Sophia looked up at Rachel and thought she saw her expression change. The cold hard stare she witnessed earlier was replaced with something new.
“Hmm, I guess you have a bit more gumption than I thought possible. Good point,” Rachel acceded.
She felt a gentle hand touch her arm. Tears were streaming down her face and Sophia didn’t have the strength in that moment to control her emotions. She needed to get out of here and it didn’t help that Rachel looked at her as if she was ready for a one way ticket to an inpatient mental health facility. It surprised her that Rachel’s actions seemed caring
“Aw, shit. I hate to see a woman cry. I’ll probably get pissed later and you can talk me down from doing something I will most definitely regret, but right now I think you’re the more urgent victim to attend to. Let’s go take a walk. I’ll take care of the bill,” Rachel said soothingly.
Sophia stood up and Rachel brushed a lock of her hair back. Her gait was unsteady as she walked to the sink, ran cold water over her hands, and scooped it into her mouth. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. It wasn’t a pretty picture. “I’m a mess.”
“No, you’re beautiful. Even distraught looks good on you,” Rachel assured her.
“How can you be so calm?” Sophia asked.
“I just look calm on the outside. Inside I’m thinking up ways to torture that two timing, bigamist wife of ours. Do you want in on the devious plans in my head?”
“Is bloodshed involved? I’m a bit squeamish.” Sophia gave Rachel a weak smile.
“Maybe? But I’m thinking more along the lines of her precious money and reputation. That’s her true Achilles heel. Don’t get mad, get even, right?”
“Right now, I am doing everything in my power not to completely break down in front of you. I’m nowhere near the anger stage yet,” Sophia explained.
Rachel slipped her arm inside Sophia’s, caught the eye of the waitress, handed her a hundred dollar bill, and gently led Sophia to the exit and out of the restaurant. “Come on, let me take you to one of my favorite places, Magnuson Park. It’s right on the water and whenever I get a little down, it always cheers me up to walk to the park. It has such a calming influence on me,” Rachel suggested.
†
Sophia kept brushing away each new tear as she walked arm in arm with Rachel to the park. It should have been an uncomfortable silence as they made the journey, but it wasn’t. Rachel didn’t interrupt her thoughts or try to tell her everything would be okay. Sophia supposed that Rachel was in a unique position to say,
I know exactly how you feel
. The irony of Rachel providing her comfort wasn’t lost on her, but she didn’t care because somehow Rachel was able to make the shocking news livable.
Finally, they reached the park and headed to the beach area. Sophia was surprised by the number of people that were out and about in their shorts, with dogs running around everywhere. In New York, everyone had to have a leash for his or her dogs. Sophia figured they didn’t have leash laws in Seattle, because not one dog was on one.
Although it was partly cloudy, the sun kept trying to make an appearance and for that, she was grateful. She pointed to what looked like a mountain desperately trying to part the cloud cover in an effort to display its majestic beauty. “Is that Mount Rainier?”
“Beautiful, isn’t it? The view of the mountain from this park is one of the best in the city. Too bad it’s cloudy today. You can barely see her peeking through.”
“How come they let all the dogs run around without leashes?” Sophia asked.
“That’s why the park is my favorite. It’s one of the few parks with a large off leash area for dogs. Dogs are so easy to please. Feed them, love them, provide a decent area for them to run and they’ll stay by your side for all eternity—unlike people. Damn.” Rachel angrily swiped at a tear.
Sophia spied a bench in a relatively private area and tugged on Rachel’s arm to lead her to the perfect place to sit and let their emotions settle. Sophia sat down first and then tugged on Rachel’s arm until she sat beside her. Without analyzing her motives, she clasped Rachel’s hand and their fingers intertwined. “I suppose I’ve had my freak out moment—it’s your turn now.”
Rachel shook her head. “I don’t want to feel sad right now, I want to stay angry. I can wallow in my sad place later with a full bottle of Jack Daniels.”
“No, don’t do that, all you’ll get is a terrible hangover. I liked your earlier suggestion. Tell me more about those evil plans to get even.”
Sophia watched as Rachel focused her bright blue eyes in her direction. She felt like she was under a microscope and Rachel was sizing her up.
“Are you serious? Because if you are—I am definitely game. What about your friend, Joy? Think we can get her to help us out?” Rachel asked.
“Oh, I don’t think that will be a problem. The real challenge will be keeping Joy from tearing off Lara’s head before we have a chance to execute the plan.” Sophia smiled and she had to admit, thinking up a plan was far better than wallowing in a vat of pity soup.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” Rachel began.
Lara decided to call her wife to let her know that she’d be home on time. It was the least she could do, considering that she was about to abandon her to take a romantic excursion with Sophia. She knew that Rachel had noticed her distraction the night before. She needed to pull herself together and manage the situation in the same manner she would manage an unruly client.
As she was walking out of her office, she started to punch the number on her phone to call Rachel. “Hey, honey, I just called to tell you that I’m coming home on time. I wanted to spend as much time as possible with you since I need to leave tomorrow.
