Girlfriends (Patrick Sanchez) (35 page)

“Why don’t we go for a walk or something? It’s not that busy, maybe we can sneak out for a minute or two.”

“Thanks, Gina, but I’m fine, really. Easy come, easy go,” Linda said, lifting her head and awkwardly shuffling through a few papers on her desk. “Why don’t you go on to lunch, and I’ll man the fort for a little while.”

“Linda, you’re not okay. You can’t be. I wish I knew what to say.”

“God, Gina! I’m fine. Would you drop it, please?” Linda said.

“I can’t believe you asked her to call you when the baby was born. The little bitch rips your heart out and stomps on it, and that’s all you have to say to her. Hey, if you won’t give her a piece of your mind, then maybe I will.”

“Gina! Everything is not a crisis. We don’t all handle things the way you do. The whole fucking world doesn’t revolve around Gina Perry and what she thinks of people,” Linda said with a shortness in her tone that Gina had never heard before.

“I’m sorry, Linda. I’ll shut up,” Gina replied with a terribly hurt expression on her face. Linda had never spoken to her like that before, and it took Gina by complete surprise. She was used to being snapped at by Liz, and Mr. Toosh, and even Peter on occasion, but never by Linda. With the added stress of her impending HIV testing results, it was too much. Gina’s eyes began to water, and she turned her face away from Linda.

“No, Gina, I’m sorry. You were just trying to help. I’m upset, and I’m taking it out on you.”

“That’s okay. You’re right. I do tend to be a bit self-involved at times.”

“You and the rest of the world. But I love you anyway.”

“All right, Linda, please stop trying to make
me
feel better. I should be there for you,” Gina said, wondering how she’d managed to do that. Linda was the one who just got dumped and humiliated in front of everyone at the bank, and somehow Gina ended up crying with Linda apologizing to
her
and trying to make
her
feel better.

God! Maybe I do think the world revolves around me. Oh, no! There I go. Linda’s had her heart broken, and I’m worried about the world revolving around
me.
How can I do that? Stop. Must think of Linda. Must think of Linda. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it? I wish there was something I could do.”

“You and me both,” Linda said before catching a glimpse of Rosa walking back through the bank entrance.

Linda stared icily at Rosa as she approached her desk, and Gina gave her the most evil look she could muster.

“Linda, can I talk to you for a minute?” Rosa asked meekly. “Please, let me try to explain.”

“I really don’t want to hear it, Rosa,” Linda said. “I think my ears have heard all they can stand for one day.”

“Linda, I—”

“What part of I REALLY DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT did you not understand?” Linda said, interrupting Rosa.

“Can I just have a chance to—”

“Please get out,” Linda said, her cheeks swelling and tears beginning to form.

“I never wanted to hurt you, Linda. I promise—”

“You promise? You PROMISE? Who are you to promise anything? Please, Rosa, just get out,” Linda said before raising her voice and saying it again. “Get out!” Linda called, trying to keep back the tears.

Rosa looked at her, clamped her eyes shut for a moment, and turned to go.

As Gina watched, she had a fleeting desire to attack Rosa the same way she had the kid who stole Gomez a couple of weeks earlier. She had never seen Linda in such obvious pain. Gina looked at Linda as Rosa walked out the door and walked over to give Linda a hug. She reached her arms out to Linda, who looked at her and backed away just a bit.

“Gina,” Linda said with watering eyes. “I’m fine. Please, I’m fine,” she said again, and walked away from Gina toward the bathroom. Gina hated that about falling in love. It made you so vulnerable and let someone else hold such power over you. The day before, Linda was all smiles and humming pop tunes at her desk, and next thing you know, she’s crying in the bathroom. It was all so ridiculous to Gina—love, relationships, all of it. It was pointless. Nothing ever seemed to work out.

Gina watched Linda go, deciding to let her have her space for a while. She went back to her desk and watched the bathroom door close behind Linda.

God, I really don’t act like the world revolves around me, do I? she thought again as she sat down at her desk.

