of her mouth and with a
sinister half grin offered its opinion. "I think it was a wuss call." Turning
away from the suddenly angry affrontee she shot the ball at the basket and the chain net
clinked. Dana did not like the woman, for many reasons, but not all were known to her at
the time.
"It's my goddamn call to make" Beth spat
angrily.
"Whatever," Dana replied with a tone of
boredom. "Are we going to play some more or stand around acting like babies."
"Your ball," Beth spat at them and headed down court to defend the basket.
Wally chuckled deviously.
That small victory was the beginning of a much larger
war. Every time Dana received the ball, Beth slammed her or swatted her in some manner.
Dana knew she had brought it on herself. Basketball was known for turning mild mannered
commoners into trash talking would-be assassins. Criminals behaved better on the courts
than freebirds did, usually because a sniper refereed the games in the pen. Doc did not
play often, but when she did there was always a fight, but not usually one with her in it.
After an elbow to the mouth and another to the nose, she
started to become agitated. Beth was taunting her, waiting for her to call a foul. She
would not give her the satisfaction. When she failed to complaign, the roughness of the
game escalated. What irked the hot head even more was that Dana still made her shots and
was winning.
"Game point," Grace, the winning team's
official point guard, called dutifully as she brought the ball down court. Beth was
cursing diligently under her breath and above it too. Dana had cleared out to draw Beth
out of the play. She knew her defender was close to rampaging, she could tell by the eyes,
knew the look too well. Dana urged Grace verbally to take it to the hole for the final
point. Ben, a sound defensive player, if not a shooter, stopped her and she passed off to
Wally who took a wild shot the bounced high into the air. Unable to resist he draw of
victory, Dana crashed the boards, and snagged the rebound. Using a power dribble to the
hole she jammed the ball over Beth. As soon as she landed, the game won, Beth drove her
forearm hard into her throat knocking the tall champion to the ground.
"Game's over," Beth growled as she stomped
away from the downed player. Rip was pulling at the black leash tethering her to the
bleachers. She barked wildly, gagging at the pressure her straining harness caused against
her chest and neck.
Beth's teammates followed her, including Ben. Grace kneeled beside Dana who was sitting up
holding her throat. She had a cut on her lip and above her right eye from the previous
whacks, but the last one was completely unexpected and knocked her for a loop.
"You fucking bitch" Wally yelled after Beth as
he kneeled next to his downed teammate. He started to chuckle, and by Dana's look she did
not appreciate the laughter. "I'm sorry, but it was sooooo good to see her
lose."
"Sorry if I'm not sharing your pleasure,"
Dana's voice was strained. "But I do have to admit, the win was worth the fractured
trachea." Dana looked into Grace's eyes for the first time that morning.
Unfortunately, she saw no humor in them. Dana lost her own half grin. They both looked
over towards the cars where Beth was beckoning Grace to join them.
Their eyes locked once more before Grace stood and
turned and headed off to her friends.
What was I thinking? Dana chastised herself. Acting like
a stupid kid, what did you think you were doing? God, you're such an idiot, she silently
told herself as she stood and brushed the dirt off her butt. She and Wally walked to the
bleachers where they both donned sweatpants and sweatshirts. Rip was still on alert
watching her friend's enemy warily, tail and head arched alertly. Dana tore the wrist
supports from her hand which protected her from breaking it, a pin or two still holding
bones that had grown around it together. This uncovered the blue tattoo on her hand. She
heard an angry female voice and the sound of peeling tires. When she looked up, Grace was
walking towards her, the first look of anger Dana had seen cross that face.
Heading to his own car, Wally patted his little blond
teammate's shoulder knowingly. "See you next week," he said and then jogged to
his own car, a blue Caravan. There other teammate a quiet kid, no more than seventeen was
still shooting. Ashamed to have caused such a scene, Dana averted her attention to the
lithe figure pounding the rubber ball against the pavement.
When Dana felt the vibration from Grace walking down the
bleachers towards her, and then the jiggle from her straddled the bench next to her, she
finally surrendered her attention to the young doctor.
"You're always bleeding when I see you," Grace
spoke first. Dana reached up and wiped her brow and chin with her sweatshirt sleeve.
"That's why I always keep plenty of staples around
the boat," Dana replied wryly.
Grace barely smiled. "How's the head?"
"Still works."
"Just not all the time," Grace said.
"Look, I didn't cause her to freak out like that
"
"No, but."
"But what?" Dana had assumed defensive body
posture, crossing her arms across her chest.
"But you could have diffused it. All you had to do
was call one foul."
"No way!" she said stubbornly. "That's exactly what she wanted."
Grace sighed out her disgust. "You're just like her."
Dana shot Grace and angry look.
"Neither of you acted very grown-up." Grace crossed her arms then uncrossed them
consciously. Neither woman spoke for a long moment, but crystal blue eyes searched green
ones, hoping for a relenting to come.