Oh, you are? Okay. Well, then when will you be home? That late? Um, no, I’m not mad. I just thought with me leaving, you’d want to spend the evening together. No, I understand. Yes, I know your work is just as important to you. Yes I would be a big hypocrite if I didn’t understand. No, of course I’ll wait up for you. No, it doesn’t matter when you get home. Yes, wake me up if I’ve fallen asleep. Okay, I’ll see you later tonight. Bye. I love you.”
Lara frowned. Something wasn’t quite right. Rachel hadn’t even said goodbye. That was the first time she hadn’t said I love you back. Maybe she was still angry about the lie she’d told to enable her to whisk Sophia away before the two could talk more.
She didn’t know whether to head back to the office or head home and hope that Rachel was able to get away earlier than she had indicated. She couldn’t remember Rachel ever having to work until midnight. What could she possibly need to do that required her to stay that late?
Something unthinkable passed through Lara’s brain. Rachel wouldn’t be cheating on her with someone else. Would she? Sure, Rachel was a very beautiful woman, but she was dedicated to Lara, wasn’t she? That double standard that she felt should not apply to her was not something she believed should extend to her wife. She expected her to remain one hundred percent faithful.
Lara’s heels echoed loudly on the sidewalk as she walked to her car. The angry staccato punctuated every distrustful thought Lara had.
Normally, Lara left much later, so when she eased into the Seattle traffic, she grumbled at the line of cars waiting to enter the freeway. The highway had an equally long queue as far as she could see. It would probably take her more than two hours to get home in this mess. So much for leaving on time. “Damn Seattle traffic. Why can’t they approve a decent public transit system?” she grumbled.
By the time Lara arrived home, she was in a rotten mood. She was too tired to make anything for dinner—besides cooking for one was depressing—so she ordered a pizza and read the Wall Street Journal.
After several failed attempts to call Rachel back, Lara crumpled into her favorite recliner and tried to relax. The phone startled her from her thoughts and when she glanced at the screen she smiled. Maybe Rachel was on her way.
“Are you coming home now? Sophia and Joy? You offered to tour them around? You didn’t tell me that. You shouldn’t have felt obligated to do that. You took both of them to dinner? Sophia? So why are you still there? Joy is a shameless womanizer. I absolutely forbid you to have drinks with her tonight. I’m sorry I didn’t quite mean it the way it sounded, but it’s really not a good idea. I think we need to settle this right now. Right now you’re acting like a petulant child—”
Lara heard the dial tone on the other end of the phone and ground her teeth. She and Rachel had argued in the past, but Rachel had never hung up on her before. She’d handled the situation all wrong. She knew that now.
Lara paced the floor after Rachel’s disturbing phone call. She knew she had overreacted to Rachel’s plans for the evening, but right at this moment she felt like she was playing Russian roulette and any moment that bullet would land in the chamber. She could take Sophia out of the equation, but Joy was a whole other wrinkle in desperate need of a hot iron.
Lara got up, fixed a drink, and then settled back into her chair. When midnight came and went, Lara’s exhaustion from the past few days overtook her body and she fell asleep in her recliner.
†
Rachel couldn’t remember a time when she’d felt so comfortable around someone she’d just met, especially when that someone was the
other woman
. It wasn’t Sophia’s fault that the two-timing female version of Warren
Jeffs
had hoodwinked her into marriage. Rachel didn’t know the legal ramifications to her situation—she hadn’t explored that with Sophia yet. She suspected that since Sophia married Lara first, her own marriage wasn’t legal.
Miraculously, she managed to keep it together while Sophia had her emotional meltdown, and when Rachel’s emotions finally poured from her soul, she felt Sophia’s arms embrace her in a protective hold as she softly cried on her shoulder.
After Rachel explained phase one to Sophia, she was ready to fill Joy in on the plan. “I think it’s time we called Joy and got her involved. Do you mind heading back to the hotel? We can have them send up an early dinner. You must be hungry by now, considering we missed lunch.”
“I know I should eat something, but I just don’t have much of an appetite right now. You haven’t had anything to eat either. God, what a pair we are.” Sophia sighed.
“I promise to eat something if you do. I’m glad we walked here. I think the fresh air and exercise has done both of us some good. You can tell me all about your life in New York while we walk back to the car. Just one rule.”
“What’s that?” Sophia asked.
“Until we get to the hotel and have to bring Joy into the mix, we follow the Harry Potter rule.” Rachel clasped Sophia’s hand and pulled her to her feet, but didn’t let go when she began to walk back to the car. She needed the human connection of someone who could empathize with her.
Sophia scrunched up her nose. “The Harry Potter rule?”
“Yeah, we can only refer to the two timing bitch as she who shall not be named, because that is how evil she is. Better yet, I’d prefer to leave her completely out of the conversation until we get to the hotel.”
Rachel saw Sophia glance at their intertwined hands, but didn’t feel her pull away. She hoped Sophia needed the connection as much as she did.
“I think I can adhere to that rule,” Sophia agreed.
†
The drive back to the hotel was relatively short and Rachel didn’t learn nearly as much as she wanted to about Sophia. She racked her brain for a way to spend more time with Sophia.