And the Results Are In

T
he whole spectacle between Linda and Rosa at the bank was terribly bothersome to Gina. She spent the rest of the workday walking on eggshells around Linda, who emerged from the bathroom determined to go on as if nothing happened. It drove Gina crazy that Linda didn’t show more emotion. Gina tried a few more times to get her to talk about the whole mess, but Linda wouldn’t hear of it. She kept insisting she was fine. If one good thing came of the whole situation, at least it took Gina’s mind off her impending test results and made the day go by faster.

Gina and Cheryl drove out to the clinic together. They had chatted on the phone both nights since the testing day, and Gina was actually pleased to have Cheryl back in her life. Deep in conversation, they were almost able to forget about the test on the way over. They spent the better part of the drive discussing Peter’s annoying habits and his hypochondria. His birthday was also coming up and, despite their latest drama, they knew they had to think of something to do for him.

The girls entered the clinic and checked in with the receptionist, who directed them to a waiting area down the hall. They signed in with their identifying code numbers and were told to have a seat until their numbers were called.

“Nervous?” Cheryl asked.

“Nervous. More like on the verge of a breakdown. I hate this waiting.”

“Try to relax. Really, what are the chances of the test coming back positive?”

“Well, if we hadn’t slept with a porn star who’s slept with hundreds of women, they would probably be pretty slim.”

“Even so, we only did it one time. Keep that in mind.”

“It only takes one time.”

“Okay, okay. I can see it’s pointless to try to reassure you.”

“I’m sorry, Cheryl. I know this is just as difficult for you as it is for me. I’m so thankful you’ve been around to lean on the past couple of days.”

“No problem. I’m thankful you’re speaking to me. I wasn’t sure we’d ever be friends again.”

“Honestly, I didn’t plan on it. You just made me so angry that being nasty to you just sort of became a habit. Every time I thought about returning one of your phone calls, I forced myself to remember that night in the motel. You have to admit it, Cheryl. What you did was mean.”

“You’re right. I was wrong. I tried to convince myself that what I did was okay. After all, you and Peter were no longer together. He was fair game. But I knew you still had a thing for him, and I shouldn’t have done that to a friend. But I wish you would’ve cut me a little slack. I was unbelievably drunk, and we ended up in the same bed together. It wasn’t like I planned it.”

“Maybe you didn’t plan that night, but you kept seeing him from then on.”

“What was I supposed to do? You ignored me. You basically forced Linda to stop seeing me. Peter was all I had left. This whole thing is so ridiculous, especially considering Peter and I have absolutely no future together.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You know why, Gina. I know Peter enjoys my company and has genuine affection for me, but he would never seriously consider a long-term committed relationship with a black woman. Now, don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I think Peter is racist, but his parents would forbid it. Besides, I know Peter isn’t ready to deal with all the other baggage that comes with an interracial relationship, and frankly, I’m not sure if I want to deal with it either,” Cheryl replied. More and more she was realizing how unhealthy her relationship with Peter was. Regardless of what happened with Cooper, Cheryl was starting to believe that it was probably time to stop having sex with Peter.

Cheryl considered telling Gina about the night Peter lost it in the restaurant, but she wasn’t sure Peter would want her to. Cheryl liked to think that Peter had been defending her when he attacked the racist bastard, but she sensed it went deeper than that. Whenever Cheryl brought it up, Peter quickly changed the subject, as if he didn’t want to talk about it. Cheryl figured she’d let Peter tell Gina about it if he ever wanted to.

“Here we are, into the twenty-first century,” Cheryl continued, “and we still get stares and an occasional snarl when we’re together in public. And this is D.C. I shudder to think what it might be like in more rural areas or the South, where people aren’t so politically correct. Good heavens . . .”

“Gosh. I never really thought about it. I don’t think it was ever meant to be between Peter and me either. I know everyone says this when they’ve been dumped, but, honestly, if he hadn’t broken up with me, I think I would have eventually ended the relationship myself.”

“Really? I had no idea. Why?”

“I just couldn’t take his drinking anymore. Cheryl, he used to drink so much.”

“Peter?”

“Yes, you must have noticed it. Every time we got together, he’d have a beer in his hand. He drank every night of the week. It’s so odd considering he’s such a health nut in every other area of his life.”

“Now that you mention it, I guess he does drink a lot. But so what? So do a lot of people.”