"You're probably right," the one with the baby blues gave up first. She was
rewarded with a forgiving smile that caused the strangest, most pleasurable sensation of
warmth in her chest.
"So you're into chicks?" Dana asked as she tied her shoe.
Grace laughed. "We call them women, Dana," she
corrected, "and, yes, I've been into my share." She figured Dana had been
exposed to women with women a'plenty in York, and her simple ability to ask about it
acknowledged that she could probably deal with Grace's preference. "Want to go grab
some lunch?" Grace offered with a nod towards her car.
Dana looked around to see if some one was behind her.
"I mean you, Dana."
After a moment of utter shock, Dana answered her with a slow nod.
"I would give anything for a benedictine and bacon sandwich," Grace said biting
into her turkey club. They were seated in the back of a small deli on Main Street in South
Milford. Dana felt too big for the table and chair they were sitting at, and to make
matters worse the table wobbled. She could not eat her own sandwich, a grilled ham and
cheese, until she had fixed the wobble by wedging a folded napkin under the table leg.
Then she tasted her food.
"Ummm, a cucumber mayonnaise spread with bacon,
lettuce ad tomato. Everything pales in comparison "
"Sounds interesting," Dana said sarcastically.
"Don't you have a favorite food?"
"Bread and water."
Grace did not laugh. She decided to change the subject. "You were pretty incredible on the court today."
Dana shrugged and continued to eat.
"Did you play in high school?"
Dana stopped mid-bite then began to chew again. "I
never went to high school. I went to York when I was fifteen."
Grace suddenly felt terrible
"I'm sorry."
"Yeah, what for?"
"Assuming that . . ."
Dana cut her off, "that I was normal? I wouldn't
apologize for that, Grace. It's nice to be seen as normal. It gives me hope that not
everyone sees me as a monster."
"Then why not let me think that you are normal, and
that you played basketball in school."
"Because I'm a murderer, not a liar. I learned the
game in the Yard when I grew bored with walking in circles, not because I was trying to
win a scholarship so that I could go to college."
"That's as good a reason as any," Grace
decided.
"Grace, I don't want to talk about this."
"Okay, what would you like to talk about?"
"Can't we just eat?"
Grace nodded at her companion, suddenly aware of how she
always felt obligated to fill silences. This was a change and a bit uncomfortable for her.
She decided to concentrate on eating and actually found the sandwich enjoyable, despite
the lack of cucumber froth.
Grace and Dana sat side by side in the Jeep parked in
the beach parking lot close to the cove were Dana again moored her boat. Neither had
spoken other than short sentences discussing payment of the lunch bill.
"Asparagus."
"What?" Grace had turned to her companion
surprised to hear any sound.
"My favorite food. It's asparagus"
Grace smiled at her for encouragement.
"My dad and I used to eat it by the bushell."
"It use to scare me because it always made my pee
smell funny," Grace responded.
Dana chuckled, a deep sound.
"So where have you been, Dana?" It was time to
get down to business.
"The West Indies."
"Any sharks catch you this time?"
"Nothing big." Dana smiled surprised the woman
remembered.
"I take it you removed the stitches yourself."
Dana nodded affirmation. The light sensitive lenses of
the driver robbed Dana of seeing the green eyes that surveyed her.
"Any particular reason you came back to
Milford?"
Dana could not lie, "Rip likes it here"
The dog's head suddenly appeared between the seats, a
wet tongue flicking slobber in their faces. "Yuck, Rip," Dana remarked wiping
the drops of drool from her cheek. Grace laughed and scratched behind the beast's ears.
"And it was my destiny," Dana added, eyes
suddenly dark.
"Destiny?" Grace asked nervously.
"Oh yeah. It was my destiny to come here today, and
whup your girlfriend's ass all over that basketball court." Dana half-smiled at the
mild irritation that remark caused.
"Lady, you have a dark side," Grace commented,
shaking her head from side to side.
She did not know the half of it, Dana thought.
"Did you hear about the murder?"
"What murder."
I guess not. "A lady was killed down by the marina,
that night we . . .met."
"No, I hadn't heard." Dana was brushing her
legs nervously.
"The police found the bag with the gauze and your
bloody shirt. They think it belongs to the murderer, that maybe the attacker was injured
in a struggle."
"Oh shit!" Dana looked up in alarm.
"Yeah, your blood and my fingerprints are all over
that trash. "
Dana rubbed her forehead in consternation. "My DNA
is logged in the FBI computer." She was stating something Grace already assumed.
Starting in 2001 all DNA of all felons in the United States was collected and catalogued
with the FBI. "How long have they had the shirt?"
"A little over a month."
Dana swore silently. "They should have the results
any day." Dana was rubbing her head again, unable to look at the doctor. The fact
that the labs had such careful testing procedures that took weeks to complete seemed to be
the only good fortune so far.
"Dana," a soft voice. "Look at me,"
she pleaded. Frightened blue eyes locked with hers. "If you didn't do it you have
nothing to worry about."
"If?" Dana was hurt and bewildered. "I
thought I was with you."