Rachel tossed her keys to the parking attendant and strolled confidently into the lobby. She was anxious to bring Joy into the plan.
She kept stealing glances at Sophia in the elevator. It appeared as though Sophia’s somber mood had returned and Rachel was desperate to get her to smile again.
“You can stop worrying that I’ll jump out the window. I won’t give her the satisfaction. I can feel you watching me,” Sophia said as she stared straight ahead.
“I’m not worried,” Rachel lied.
“Liar.”
“Okay, I am worried about you, but that’s not why I’m looking,” Rachel blurted out.
Sophia turned her head and Rachel recognized the despair that Lara’s betrayal caused. “Aren’t you familiar with proper elevator behavior? Everyone is supposed to face forward and avoid eye contact at all costs,” she teased.
“Where did you learn that? Don’t tell me. You read Emily Post’s,
Etiquette.
I don’t remember a chapter on what to do in an elevator,” Rachel noted.
“Holy cow. How do I know what’s in that book? I don’t see you as the type to have that book on your library shelf. Please tell me that’s not in your collection or your street cred will take a dive and I’ll have to reassess this plan of yours.” Sophia grinned.
“My grandmother is from the South and that is practically the Bible down there. I don’t have it in my library, but I might as well, because she made me memorize it. She was a tough one, every time she thought I wasn’t paying attention, she’d say to me,
I’ll knock you so hard you’ll see tomorrow today.
”
Sophia laughed and it was music to Rachel’s ears.
Sophia knocked on Joy’s door and an extremely disheveled Joy greeted them.
Joy raised her eyebrow. “Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in. Where have you two been all afternoon and why do you both look like shit?”
“We’ll get to that, but first I need to know if you’re alone or is your date, and I use that term lightly, still here?” Sophia asked.
“Why?”
“Because we have a situation and we need your help. I’d prefer things stay between just the three of us for now,” Sophia responded.
“Yes, I’m alone, Bonnie had to go back to her place to get ready for work. She’s a nurse at your hospital. You might know her. Cute redhead. Very flexible. I failed to get her last name, but this one might be worth calling again.” Joy grinned.
“It’s a big place, but that’s probably Bonnie Harris. She’s a real sweetheart, but I think she’s just looking for some fun. Bad break up not too long ago,” Rachel explained.
“Perfect. Just my type—for now. If I do break my pattern and settle down, I’d prefer to find someone closer to home. So, what’s this situation? It sounds ominous.” Joy waved her hand and stepped aside while Rachel and Sophia walked into the suite.
Rachel sat next to Sophia on the love seat and Joy sat in the chair across from them.
Rachel glanced at Sophia as she opened and closed her mouth. She jumped in and rescued Sophia from having to say the words. “Lara is a two-timing snake who is currently married to both of us.”
“What? You’re kidding, right?” Joy asked.
Sophia shook her head and started crying again.
Rachel gathered her in her arms and rubbed her back. She didn’t take the time to realize that Joy, as her best friend, should be the one to comfort her. It was an automatic reaction to her distress.
“Oh, shit. I’m going to smack that woman like a Piñata until her teeth fall out as candy. Sophia, don’t you worry because, if revenge is sweet and payback is a bitch, then I’m the sweetest bitch on the planet. I got this, darling.” Joy jumped up from her chair.
Before Joy reached the door, Rachel ran to her and touched her arm. “Wait. We have a plan and we need your help.”
“It better be as good as what is rolling around in my head right now,” Joy bellowed.
“Oh, it is. Phase one is going to make her squirm more than a three year old in church,” Rachel promised.
†
Joy had to admit the plan was ingenious. She couldn’t help but appreciate Rachel’s cleverness. Fortunately, she was able to direct all her anger at Lara. She didn’t have any delusions about who the culprit was. It was clear to her that Rachel had previously had no idea who Sophia was. In Joy’s mind, Rachel was as much a victim as Sophia.
Joy insisted that Sophia and Rachel have something to eat after she learned that the revelation earlier had interrupted their lunch. She felt bad for not being there for her best friend, but maybe if she had, they never would have learned the truth.
Joy watched, as Rachel seemed to coax a smile or two out of Sophia. It seemed like the focus on the plan was a godsend to both of them.
Joy was relishing her role in the scheme. She entered her cell phone number into Rachel’s phone and grinned.
“We’re charging this whole dinner to Lara and several bottles of their best wine,” Sophia declared.
“That’s a given,” Joy interjected.
“Time to poke the fire a little,” Rachel added.
Rachel grabbed her phone back from Joy and touched the screen. “Hi, baby. No, it looks like I’m going to be here a bit longer because I offered to tour your friends around today.
Yeah, the ones I met in your office the other day. I felt bad that they came all this way and you weren’t available for lunch. No, I thought for sure I’d told you that I made the offer to take them to lunch and then tour them around. It was fun, but it really ate into my work time and then I took one of them out to dinner.”
Joy listened to Rachel setting things up and had to work hard to control her laughter.
Rachel waved her hand in the air and then covered her mouth before answering. “No, just one of them.”
Joy began making faces at Rachel.