Stef had somehow managed to pull herself together. Her headache had dissipated a few hours earlier. The two newly acquired bumps on her head had stopped swelling and were beginning to turn black and blue. She'd cleaned her new soon to be scar wound, and had also managed to eat a little, which made her tummy feel better, not by much, but she’d take what she could get at this point.
She had spent almost two hours glued to her desk in hopes of completing a few chapters in her new book. She had been struggling relentlessly with the new character she was introducing because her head was still reeling from the doctors words, but still, she managed to create something intelligent, and interesting, or at least she hoped it would be when she came back to look at it later. She closed her laptop and sat for a minute staring out the window of her office.
The weather had finally changed and spring was truly in the air. The little sparrows were busy flitting this way and that in the tree just outside her window. She'd always been fascinated by their ability to stay on task as they went about gathering nesting material. They went back and forth, zipped here and there, and yet never seemed to tire. She wasn’t sure if it was the male or female that did most of the work, but they made it seem like it was a joint affair. The reality was it was most likely the mama bird because she was not about to sit on some crazy assed nest hubby haphazardly strung together. This she had learned from experience. If you wanted something done right the first time seize the moment and do it yourself.
She scribbled a note to herself to Google sparrows later so she could answer her own question. She’d never given it much thought before but now, these odd little details, seemed to hold a new found importance. She had this overwhelming desire to fill her mind with details; things that, in the big scheme of things, didn’t really mean anything before, but now seemed uber-important. She watched their hijinks for a few more minutes then got up from her desk, turned off the light, and then headed for her bedroom to get changed.
When she arrived at the restaurant, she valet parked her car so there would be no question as to where she parked. Last thing she wanted was to be caught wandering around in the dark looking for her damned car. She wanted no signs that her brain was already heading south. She'd already experienced the car losing thing as a normal person, but now, she did not want to be the one walking around aimlessly hitting the alarm button so she could play the getting warmer game.
She smiled as the Adonis looking valet guy handed her the ticket. She almost laughed out loud at the thought that Ginger would likely have already hit on this guy before she made her way into the restaurant. Ginger had a way of creating a trail of men wherever she went. It was almost as though she were a collector, a trophy winner when it came to bed partners or dates. From what Stef understood, there were many one-night-stands, many notches on the belt, many heartbroken ‘boys’ who’d taken to Ginger’s bed in hopes of becoming a part of her life. After all, she looked particularly independent. She was drop dead gorgeous. And, she had an air of success surrounding her that lit up like a neon sign that said ‘look at me, I’m loaded, I don’t need you, but I’m willing to have a roll in the hay’ kind of aura. She was like a Venus flytrap who picked her victims randomly and often. She’d seduce them first with her looks and quick wit, then she’d wrap her long sinewy arms around them, chew them up, then discard them like yesterdays news a day or two later when she grew tired of them. She had never been the type of girl who was willing to settle for mediocre. She was always in search of Mr. Big. She wanted someone who could hold his own, someone who could add to her already bounding lifestyle and financial success. There would be no pretty boy-boy-toy for her unless he had the complete package, although, every man Cassie had ever seen her with looked like he had been picked from the pages of GQ magazine. To her, they all seemed to have the package with the exception of the ‘oh-too-young-ones’ she’d caught a glimpse of. Ginger was an official cougar. She’d never made it a secret that that was who she was. Until she found her perfect match, she was more than willing to keep trying on men as easily as she did a new pair of shoes.
Beth on the other hand was the 'married with two children' part of the pack. She was the conservative of the group and often found herself having to recover from the severe blush that would transform her pale ivory skin into a flaming red reaction over something Ginger would spout out. Still, she was funny as hell, and always enjoyed getting away from her normal, boring daily routine of carpooling, homework, laundry, and food preparation. She was their Martha Stewart. It was almost like she’d become their ground wire when their wildly electric personalities filled the room. She completed their small chick circle. She was the radiant blonde of the group. The three of them always managed to make quite an entrance no matter where they went. Ginger’s bright red hair flashed like a warning that something big was about to happen. When she moved through a room if was almost as if Joseph arose from the dead to part the sea. People would pause mid-chew or mid-drink and slide their chairs back to create a clear walkway as she swept past them. Stef’s long dark tresses made her the sultry mystery woman whose bright blue eyes could melt even the staunchiest hearted, and Beth’s well-tamed mane always beamed like sunshine on a cloudy day. They were quite the trio!