"You were. Damn, I'm sorry. I chose the wrong
words," her voice was rising with the panic. "I'm nervous for god's sake. Cut me
some slack!" Grace looked away from the incredulous stare her eyes starting to tear
from frustration and the weeks of stress. "My fingerprints are all over the evidence
too. And my fucking girlfriend is smack dab in the middle of the case."
"We didn't do anything wrong," Dana reasoned
knowing her companion needed support. "Why didn't you tell her the truth about the
trash?"
Grace wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "I
don't know."
"That's not an answer. This is fucking serious,
Grace!"
"I was afraid, alright. What if I had picked up
some other person on the road and not you. I could have been that dead woman. Beth would
have killed me if she knew I picked up a stranger and followed her to a secluded
boat."
"So you were afraid of your girlfriend finding out
you were with another woman? Good god Grace, this is my life you're screwing with!"
Grace sniffled. Dana knew she should not blame the woman
for having to deal with Dana's vulnerabilities under the law. She could not hate her for
letting her fear control her. But the problem remained. The law would believe what was
most convenient. Grace was sobbing, the shame and regret more than Dana could bare to
watch.
"Grace," Dana said, tentatively reaching for the woman's shaking shoulder. "It doesn't matter," she spoke reassuringly, smoothly. "Listen, I'll take care of this."
"How?" she asked with a sniffle.
Dana was dismayed to see the woman lacking the
self-confidence which she came to associate with this her. The vulnerability stirred a
protectiveness she had not allowed herself to feel for so long. She had no answer, yet,
but hoped one would come soon. She knew one thing for a fact, she could not turn herself
in to the authorities. She remembered the bar and the fury she nearly unleashed before
stomping out of the crowd. Too many witnesses could testify as to her "agitated
state" And her violent history, an con, with body piled upon body. And even if they
by some miracle did sort it out, she would have to spend time in the clink while they did.
She had herself she would never go back to that existence, not for one second.
"I'm assuming they failed to ID your prints?"
she asked trying to keep the hopelessness from her voice.
"Not yet. I have never been printed."
"Good. If they haven't yet they aren't going to.
That means you're safe and I can run."
"No!" Grace growled through clenched jaw.
"That's no life. They would catch you sooner or later. Maybe if we went together to
someone other than the local police."
"That's not an option."
"Listen, there's nothing tying you to this other
than a bag of bloody garments."
"I killed a cop once, Grace." Dana thought
that should be explanation enough but seeing the question on the young face, she
continued. "They won't give a copkiller the benefit of the doubt. Never did."
She looked at Grace's pained innocent eyes, her self-loathing consuming her voice."
"Why did you kill him?"
Dana did not want to talk about it.
"If you do not tell me, I will only imagine why,
and that's not fair to you"
No answer.
"I'm assuming drugs were involved, you were young
and . . ."
"No, no drugs. I never did drugs." She was
adamant. Grace waited for more realizing this woman had certain rules that she did not
want anyone to think she had broken. "After my dad ....died, I was placed in a temp
home, his home." She left out the devastating details of her father's suicide and the
subsequent rejection by her mother when the courts asked her to take her into her new
family. "It was temporary home. A lot of kids passed through, mostly boys." She
swallowed willing herself to go on with the story. "He abused some of us. Some
emotionally, others sexually, usually the boys took the brunt of it because they would
keep quiet. I had been there a month, maybe a little longer. I was a little mixed up after
my dad died. " She paused searching for the right words to describe the numbness that
consumed her after finding her father, not having returned home one night, slumped on the
floor dead by his own hand. No note or explanation was left for her, but Dana knew that
the despair and pain he held so closely had finally killed him, and she blamed herself for
not saving him from it, for not bringing him enough joy. "I knew what he was doing to
those boys. He was sneaking into their rooms late at, and it sickened me. I was so
confused that this could happen, confused about why my dad had left me like that. Nothing
made sense to me at the time. I locked on to the need to set some kind of order, you know
the way you know things should be but are not. I had to do something for them."
"So you killed him."
Dana smothered her face with her hands. "I stayed
up one night listening to him creep around the house. He went into the boy's room next to
mine. The kid wasn't quite twelve yet. Then I heard the whimpering start. I had a butcher
knife I had taken from the kitchen earlier, in case he " The rest was self evident.
"What about the boy?"
"He was too ashamed of what he did to him to
talk." In retrospect Dana figured that the newly revamped Foster Care System had
played a roll in the boy's silence. The State had spent over a billion dollars making the
system safer for the children. Dana had sparked a political bomb with her metal butcher
knife. She had killed the man, and that guilt played against her in court as much as
anything else.
Minutes passed in silence. Grace wondered if this woman would ever forgive herself. She
placed her soft hand on the back of the downturned head. Her fingers ran over the raised
scar for a moment, then ran her hand through the silky, dark tresses. "We'll get
through this together," she whispered into the devastated woman's ear.
Dana was trying to regain her control, hide the shame
she felt. But the stroking of the woman's hand on her made her want to release it.