“I know, and maybe I’m overreacting. Lord knows, I like a beer every now and then myself. It just worried me.”

“I don’t think there’s any need to worry, Gina.”

“Probably not, he just scared me sometimes when he got really drunk. It was almost as if I didn’t know him anymore. That stuff’s okay when you’re in college, but when you’re pushing thirty, it’s time to grow up.”

“Come on, Gina. He
scared
you?”

“Sometimes he really did. I think the last straw was actually right before he broke it off with me. I’ve never told this to anyone before, but one night we had stayed up late, watching movies on HBO, and had a bottle of wine or two. The next morning I woke up, and Peter had wet the bed. Can you believe that? It was disgusting. We never talked about it, and I’m not even sure he knows that I know, but that morning I really started to think that I had to end it. Oh, I don’t know, I guess—”

“031272,” called a woman from the hallway, interrupting Gina.

“Oh, God, that’s my number,” Gina said, standing up, her heart beginning to palpitate. “Wish me luck.”

“Hi. I’m Carol. How are you?” the woman said to Gina.

Scared shitless. “Fine, thanks.”

The woman led Gina to a small room with two chairs and gestured for her to have a seat. Gina sat down and waited for what seemed like an eternity while Carol sorted through her papers. She asked Gina to verify her number again to make sure she had the correct results. Gina confirmed the number anxiously, wishing she’d get on with it.

“Your results were negative. There was no evidence of HIV.”

“Oh, thank God!” Gina said, letting out a deep breath. “You’re sure?”

“Yes, ma’am. The results are negative. Do you have any questions?”

“No. Thank you.”

The woman then offered some brief information about the clinic and explained how to contact a counselor if she had questions later, and Gina left the room. As she closed the door behind her, Cheryl emerged from another room across the hall. Gina gave her the okay sign with her hands. Cheryl smiled and returned the gesture. They gave each other a quick hug and headed down the hallway.

“Thank God this is over!” Cheryl said as they walked out.

“Over? Cheryl, honey, it’s hardly over.”

“Yeah, I know we need to be tested again in a few months, but the counselor said the possibility of those results coming back positive is about as likely as us getting struck by lightning.”

“No, I wasn’t talking about that. I’m talking about Griffin, The Big G. He put us through hell. We’ve got to get back any films he has of us and make him shut down that Web site.”

“How do you suppose we do that?”

“I’m not sure, Cheryl, but I’ll think of something. I always do.”

The Mad Pooper

G
ina smiled at the last customer and held the door for him as he walked out of the bank. Her smile was genuine. She had a perpetual smile all day, thanks to her negative test results. She still had to figure out a way to keep her naked body off Griffin’s Web site, but the test results were such a relief that for a brief time she was able to put it aside. She also needed to keep her own spirits up for Linda, who was a complete wreck, even if she wouldn’t admit it, following the whole disaster with Rosa and René.

Gina locked the door behind the gentleman and walked back to her desk. She wanted to finish up some paperwork so she could leave right after the meeting. Once a week, Liz held a staff meeting after the bank closed. Liz usually attempted to turn them into her own version of a high school pep rally as she tried to get the staff riled up about cross-selling checking accounts and credit cards. Every once in a while she’d come up with some scheme to try to improve sales at the bank. Last week’s offer of two free movie tickets to the teller with the most referral points was greeted with such overwhelming indifference, Liz withdrew the offer in a huff and adjourned the meeting. Gina was not looking forward to the coming meeting, but she was in such a good mood, she didn’t let it bother her. As the staff assembled in the middle of the lobby, dragging chairs behind them, Gina’s phone rang.

“Premier Bank of Arlington, Gina Perry speaking.”

“Hey, sweetie, what’s up?”

“Hi, Shirley, I’m just about to go into a meeting. Can I call you back?”

“Sure, but I just wanted to ask you a quick question,” Shirley replied, figuring that asking Gina while she was in a hurry might be a good idea. “Sweetie, can I borrow fifty bucks?”

“You mean can you
have
fifty bucks that you never plan to return? What for?”

“I’ve got to pay this . . . this stupid . . . traffic ticket.”