Both girls were already seated at the table when Stef walked in. They both looked fabulous as always and were already deeply engrossed in conversation. Stef looked down at her outfit, and as usual, with a slight frown burrowing between her eyes, felt underdressed. She'd always been the understated of the three but tonight it didn’t seem that important. She manuvered around the tables as carefully as she could then plopped down on the chair between them.
“Ladies,” she said as she spied the yet untouched bloody Mary that had been placed by her seat. Ginger was always a stickler for details and had pre-ordered Stef’s hangover cure cocktail. “Always on your game girl, always on your game.”
“Would you expect anything else from a girl who’s always on her toes? The girl that’s always got your back, the girl…”
“Oh for Christ’s sake shut up,” Stef interjected.
The three of them lifted their drinks and with a clink of glass saluted each other.
“So I hear you had a party of one last night. Was that a celebratory or pity party?” Beth queried.
Stef shrugged her shoulders. “A little of both maybe.”
“You know you can call me too if you’re…” Beth offered.
“I know Beth. You’ve been my designated driver before. I hit speed dial last night and Ginger won that’s all. It’s not personal. Technology chose for me.”
“So what’s up with you anyway?” Ginger asked. “This mid-week binge drinking is not your usual style.”
“I know. Guess I was suffering from a severe bout of writers block goes pity party.” Stef said still not willing to share her news. Maybe she never would. Maybe if she didn’t acknowledge it out loud to anyone then it wouldn’t happen. Maybe if she blocked it out of her conscious mind she could get on with what she had to do. Maybe she needed to do something to distract herself for a while. This she would give some thought to. Maybe a road trip was in order. Maybe a solo trip, or even better, maybe she and Ginger could get their Thelma and Louise act together and take it on the road. They had done that once before and had wreaked havoc every where they went. Now was not the time to suggest it because Beth could never ever get away for this kind of trip. She'd file it in her brain for later, but then she felt a flash of heat pulse over her skin. What if she didn't remember later? What if she completely forgot about it and missed the trip of a lifetime? She grabbed her purse, open it then dug for a pen. She grabbed the paper napkin and scribbled a note to herself. There. Now it was indelible. Proof that she'd had the thought.
"What? Now you've broken through your writers block, here, at lunch?" Ginger snapped.
"No. I just had an idea I didn't want to forget that's all!" Stef jammed the pen and napkin back into her bag then turned her attention to Beth. “Don’t you have like four-hundred birthdays coming up?”
It seemed that her friend had a habit of always getting pregnant at the same time of year. Must be something about fall that got her all feisty so she'd have spring babies.
"I do actually," Beth said as she picked up her phone and started scrolling through her calendar. "Let's see. Troy's is next week. That will be at the laser tag place. Matty's is in two weeks. That one's at the go cart place. Joel's is in four weeks. I don't know what I'm doing for him because he wants something bookish with all his nerdy friends, and Joey's is in six weeks. Oh and by the way, Joey wants you both to come to hers for sure. She's having it at the American Girl store. She's got you two pegged as heavy spenders so you better come armed and dangerous with your wallets or you know you'll never hear the end of it."
"Isn't she too old for all the doll crap?" Ginger asked rolling her eyes up into her head.
"Um. No. She's only five," she said looking at Ginger in disbelief. "I think the doll stage lasts at least until the first period, or so I seem to remember."
"You'd be smarter to give her a calculator, a bank book, and a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. Then she'd be better prepared for life." Ginger stated matter-of-factly. "That's all I remember getting and look at me now."
"We'll both be there and we'll be happy to be there," she said kicking Ginger under the table. "Hey this is supposed to be a bitch fest, not a 'bitch' fest!"
"Ouch!" Ginger said in protest. "Did you just kick me?"
"Oh, was that you? I thought it was the table leg. So sorry!" Stef said as she took a sip of her drink.
She looked across the table and saw Beth smiling at her.
"It's too bad one of you wasn't a man. You'd be perfect for one another." Beth said.
At that, Stef actually snorted bloody mary out her nose as she laughed.
Ginger looked at her. "That's disgusting. If we were together, which we would never be because you don't have a penis, I'd surely suffocate you in the middle of the night for doing something like that in public with me."
Stef picked up her napkin trying to wipe away the evidence of her bloody mary nose. "Oh...you know you love me, warts and all." Stef picked up her drink again. "To girlfriends, ya gotta love 'em!"
"Should I get out of the direct line of fire or are you done with your hijinks?"
"Oh I'm done alrighty. I'm done." Stef said.