"Together?" Dana whispered the foreign word.
She had been on her own for so long.
"Do I speak in Greek? Grace asked a hint of bemusement in her voice. "You know, an adverb describing a relationship of one to another, mutually, reciprocally."
"You mean you want to share this problem with
me."
"Exactly."
Dana looked away, her walls seemingly back in place
where she needed them. "I don't share very well."
"I'm good enough at it for us both. Meanwhile, I
want you to come home with me while we figure this out."
"Geez, you're forward."
"We need to work together on this, and knowing you,
you'll take off on you're own if I let you leave my sight. And besides, I always get what
I want"
Dana smiled, "You don't have a clue of what you're
getting."
Grace leered at her out of the corner of her eye as she
climbed out of the vehicle. "I'm always willing to try new things. Now come on, let's
go get you some clean clothes. You can shower at my place."
That is when Dana realized, she was the one who did not
know what she was in for. She hopped out of the car and followed the fiery woman down to
the dinghy on the beach. Rip scurried after them intent on being a part of the activity.
"By the way, Grace, I speak Greek fluently."
The young doctor's home was a former beach house,
converted for year round living. It was once three streets from the edge of the Atlantic
Ocean. Now the home was prime beachfront property. Shingles storm-worn to gray by wind and
ocean spray gave it that charming look. A small crab apple tree in the front yard was
beginning to turn orange. Dana slid as she stepped out of the Jeep onto a rotting apple
that had dropped onto the gravel drive.
"Watch where you're walking."
Dana glanced at her new partner with irritation, then
scraped the mess off her sneaker using the edge of the tire. Dana heaved her black duffel
bag and computer case out of the back seat. Rip had followed her new best friend, Grace,
to the front door.
"Go sniff around you fickle hound," Dana
scolded the black dog as Grace played with the key pad entry for the door lock. Despite
her small hands she kept hitting the wrong key and the door refused to open.
"You should get the big button Fisher Price version," Dana quipped.
A blush crept over Grace's face.
"Mind if I try," Dana asked cockily.
Grace waved the way for her, but before she could tell her the five digit combo, Dana had
pressed several numbers and the door opened with a click. Dana moved aside for the smaller
woman to enter, a look of astonishment on the ivory face.
Dana wore a self-satisfied smirk as she followed her into the house. Maybe she could hold
her own with the little doctor, until she ran out of tricks.
The front door of the house opened into a large sitting
room decorated in bright yellows and greens, with pale blue wall to wall carpet under a
hand-woven Persian rug. The large comfortable living area flowed into the dining area, a
round etched glass table and four upholstered, hardwood chairs surrounding it. The dining
area was separated by a white Formica counter that held a pile of newspapers and the
cordless answering machine. Just beyond the counter was the tiled kitchen, and a huge
window greenhouse lined with exotic plants and flowers. To the right was the backdoor that
led to a deck and the beach. The bathroom sat between two rooms, the large bedroom
appeared to be where Grace slept, a queensize bed, still unmade, centered in the room, and
the smaller room appeared to be for storage, the only furniture an old wooden rolltop
desk, with boxes of books and clothes piled around it. An ironing board leaned against the
wall collecting dust.
"The shower is here," Grace said pointing to the bathroom. "I suggest you
use it before you kill my plants, right babies," she said gently stroking a leaf of a
mother-in-law's tongue.
"Are you saying that I smell?" Dana asked incredulously letting her large bag
thump against the floor in the middle of the living room.
"I'm sure you smell, we all smell. What I'm saying is you stink when I smell
you."
"I think I'm offended."
"Offensive is more like it."
"Just for that I don't think I will take a shower," she replied and sat on the
floral couch, legs and arms folded across her large frame. Grace ignored her and walked
into the small kitchen area. She took out a bottle of water and tossed it at her guest.
Then with hands on her hip she stated plainly, "No shower, no asparagus.?"
A smile crept to Dana's lips at the thought of asparagus. Oh this lady was good. With that
she removed some clothes, a towel, and a bag of toiletries from her duffel and went to
shower.
The sexual experimenter in Grace would have liked to have joined her friend in the shower,
but there was an invisible, yet physical barrier around Dana. Grace's gentle platonic
touches were always met with a tensing, and even the medicinal touches had been met with
trembling. She had experimented with comfortable distances when they had returned to the
boat to get the articles and found Dana seemed most comfortable when Grace was at least a
meter away from her.
She moved the bag and computer into the bedroom to get it out of the way in the small
living room. She had nearly tripped over it once when straightening the house. She was
straightening the bedroom, having forgotten to make the bed before leaving to play
earlier, when Dana came into the room, dirty clothes in hand, her raven hair wet and
combed back reveling her striking beauty. Grace stared dumbfounded at the woman standing
before her.
"Grace, when I told you I had some intimacy issues before, I really meant it. I can't
sleep in the same bed with you" her voice was quiet, almost shy.
