Dani’s eyes were sympathetic. “I know. Me, too, actually. They’ve been together over forty years.”
“Forty years?” Meredith looked at Dani wide eyed.
Dani nodded. “Millie told me. I knew Millie was gay that first day we met them at Hudson Pines. She’s so obvious.”
Meredith raised her eyebrows. “She’s obvious? I couldn’t tell.”
“Well...” Dani hesitated. “I guess I kind of know what to look for. Esther doesn’t really look the part, but that goes to show you can’t judge a book by its cover, right? I think if everybody could take that attitude and could get to know me, they’d see I’m not such a horrible person.”
Meredith was startled to see the raw emotion on Dani’s face. She leaped off the bed and hugged her friend. She rubbed Dani gently on the back in sympathy and said, “You’re not a horrible person. I judged you too quickly, and it was stupid, and I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’m going to have this kind of thing my whole life, I guess, so maybe it’s better that I toughen up now.”
Meredith’s chest tightened. She had caused her friend so much needless pain through her own fear. She moved back to the bed but sat on the edge. “You know in art today when you quoted that wise person who said something about being scared of people who were different? I know you were quoting me, even though I don’t feel very wise right now, but back then I was talking about how people react to Mikey. I’m just as guilty, though. I’m such a hypocrite.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. It wasn’t your fault.”
Meredith reached over and swatted Dani playfully on the knee. “Oh, yes it was. Don’t you dare think you deserve to be treated that way. The problem was mine, not yours. I mean, c’mon, when people make fun of Mikey, I always say it’s their problem, not his. I’ve been doing so much thinking about this that my head hurts, literally. And...”
“What?”
“I missed you.” It was true.
Dani looked almost relieved. “I missed you, too.”
“Oh, my God. I can be so stupid.”
“Well, I can be stupid, too, I guess.” Dani had an expectant look on her face. “So...are we friends again?”
“Absolutely. Now we’d better work on this PowerPoint. Our old painted lady isn’t getting any younger, so fire up that laptop of yours, and let’s get to work. Chop, chop.”
“Okay, okay. I’m moving. I’m moving.” Dani spun around to sit in the chair properly and then turned on her laptop. “Hey, do you think I can borrow your digital camera?”
“My camera? Sure.” Meredith slid open the top drawer to her desk and pulled out the camera. “What do you need it for?”
“Oh, uh, I just thought I’d try to get a few more pictures of the house.”
Meredith though it was a little weird that Dani didn’t want to go to the house together, but she decided not to push anything so soon after rekindling their friendship. She just said, “Keep it as long as you want.”
“Thanks.” Dani looked back at the laptop screen, and said, “Can you believe it’ll be May when we do our presentation? I mean, I know I’ve been counting down the days until graduation, but this is happening way too fast.”
Meredith pulled her laundry hamper next to Dani’s chair and sat on the closed lid. “Oh, my God. Tell me about it. You know, the weather’s starting to get nice. Do you want to take Mikey to Bryant Park with me on Saturday when we get back from karate?”
“Taekwondo.”
Meredith laughed and slapped Dani’s knee playfully again. “God, you’re just like him. Just for that you can ride the teeter totter with him. I hate it.”
Dani grinned. “Too much like exercise?”
“Oh, cut it out. I exercise. I walk to and from school every day.”
Dani put her hands up in defense. “Okay, okay. I give.”
“Speaking of May being right around the corner, did you know that my portfolio’s due in three weeks and I haven’t even started on your scary portrait?”
“Please, don’t ever let Ben know that you’re painting me when I was mad at him.”
“Oh, believe me, I won’t. I’ll leave that up to you.”
Meredith leaned closer so she could see the computer screen. Sitting there that close, in her room with the door closed, was surprisingly comforting. She took a deep breath to settle herself, but her breath caught in her throat as an awareness of Dani flooded her senses. Dani smelled clean like baby powder. Meredith had missed that. Dani’s thigh, inches from her own, was warm, and Meredith couldn’t tear her focus away from that warmth. Something stirred deep inside.
Dani poked her in the arm. “Hey.”
Meredith swallowed hard and looked up. She hadn’t been listening to a single word Dani had said. Maybe this best friend thing was going to be trickier than she thought.