The waiter, as if on cue, showed up at the table, arms ladden with dishes. He set their food down and the three of them ate and chatted for the next hour.
She had spent almost two hours glued to her desk in hopes of completing a few chapters in her new book. She had been struggling relentlessly with the new character she was introducing because her head was still reeling from the doctors words, but still, she managed to create something intelligent, and interesting, or at least she hoped it would be when she came back to look at it later. She closed her laptop and sat for a minute staring out the window of her office.
The weather had finally changed and spring was truly in the air. The little sparrows were busy flitting this way and that in the tree just outside her window. She'd always been fascinated by their ability to stay on task as they went about gathering nesting material. They went back and forth, zipped here and there, and yet never seemed to tire. She wasn’t sure if it was the male or female that did most of the work, but they made it seem like it was a joint affair. The reality was it was most likely the mama bird because she was not about to sit on some crazy assed nest hubby haphazardly strung together. This she had learned from experience. If you wanted something done right the first time seize the moment and do it yourself.
She scribbled a note to herself to Google sparrows later so she could answer her own question. She’d never given it much thought before but now, these odd little details, seemed to hold a new found importance. She had this overwhelming desire to fill her mind with details; things that, in the big scheme of things, didn’t really mean anything before, but now seemed uber-important. She watched their hijinks for a few more minutes then got up from her desk, turned off the light, and then headed for her bedroom to get changed.
When she arrived at the restaurant, she valet parked her car so there would be no question as to where she parked. Last thing she wanted was to be caught wandering around in the dark looking for her damned car. She wanted no signs that her brain was already heading south. She'd already experienced the car losing thing as a normal person, but now, she did not want to be the one walking around aimlessly hitting the alarm button so she could play the getting warmer game.
She smiled as the Adonis looking valet guy handed her the ticket. She almost laughed out loud at the thought that Ginger would likely have already hit on this guy before she made her way into the restaurant. Ginger had a way of creating a trail of men wherever she went. It was almost as though she were a collector, a trophy winner when it came to bed partners or dates. From what Stef understood, there were many one-night-stands, many notches on the belt, many heartbroken ‘boys’ who’d taken to Ginger’s bed in hopes of becoming a part of her life. After all, she looked particularly independent. She was drop dead gorgeous. And, she had an air of success surrounding her that lit up like a neon sign that said ‘look at me, I’m loaded, I don’t need you, but I’m willing to have a roll in the hay’ kind of aura. She was like a Venus flytrap who picked her victims randomly and often. She’d seduce them first with her looks and quick wit, then she’d wrap her long sinewy arms around them, chew them up, then discard them like yesterdays news a day or two later when she grew tired of them. She had never been the type of girl who was willing to settle for mediocre. She was always in search of Mr. Big. She wanted someone who could hold his own, someone who could add to her already bounding lifestyle and financial success. There would be no pretty boy-boy-toy for her unless he had the complete package, although, every man Cassie had ever seen her with looked like he had been picked from the pages of GQ magazine. To her, they all seemed to have the package with the exception of the ‘oh-too-young-ones’ she’d caught a glimpse of. Ginger was an official cougar. She’d never made it a secret that that was who she was. Until she found her perfect match, she was more than willing to keep trying on men as easily as she did a new pair of shoes.
Beth on the other hand was the 'married with two children' part of the pack. She was the conservative of the group and often found herself having to recover from the severe blush that would transform her pale ivory skin into a flaming red reaction over something Ginger would spout out. Still, she was funny as hell, and always enjoyed getting away from her normal, boring daily routine of carpooling, homework, laundry, and food preparation. She was their Martha Stewart. It was almost like she’d become their ground wire when their wildly electric personalities filled the room. She completed their small chick circle. She was the radiant blonde of the group. The three of them always managed to make quite an entrance no matter where they went. Ginger’s bright red hair flashed like a warning that something big was about to happen. When she moved through a room if was almost as if Joseph arose from the dead to part the sea. People would pause mid-chew or mid-drink and slide their chairs back to create a clear walkway as she swept past them. Stef’s long dark tresses made her the sultry mystery woman whose bright blue eyes could melt even the staunchiest hearted, and Beth’s well-tamed mane always beamed like sunshine on a cloudy day. They were quite the trio!
Both girls were already seated at the table when Stef walked in. They both looked fabulous as always and were already deeply engrossed in conversation. Stef looked down at her outfit, and as usual, with a slight frown burrowing between her eyes, felt underdressed. She'd always been the understated of the three but tonight it didn’t seem that important. She manuvered around the tables as carefully as she could then plopped down on the chair between them.