"Who said anything about sleeping," Grace joked and finished making the bed.
Dana's ruddy complexion turned crimson. Grace noticed the look of terror on the flushed
woman.
"I was only kidding, kiddo. I will sleep on the couch." She wondered what kind
of intimacy issues this seemingly impenetrable woman had, no pun intended, okay maybe a
little one.
"I will take the couch."
"No, it is way too short for you." She snapped the top sheet across the bed and
let it drift down onto the mattress. "You can wash your dirty things here," she
explained opening a folding closet door to reveal a small stackable washer/dryer unit.
"But wait until I'm done with my shower, otherwise I'll get no hot water. So much for
technological advances, eh?"
Dana dropped her sweaty clothes into the washer basin. She realized now that she had a
weapon against little miss smart ass.
Grace recognized the devious glint in her eye, "I mean it," she threatened. Dana
held her arms out declaring innocence.
She could not resist the urge to turn the washer on while the young doctor was showering.
She pulled the knob back out after the walls started shaking from Grace's elbow pounding
the tile. "Heh, heh, heh, little miss Yalie has herself a little temper," Dana
said to herself.
After a quick tour of the house on her own, she admired the seashore water colors dotting
the walls, Dana found a telephone line in the bedroom and plugged in her laptop.
"What are you doing?" Grace had finished her shower and was towel drying her
hair.
Dana folded the screen down upon hearing the question. "Checking my mail."
Grace sat across from her on the bed working the ends of her hair. "What do you do
for a living, Dana?"
"I'm a sailor, remember?"
"No, you were an 'or something'."
"You have a good memory."
"It comes in handy when I'm trying to identify vital organs from non vitals."
"I'm a freelance nano physicist."
"Oooo a nano tech. Cool. Have you worked on anything I would recognize?"
"Probably." But Dana offered no other information.
Noticing her guest's reluctance to postulate further she changed the subject. "I have
to go to the grocery, and I would like it if you came along." She had moved to the
washer and flipped it on, adding her dirty laundry to the soapy water. "I will even
let you squeeze a melon or two if you're good."
"You're quite a flirt, Dr. Wilson."
"Who me?"
Dana mumbled.
"We're leaving in five minutes, so hurry up with your mail." Grace left the room
with a youthful spring in her step. Dana fell back on the bed unable to determine why her
heart was pounding.
Beth did not sleep after the loss at Marina Park. She was still seething from the
humiliation, and on top of it, Grace had bitched her out in front of Ben for losing her
temper.
"Chill, Beth, it was just a game," Ben offered guardedly. He handed her one of
her own beers from the fridge. She took the cold bottle and opened it with her hand, then
she took his and opened it for him. He had noticed the silent exchanges between his
sister's girlfriend and the tall dark haired woman. He also had driven by Grace's house
that Friday evening a month before to make sure Grace arrived home safely. When he did not
see her car he waited down the road until she finally drove past. That was at four-thirty,
four hours later than he expected. He had not mentioned it to Grace or Beth, but it
bothered him despite the fact he knew it was none of his business. But now, with Grace
staying behind, and all the other tell tale signs, he was not so sure where his loyalties
should stay.
"Did Grace seem strange to you today?" he asked his sister.
The lean woman with short, cropped blond hair and large brown eyes shrugged. "She has
been kind of distant lately."
"Yeah, like she's in Canada. I think she's seeing that convict," Ben stated then
took a swig of beer."
Beth yanked the bottle from his lips and beer dribbled down the front of his clothes.
"Hey," he protested.
"What convict?"
"The one who kicked our asses today in that game." He tried to blot the beer
from his NIKE shirt.
"How do you know she's a con, Benny?" She handed him a dishrag.
"Her tattoo." He grabbed his beer back from her.
Beth searched her memory but did not remember that detail.
"We ran into her at Sully's a month or so back. Grace stopped a brawl that
night."
"Benjamin!" Beth exclaimed. "You never told me that!"
Now Ben was in trouble.
While the two were packing away the groceries into the refrigerator and cupboards, Grace
initiated a conversation about nano technology based on what she knew was happening in the
medical field.
"I have a friend of mine is the microbiologist on the cancer cure, nano project at
Yale." She watched as her tall friend put the spaghetti noodles on the top shelf.
That was going to be a problem later.
"Really. I was under the impression they weren't doing much work on that
project."
"Well, yes, they are stalled."
"More like completely out of ethanol."
Grace leaned back against the counter and observed the woman who was bustling around her
kitchen.
"You know this would be a lot easier if you helped," Dana said her face in a
cabinet trying to decide if she should follow Grace's lead and place canned goods with
cake mix.
"I enjoy watching you move."
Dana's mouth went dry.
She really did like it. She was fluid, powerful, and efficient, even when it came to
putting the milk away.
Dana folded up the last paper bag and handed it to Grace. "Does your girlfriend carry
a gun all the time?"
"No."
"That's good to know."
"Why do you ask?"
Dana leaned forward and whispered, "Because she's standing at your front door."