MEREDITH LEANED AGAINST the windowsill in Mr. Dalton’s classroom as Dani invited their classmates to the Whickett Days open house of the soon-to-be-renovated Randall-Bradley House. The open house was schedule for the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, just over three weeks away. Mr. Dalton seemed pleased with their work, and their classmates had seemed interested, too. Meredith knew Dani’s outgoing personality was the main reason most of their classmates were attentive, but she couldn’t help thinking that perhaps she had satisfied her classmates’ curiosity about herself. Surprisingly, she hadn’t been that nervous talking in front of them. Ben had helped in that regard. At the beginning of her part, he winked at her. She hoped Dani hadn’t seen, because she didn’t want Dani to know that she and Ben had talked.
Meredith smiled when Dani flicked her head to get a lock of hair out of her eyes and felt that oh-so-familiar warm sensation sneak up on her again. She watched the strong athletic way Dani moved, and the way she riveted everyone’s attention.
How could I have ever let her out of my life? What in the world was I thinking?
Dani powered down her laptop. Mr. Dalton stood up and said, “Thank you, ladies. That was an excellent presentation.” Meredith and Dani returned to their seats in the back of the classroom. “I’m sure we’ve all wondered about that old house at least once and what serendipity—discovering Esther and Millie at Hudson Pines. It sounds like it was meant to happen.”
Ben raised his hand. “Uh, Mr. Dalton, what does ‘serendipity’ mean?”
Mr. Dalton laughed. “How can you be seniors in high school and not know what serendipity means?” He laughed again when the students protested his assessment of them. “Okay, okay. Uh, let’s see. Serendipity is the effect of discovering something you needed, when you weren’t looking for it. For example, have you ever found something, like your lost car keys when digging out a sock from behind the dryer?”
Every student, it seemed, had a ready story about serendipity. Mr. Dalton let the conversations continue for a few minutes, but then he called the class back to order and reminded them that the finalists would display their projects during the Whickett Days Celebration. He went behind his desk and pulled out a piece of paper that presumably held the names of the finalists. Attaching the list to his clipboard, he scribbled something on the bottom, walked to the front of his desk, sat on the edge, and said, “Now before I name the finalists, I’m reminding all my classes that the final fundraiser for the senior class is this Saturday, nine a.m. at the Freezy-Frost. You’ll be washing cars for a good cause—your senior prom. Dani tells me this is the very last fundraiser. The prom should be all-systemsgo after this.” The students clapped enthusiastically, and Dani put two thumbs-up toward Mr. Dalton for plugging the senior fundraiser.
“Okay, okay,” Mr. Dalton continued. “Here are the finalists from this class. Finalists, please see me soon about displaying your projects during the celebration.” The class turned quiet. All eyes were on their teacher. “Sarah, Jeff, and Ben. Your interviews with the members of the Whickett Swing Band were top notch. I had no idea that the Hudson Pines Senior Center even had a swing band. See me later and we’ll figure how to display your project downtown. Maybe the band can play.”
Meredith watched Ben lightly smack Sarah and then Jeff with the back of his hand as if to say, “Good job, project mates.” Dani leaned forward and patted him on the shoulder. Ben beamed when he turned around. He smiled first at Dani and then at Meredith. Meredith smiled right back. Her smile faded when she felt Dani’s questioning gaze on her. Meredith turned to face her and shrugged. “What?”
Dani shook her head, but never lost the smile in her eyes.
“And,” Mr. Dalton continued, “I will also need to see Joe and Palmer. Your rap about the history of Whickett will simply have to be seen by the entire town. Maybe we can squeeze you in after the swing band.” Joe and Palmer looked pleased with themselves as they looked around the room grinning at their classmates.
“Finally, I hope that Esther and Millie are ready to have a lot of people at that open house because I think the entire town might just be curious about seeing the old painted lady. So Meredith, Dani, let’s talk with your new friends and see what we can do to help, okay?”
Ben turned around to give Dani a high five. When he turned back around, Meredith blew out a quiet sigh in relief. She was glad he didn’t high-five her. He must have realized he had almost given himself away earlier.
Meredith turned to look at Dani, and her stomach fluttered when she found Dani already looking at her with those crystal blue eyes. Meredith swallowed and somehow managed to smile back.
Serendipity put us in the same history class so we could become friends, Dani, but lately you make me feel really weird inside.