“Ladies,” she said as she spied the yet untouched bloody Mary that had been placed by her seat. Ginger was always a stickler for details and had pre-ordered Stef’s hangover cure cocktail. “Always on your game girl, always on your game.”
“Would you expect anything else from a girl who’s always on her toes? The girl that’s always got your back, the girl…”
“Oh for Christ’s sake shut up,” Stef interjected.
The three of them lifted their drinks and with a clink of glass saluted each other.
“So I hear you had a party of one last night. Was that a celebratory or pity party?” Beth queried.
Stef shrugged her shoulders. “A little of both maybe.”
“You know you can call me too if you’re…” Beth offered.
“I know Beth. You’ve been my designated driver before. I hit speed dial last night and Ginger won that’s all. It’s not personal. Technology chose for me.”
“So what’s up with you anyway?” Ginger asked. “This mid-week binge drinking is not your usual style.”
“I know. Guess I was suffering from a severe bout of writers block goes pity party.” Stef said still not willing to share her news. Maybe she never would. Maybe if she didn’t acknowledge it out loud to anyone then it wouldn’t happen. Maybe if she blocked it out of her conscious mind she could get on with what she had to do. Maybe she needed to do something to distract herself for a while. This she would give some thought to. Maybe a road trip was in order. Maybe a solo trip, or even better, maybe she and Ginger could get their Thelma and Louise act together and take it on the road. They had done that once before and had wreaked havoc every where they went. Now was not the time to suggest it because Beth could never ever get away for this kind of trip. She'd file it in her brain for later, but then she felt a flash of heat pulse over her skin. What if she didn't remember later? What if she completely forgot about it and missed the trip of a lifetime? She grabbed her purse, open it then dug for a pen. She grabbed the paper napkin and scribbled a note to herself. There. Now it was indelible. Proof that she'd had the thought.
"What? Now you've broken through your writers block, here, at lunch?" Ginger snapped.
"No. I just had an idea I didn't want to forget that's all!" Stef jammed the pen and napkin back into her bag then turned her attention to Beth. “Don’t you have like four-hundred birthdays coming up?”
It seemed that her friend had a habit of always getting pregnant at the same time of year. Must be something about fall that got her all feisty so she'd have spring babies.
"I do actually," Beth said as she picked up her phone and started scrolling through her calendar. "Let's see. Troy's is next week. That will be at the laser tag place. Matty's is in two weeks. That one's at the go cart place. Joel's is in four weeks. I don't know what I'm doing for him because he wants something bookish with all his nerdy friends, and Joey's is in six weeks. Oh and by the way, Joey wants you both to come to hers for sure. She's having it at the American Girl store. She's got you two pegged as heavy spenders so you better come armed and dangerous with your wallets or you know you'll never hear the end of it."
"Isn't she too old for all the doll crap?" Ginger asked rolling her eyes up into her head.
"Um. No. She's only five," she said looking at Ginger in disbelief. "I think the doll stage lasts at least until the first period, or so I seem to remember."
"You'd be smarter to give her a calculator, a bank book, and a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. Then she'd be better prepared for life." Ginger stated matter-of-factly. "That's all I remember getting and look at me now."
"We'll both be there and we'll be happy to be there," she said kicking Ginger under the table. "Hey this is supposed to be a bitch fest, not a 'bitch' fest!"
"Ouch!" Ginger said in protest. "Did you just kick me?"
"Oh, was that you? I thought it was the table leg. So sorry!" Stef said as she took a sip of her drink.
She looked across the table and saw Beth smiling at her.
"It's too bad one of you wasn't a man. You'd be perfect for one another." Beth said.
At that, Stef actually snorted bloody mary out her nose as she laughed.
Ginger looked at her. "That's disgusting. If we were together, which we would never be because you don't have a penis, I'd surely suffocate you in the middle of the night for doing something like that in public with me."
Stef picked up her napkin trying to wipe away the evidence of her bloody mary nose. "Oh...you know you love me, warts and all." Stef picked up her drink again. "To girlfriends, ya gotta love 'em!"
"Should I get out of the direct line of fire or are you done with your hijinks?"
"Oh I'm done alrighty. I'm done." Stef said.
The waiter, as if on cue, showed up at the table, arms ladden with dishes. He set their food down and the three of them ate and chatted for the next hour.
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