Grace turned around to see Beth watching them through the oval glass.
"Cover your hand," Grace said as she walked over to unlock the door.
"Hello, Grace," Beth said coldly as she stepped into the house. Her eyes glued
to the tall dark hair woman, Beth was shocked that the woman was there. "I think you
and I need to talk." Her eyes darted to Grace for only a moment despite the fact that
she was speaking to her.
Dana allowed her blue eyes to latch onto Beth's dark eyes long enough to relay she could
be a threat.
My god, she sneered at me Dana thought a smile creeping to her lips. When Grace caught the
fire in Beth, she was not sure if she wanted to be alone with her.
"I need to find Rip anyway," Dana said grabbing a gray sweatshirt.
"Prison gray looks good on you," Beth snapped.
Dana did not let that phase her. "We always wore day-glo orange," she replied as
she opened the door and exited.
Dana walked to the edge of the yard and whistled for the dog. She waited a moment, looking
down the gravel road for a sign of the dog. Grace's backyard all sand, but the front was a
patch of wispy grass and dead dandelion stems clinging to transplanted soil. She whistled
again, this time with her fingers in her mouth. A second later the dog was bounding
towards her, her coat gleaming form a dip in the water, and sand covering her glued to her
legs. "Come on, Rip, let's go for a walk," she said leading the dog down to a
rock jetty. Rip followed for a few paces, then assumed the lead down the road to the dead
end.
While her new friend was out for a walk, the young doctor had the serious business of
extricating herself from her souring relationship and deciphering how that could compound
the problem of the bloody shirt. Her instinct was to come clean, end the relationship
crisply and not hee haw about it, but like before, she thought too much about her action,
and being a Kentucky girl hee hawing came easily.
"Your friend has an interesting mark on her hand."
"Want a drink?"
"I want an answer."
"Yes it is an interesting tattoo."
"That's not what I mean."
"Oh, so you have a particular question in mind."
"Why do you have a stranger in your house, a....a... deviant?"
"Deviant? She's an ex-con not a deviant. The prison system is for reforming people,
not labeling them. Remember?"
"How long have you been seeing her?"
"I'm not seeing her, Beth."
"Bull shit, Grace. Ben told me you were. She's at your house. Duh, it doesn't take a
rocket scientist to figure this out. You think everyone is so stupid compared to
you."
"I do not! And what does Ben know? That I stopped her from fighting a group of bikers
at Sully's a couple months ago."
"That you left early and didn't get home until five A.M.."
"You had your brother spying on me? That says a lot about this relationship."
"You're the one who didn't go home. Now I know why you haven't wanted to move in with
me. Tell me Grace, you into Bad Girls now?"
Grace glared at her
"And we slept together that morning too. Boy that was slutty of you."
"I think you should leave, now."
"You think you're so civilized. Is she civilized, or does she take you like your her
bitch.
"Shut up, Beth!" Grace shouted.
"Is that our problem, you like it rough?"
"Get out!"
"You're a bitch, Grace," Beth said as she slammed the door behind her.
Dana was using the garden hose to wash the sand and dirt from the dark hound when the
angry woman stormed past and then drove away.
When the dog and the tall con entered the house, Grace was in the kitchen starting dinner.
"Stay off the furniture," Dana told the dog before meandering into the kitchen
herself.
"Can I do anything?" she asked the bustling blond.
"With Beth or dinner?"
"I better stick to dinner. I'm good at both chopping and basting."
Grace looked up from her roast, a sadness in her green eyes.
"I'm sorry it didn't go very well."
"You can help me with the potatoes," Grace said offering a smile.
"I have never seen a person consume that much asparagus," Grace commented.
Dana smiled proudly. "Did you get any?"
"More than I wanted."
"There's still some on your plate."
"Please, take it."
Dana reached over and grabbed the long stalk eating it one bite at a time until it
disappeared.
"That is truly obscene."
"It's the only way to eat it. First you eat the bitter tip, then work your way down
to the sweetness of the . . ."
"Okay, that's enough." Grace's face was bright red. She cleared the dishes for
both and placed them into the dishwasher. Dana used a napkin to wipe up the stray butter
from her face.
"Hey there, dog," Grace said to the resting beast lying on her side near the
back door. Rip got up from her spot and went to the bathroom to drink out of the toilet.
Grace heard the noise and went to drag her out, closing the door. "That's disgusting,
Rip. You know Dana, you should get her a water bowl." Grace brought the dog into the
kitchen and found a round Tupperware container which she filled with water and set on the
floor.
"What does she eat?"
"She was eating garbage we found each other. I don't think she's too particular. But
usually I give her kibble."
"We didn't buy any kibble."
"Then garbage it is," Dana said with a half grin. Grace looked at her angrily.
"I'm kidding. I brought some with me. Dana went to the bedroom and pulled out a five
pound sack of chow out of her duffel and brought it to the kitchen. Do you have another
dish?"