The bell rang to end the class period, and what Meredith did next was so impulsive it even surprised her. She leaned over to Dani and asked softly, “Walk me to class?”
Dani looked startled by the request. “You want me to walk you to your next class?”
Meredith’s stomach fluttered again as she wondered what Dani must be thinking. Meredith nodded almost imperceptibly and said shyly, “Yeah.”
Dani pursed her lips together as if thinking and said, “Okay, but there might be a surcharge for the service, ma’am.”
Dani was kidding, of course, but Meredith would have paid triple the surcharge just to keep Dani close for a few moments longer. She wasn’t sure where this sudden impulse had come from, but she felt incomplete without her friend near. Dani held open the classroom door and let Meredith walk through first.
A LITTLE OVER three weeks after Meredith and Dani patched up their friendship, they sat in what was becoming their regular booth at Fiesta Loca overlooking Esther and Millie’s soon-to-be-majestic painted lady. Meredith motioned for the waiter. The dark-skinned man came over and said in a somewhat thick accent, “What can I do for my two beautiful señoritas?”
Meredith smiled. “Can we please have a few extra napkins? My beautiful friend here spilled her soda.”
“Aay, yes, right away.”
He sped away in search of napkins and Meredith laughed out loud. “Dani, stop laughing. You spilled your soda because you’re out of control.”
Dani continued to laugh and smack the tabletop with the palm of her hand. “I, I...” she took a deep breath and said, “I can’t believe Mikey tried to take on Ben. Ben called him a what? A pit bull?” Dani started laughing again.
Meredith pointed her finger at her. “Stop that. I wasn’t ever going to tell you that story.”
“Oh, but I’m so glad Ben did. He’s a good guy. Really.”
The waiter handed a replacement glass of Sprite to Dani and a stack of napkins to Meredith. After wiping up the soda spill with a damp rag, he headed to another table in the busy restaurant.
Meredith said, “Yeah, I think I might have to give Ben another chance. So when did you tell him about you?”
“Tell him what?” The way Dani lifted her eyebrows, Meredith knew she was teasing.
“C’mon. You know.”
“Well, he knew before I did.”
“He did?”
“Yeah, he said he could tell. Then he just came out and asked me. Oops, sorry about the pun. He asked me a long time ago.”
“Is he...you know, gay, too?”
“Ben? No, but he watches out for me kind of like a brother. Nobody knows this, except you now, but I’ve kind of hid behind him throughout high school. I think that’s why he’s having such a hard time. He and I were always such good buds. Now I’m pulling away from him. I…I don’t hang with him much anymore, you know?”
“Because of me.” It wasn’t a question.
“Well, yeah, but he gets that. He’s okay with it. I mean, he even went and talked to you when we were, uh, having our misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding. More like my misunderstanding. And I truly am—”
“Look, you have to stop apologizing. I know you’re sorry. Hey, we’re here at Fiesta Loca, checking out the old painted lady, celebrating your portfolio being done. We’ve left the kids at home—no Ben, no Mikey—and it’s supposed to be a Friday night with just you and me.” She picked up her new glass of soda and saluted her friend.
Meredith saluted back with her glass of water. “That’s right. We need to celebrate. The AP portfolio slides were mailed today, and I tell you what, I’m finished with painting portraits for a while.”
“I like the way my angry eyes portrait turned out, but can you, like, not hang that anywhere? I’d prefer the world not see me like that.”
“Why? I was going to hang it in the front hall of the house, right beside Esther and Millie. You mean you don’t want it there greeting destitute women and children?”
“Uh, no, they’ve probably seen enough angry eyes for an entire lifetime. But, um, speaking of Millie’s portrait...” Dani tapped her index finger on the table.
“Oh, God. Don’t remind me. I guess I’m not done painting portraits after all, but I’ve got two weeks left with nothing to do in AP Art except work on Millie. Okay? Happy? Nag, nag, nag.”
“We sound like an old married couple.”
Meredith laughed and swatted Dani playfully on the forearm.
“Hey. That’s going to leave a bruise. I’m going to be the first client at the Randall-Bradley house, I think.” Dani rubbed her forearm.
“I didn’t hurt you. You’re just wimpy. Hey, speaking of artwork. Mrs. Levine loved your still life. I do, too. You’ve really blossomed as an artist.”