Heart of the Matter (12 page)

“Uh, well, my friend Sandra will be with me.” Kate felt the thud in the pit of her stomach. “Oh.”

“Another time?”

“Yeah, sure. Well, have a good time.” She closed the door and leaned against it. So Ellen had a girlfriend. Why shouldn’t she? She was stunning, intelligent, kind, and thoughtful. But Sandra didn’t deserve someone as fantastic as Ellen.

Kate returned to the liquor cabinet. It was ridiculous, really.

She didn’t even know the woman, but somehow she knew she wasn’t right for Ellen. And now Ellen was taking her home to meet her parents. Could it get any worse?

❖

Ellen stepped out of the shower and toweled off. She had bought a new dress to wear tonight and was hoping Sandra would find it alluring. Plus, she couldn’t wait to prove to Joan that she could find an attractive, accomplished woman, better than any of the men her sister continued to try to set her up with. Her parents would like Sandra as well, especially her father, who had been a federal judge.

She put on the black, low-cut dress, accentuating her best features. A pair of diamond stud earrings and a spritz of Chanel and she was ready to go. The phone rang and, glancing at the caller ID, she saw it was Sandra.

“Hi,” she said warmly.

“Hey, Ellen. Look, I hate to do this to you at the last minute, but something has come up at the office and I won’t be able to make it after all.”

Disappointment seeped into Ellen but she tried not to show it.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, Sandra. Do you think you can make at least part of the evening? Dessert?”

“I don’t think so, but I’ll try. Things are hectic right now. The senator is facing an important challenger this year, and they’ll be debating next week in Albany.”

Ellen waited for her to offer to get together at another time, but when she didn’t, Ellen hurriedly reassured Sandra, if not herself. “I understand. Politics waits for no one, I suppose. I’ll talk to you later, then?”

“Sure, sure. Have a good night.” The line went dead.

She listened to the dial tone for a moment longer, then put down the handset. She needed to shake off her unease. Sandra had to work late, that’s all. No big deal. Ellen was used to structure, academic calendars, regularly scheduled departmental meetings. She wasn’t familiar with the hectic, ever-changing pace of Washington politics.

She couldn’t begrudge Sandra her work. She’d have to adapt.

Besides, everything was new and eventually things would settle down. She’d have to go without Sandra, and the thought of Joan pressing men on her made her shudder. Next time, she’d have a gorgeous woman on her arm. That would shut Joan up.

❖

“So Joan tells me that you’re a history teacher?” Ellen glanced at the middle-aged, balding man who had taken up residence on the sofa next to her. He had introduced himself by handing her his business card:
James Guilford III, Orthodontist
. If he hadn’t given her his card, she could have easily identified his profession by his glaringly perfect set of teeth. Having spent the entire cocktail hour boring her with the details of his work, he had surprised her by asking her a question.

“Professor of history at Georgetown, actually,” she said with a trace of acid in her voice.

“Being a teacher is a wonderful occupation, especially for women. Students learn more from women and appreciate the feminine touch.”

That did it for her. “If you’ll excuse me, I really should be helping out in the kitchen.”

As she struggled to keep from running from the room, it dawned on her he probably thought her being in the kitchen was equally “feminine.” She sighed and pushed open the swinging doors. The caterers were finishing dinner while her mother gave last-minute instructions.

“Oh, good, Ellen, come taste this. Is it too salty?” Ellen dutifully sipped from the spoon her mother held out to her. “It’s fine, Mother, don’t worry. Everything is perfect, but the guests want to spend time with you. So come out of the kitchen and join us.”

“All right, all right. Let’s begin dinner in five minutes.” The caterer nodded his agreement.

“I thought you were bringing someone with you tonight,” Barbara Webster said as they strolled into the dining room.

“I was, but something came up at the last minute.” Ellen picked up an olive from the dish on the dining room table and popped it into her mouth.

“Someone special?”

Ellen could hear the hopeful tone in her mother’s voice. “Too soon to tell, but it has possibilities.” She didn’t want to get her mother’s hopes up, let alone her own, but a part of her wished to have one special person to fill the void in her otherwise full, rich life.

“Well, I hope we get to meet her next time.” Barbara squeezed her hand.

“Thanks, Mom. I hope so, too.”

Ellen switched place cards at the table so she wouldn’t have to sit next to the orthodontist, as Joan had evidently planned. After dinner, when they all retired to the living room for coffee and dessert, Ellen excused herself.

As she exited the bathroom off her old bedroom, she heard her cell phone ringing in her purse on the nightstand and was surprised to see Kate’s name on the caller ID. “Kate, are you all right?”

“Yes, everything’s fine. I was wondering, that is, if you don’t mind, I was hoping on your way home you could stop at the CVS down the street.”

“Sure, what do you need?”

“I’ve run out of bandages and need an assortment of different sizes.”