Grace dug into the cupboard and found a square dish which Dana filled and placed next to
the water. She put the dog food bag on the counter.
"Can I help you wash the dishes?"
"No, Dana, you practically did all the dishes while you were cooking. Go turn the
tube on and relax."
"I don't watch television. Turns your brain to mush," she said gently touching
her friends head with a finger several times.
"Then go listen to music."
Dana was sitting on the floor, flipping through the doctor's music discs, not liking what
she saw. She had practically every Disney soundtrack, old Celine Dion, several groups she
didn't recognize but looked like sappy love songs tracks by the titles, and several discs
of flute music.
"You haven't found anything yet?" Grace asked stepping next to her. She had
finished the few dishes and was drying her hands on a towel. Dana sighed. "This one
is good," she said holding up a New Era label with a woman playing flute versions as
a tribute to old Melissa Etheridge songs.
"Don't think so, "Dana said rolling her eyes and placing it on the bottom of the
pile with a shiver. Gosh, she shivered again at the thought of what it would sound like.
"You don't like New Era?"
"New Error is more like it. And flute music drives me nuts.
"What, a traumatic incident with a drum and fife corps as a child?"
Dana laughed. "No, for some reason the sound of a flute has always irritated me.
Modern science cannot explain it."
Grace looked hurt.
"Sorry," Dana shrugged.
"What about these?" she held up a Celine Dion disc.
"Mushy love songs, ugh. Can't relate."
"What do you relate to?" Grace was becoming frustrated
"Sass Jordan, 'Damaged'."
"Who?"
"Nevermind. Queen, `Bohemian Rhapsody'?"
Never heard of it.
"Miles Davis?"
"Nope."
"Cassandra Wilson?"
"Nope. Any relation to me?"
"Doubt it."
"Pamela Williams?"
A shake of, no.
"Charlie Parker?"
"Oh, you like country?"
"Not Charlie Pride, Charlie Parker. Nevermind."
"How about Hootie?"
"How about, not. Grace, has anyone ever told you you're a bit," she drew a
square in the air with her fingers, making sound effects to emphasize each corner,
"when it comes to music. I mean none of these songs are actually performed by the
writer, except for Hootie."
"You called me square!" Her face was red with anger. Dana froze. "Don' deny
it. You drew a square in the air and meant that for me."
"Only in terms of music."
Grace flipped importantly through the rack and handed her a CD. "Try this on,"
she handed her a Madonna disc.
"Let's try the radio," Dana said handing the disc back to her. She was beginning
to have real fun now.
Dana kept an eye on her hostess while she fiddled with the tuner. She was able to find a
classic rock station which at the moment was playing an ancient Heart song. "See
these people actually write the music they play. Gives it a whole new level of
meaning."
"I'm not going to debate with you about music."
"That's because you would lose," Dana replied.
"Not likely." Resistance was futile. "The voice is an instrument, just as a
trumpet or saxophone is."
Grace took the bait, hook, line, and sinker. "You cannot tell me that a person who
writes the song doesn't convey much more than someone who is simply performing them?"
"Surely they can. Haven't you ever given someone a card that said exactly what you
wanted it to say. But you signed it and handed it to the person yourself."
"You're comparing music to a Hallmark moment?"
"I won," a wide grin broke out across Grace's face.
Dana shook her head. "Have you ever played an instrument?"
"The recorder, in kindergarten."
Dana smiled. "When I play, I play for myself because it feels good. When it doesn't
feel good I won't play any more. You can't compare that to a Hallmark card."
"My, my, that's a selfish attitude. I was always taught to share my gifts."
"From what I can tell, music isn't one of them."
Grace laughed. "What do you play, your armpit?"
"Ha...Ha...Ha...that is so funny."
"Really, what do you play?"
"A twelve string Guild."
"What's that?"
"A guitar."
"You should have brought it."
Dana gave her a tired look.
"Oh, that's right, you only play for yourself. Silly me. I bet you write your own
music too."
"I fool around with songs. I wrote one about this square woman doctor who picks up
bleeding convicts and goes to deserted boats with them. I'll play it for you sometime. I
doubt it would hit the top forty and make it to your collection though."
"Tina Turner."
"What are you talking about now?"
"She didn't write her own songs, but she's kickin." Grace started hip hoppin
around.
Dana thought for a few seconds as the little blond swirled around her. "Okay, I'll
concede to Tina Tuner."
"Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin. No one could have meant the words the way
she sang them even if they understood what she was saying, Billie Holiday, Mariah Carey,
Madonna."
"Okay, Okay. I concede. But Madonna is pushing it?
And Mariah wrote her own music."
Grace beamed. "Want a beer?" she offered as she bopped into the kitchen.
"Sounds good."
Rip had finished dinner and jingled into the room taking
a seat on the couch. "Get off there," Dana said tapping her rump. The dog rolled
off the couch, snorted and curled up on the matching chair. Dana crawled over to the chair
and repeated the herding. Rip finally settled for under the cocktail table.
Grace handed Dana the bottle of brew and slid down on the floor next to her. They sat with
their backs to the couch, Dana sorting the music, and Grace watching trying to figure out
the categories she was using.
"So have you figured out what we are going to do?"
"I was thinking that if you really wanted to, we could listen to Hootie."
"I meant about the DNA test."
Dana twisted to study her new buddy. She truly is beautiful, she thought to herself. The
silky blond hair hung loosely around her delicate oval face. Her light green eyes were
intelligent and friendly, and she had fine smile lines all around them. When she smiled at
Dana, she made two dimples on either side of her mouth that made Dana melt. Dana felt a
twinge in her stomach and had to look away. Her body had grown warm for some unknown
reason. "I have a idea, but it's a long shot. "
Grace noticed the rosy blush climb up her friend's cheeks and her smile grew wider. She
could not help herself, and she let her hand rest on the strong knee beside her. That
grabbed Dana's attention and her leg began to shake. "It's okay," Grace
whispered as she moved closer, so that their faces were only inches apart.
"You just broke up with your girlfriend, and you don't know me very well," Dana
said inching away.
Grace removed her hand from the soft, worn denim.
Dana sensed that her friend needed to feel connected to someone, overcame her survivalist
instinct, and gently claimed the smaller retreating hand. She replaced it to its original
position on her leg. She left her own hand on top of it and squeezed the smaller fingers.
She knew loneliness quite well herself.
Grace let her head rest on the round shoulder next to her. A moment of silence lapsed
while they both acclimated to the touching. Dana nervously sipped her Coors from the long
neck bottle.
Dana awoke with a jerk, the loud clang of a storm door jostling her out of a deep sleep.
Having insisted upon sleeping on the couch, her ankles were propped on the arm of the
couch and the tendons in her knees were stiff from being locked all night . As she tried
to bend them and sit she cursed loudly.
The front door opened and slapped closed again. "I told you that couch is too small
for you," Grace said as she walked through the living room and threw the Sunday paper
on the counter. She was dressed in gray shorts and a faded Navy blue Yale sweatshirt.
Using the counter for balance she began contorting her legs in what appeared to be
methodical stretching.
Dana rubbed her face, too much beer and too much talking had given her a headache.
"What are you up to," she grumbled.
"I'm going for my morning run. Want to come along?" she asked bright and
chipper.
"Not unless someone is chasing me," Dana said
lying back down and pulling the blanket over her.
"Don't you want to be I shape?" Grace said throwing punches and karate kicks in
the air at an invisible opponent.
"Not if I can avoid it."
"Suit yourself. I'll be back in half an hour," she said and bounced out of the
house.
While the good doctor was busy sucking in car fumes and
building up the lactic acid in her body, Dana took a long hot shower, brewed a supremely
strong pot of java, whipped up eggs with Monterey jack cheese, jalepeno peppers, green
chilies and Tabasco sauce, and sat down to read the paper. She was scrutinizing the
weather and tidal times when the bedraggled jogger returned, her blond hair dark and
soaked with perspiration, her cheeks blotched with pink.
Dana looked up over her wire rims and the paper at the gasping woman. She returned to her
paper. "Feeling good?"
"Yeah, baby," Grace gasped.
Dana snickered.
Grace pulled off the sweatshirt to reveal her dark blue sports halter and a ripple stomach
and strong back. She tossed the clothing on the floor by her bedroom and headed for the
fridge for a bottle of water.
"Oooo, eggs. Any left?"
"They're spicy," Dana warned and took a gulp of her coffee.
"I like spicy," she said grabbing a plate and taking the other half of the eggs
out of the frying pan. She sat in the chair next to her friend and began to eat.
"Doesn't exercise curb your appetite?"
"Only one thing curbs my appetite," she answered while stuffing her face.
"Let me guess, eating?"
Grace didn't bite.
Dana returned to her reading.
"Want to do the crossword?" Grace asked reaching for the Literature section and
a pencil on the counter.
"I'm not very big on words."
No shit, Grace thought. She was sitting on her chair knees to her chest, pencil held
between her teeth. Every so often she would write, then replace the pencil. Five minutes
later she put down her pencil and paper. "Done. What do you want to do now?"
"That was the `Jersey Times'." The "Jersey Times" had replaced the
"New York Times" after the big wave removed Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, and
Long Island.
"And your point is . . .?"
Dana's mouth hung open slightly . My god, Dana thought to herself, Miss Hyperextension was
a freaking genius too.
Grace filled a mug with coffee. "Would you like some more?" she offered.
Dana held her mug out blindly for a refill. Grace poured the remaining coffee into her
cup.
"You are soooo welcome."
"Thanks," Dana said guiltily pulling her nose from the stock market news where
her main interests were in the pharmaceutical companies and several chemical companies.
"When you finish your coffee we should probably head out."
Grace finished the hot java quickly. "I'm done. Let me get cleaned up and rid of this
uniboob look."
I kind of like the uniboob look, Dana thought as the bathroom door closed.