“What do you need bandages for this late at night?” Ellen tensed at the possibilities. “Have you hurt yourself?”

“Oh, it’s just a little cut, no big deal. Once it stops bleeding it’ll be fine.”

“What do you mean, ‘once it stops bleeding’?” Ellen panicked.

“How bad is it? What did you do?”

“Now calm down, Ellen, it’s just a cut. Although I think I can still feel some glass in there, I—”

“Glass? In the wound? I’ll be right there.” Ellen picked up her purse.

“No, Ellen, I didn’t mean for you to leave your party.”

“It’s almost over anyway. I’ll be there as quick as I can.” She dug around in her purse until she found her car keys.

Making excuses to her parents, she almost avoided Joan altogether but was cornered at the front door.

“Ellen? Where are you going? It’s still early.” Joan looked anxiously over Ellen’s shoulder into the living room beyond.

“Something unavoidable has come up, but I made my excuses to Mom and Dad.”

“But Jim Guilford was just saying how impressed he is with you. Do you want me to give him your number?” Ellen folded her arms across her chest. “Over my dead body, Joan. I am not in the least bit impressed with Mr. Guilford.”

“Now, Ellen, you’ve just met the man. Give him time.”

“I already did, Joan, and his time’s up.” She pushed open the front door and sped to her car.

After stopping at a pharmacy in Alexandria, she raced along the George Washington Parkway and didn’t stop until she pulled into the underground garage in her building. She pounded loudly on Kate’s door and called out, afraid Kate might have fainted or was more seriously injured than she’d let on.

“Jesus Christ,” Kate exclaimed, yanking the door open. “Is the building on fire?”

“I wasn’t sure if you could hear me,” Ellen said, scanning Kate for injuries.

“The guy in the building across the street can hear you, for crying out loud. Oh, and by the way, he said to tell you to keep it down.”

Undaunted, Ellen pushed her way inside and made Kate sit on the couch. She saw the towel wrapped around Kate’s hand and braced herself. Slowly unwrapping the damp cloth, she took Kate’s hand and scrutinized it. “Where are you hurt?”

“Right there.” Kate pointed to a spot on the tip of her index finger.

“Where?”

“Right there,” Kate repeated, squeezing the finger until a tiny drop of blood oozed out.

“You mean to tell me that’s your bloody gash?” Ellen nearly collapsed with relief.

“I never said it was a bloody gash.”

“I drove like a bat out of hell thinking you were seriously injured and this is all you have? I left my parents’ party early for this?”

“You’re the one who decided to leave early,” Kate said defensively. “All I asked you to do was stop and pick up some bandages on your way home.”

“But you scared the hell out of me.” Kate peered at Ellen curiously. She was obviously upset, but Kate couldn’t figure out why. It actually seemed Ellen cared about what happened to her. The thought began to fill a hole in her heart she didn’t know existed.

“I’m sorry, Ellen. And I’m sorry you left the party early. I hope Sandra isn’t too upset.”

Ellen shook her head. “The party was dull and Sandra couldn’t make it after all.”

Kate caught a smirk forming on her lips but stopped it instantly.

“Oh, I’m really sorry.”

“Yeah, well, I’m just glad you’re okay. Sorry if I overreacted.” Ellen examined Kate’s finger but couldn’t find any glass.

They went into the kitchen where she washed and dried the finger and wrapped a bandage around it. When she finished, she lifted the finger to her lips to kiss it, as though Kate were a child and she wanted to make it feel better. When she glanced up, Kate’s eyes focused intently on hers. She couldn’t describe the swirling emotions she saw there, but a tremble that began in her knees crawled up her spine to the back of her neck.

“Thanks,” Kate murmured.

“You’re welcome,” Ellen whispered, still holding on to the finger. The sound of her heart thudding in her ears and the feel of white-hot heat spreading through her body took her by surprise.

A second later they separated, an awkward silence filling the space between them.

“Well, it’s late and I should let you get to bed.” Ellen picked up her purse and headed for the door.

“Yeah, talk to you tomorrow.” Kate was confused about what had just happened. No one had ever come to her rescue before. She was intrigued. Someone actually cared for her. The last time she could recall anyone caring for her had been her dog Jake. She was heartbroken for years after the collie had passed away. Oh, but there was her first girlfriend back in college. She thought she had been in love then, but when the woman dumped her a year later, Kate thought her heart would never mend. The memory of it made her think of Ellen in a different light, and it made her uneasy.

Ellen was being extremely kind, but Kate didn’t want her to feel sorry for her or anything like that. If Ellen thought they could be buddies, she was dead wrong. And Ellen surely wouldn’t think of her romantically—she was too attractive and accomplished to be interested in her. Even if she were, Kate was unable to return the feelings. Ellen was the type of woman who wanted forever.

Kate had never wanted that before, and especially now it seemed impossible.

❖

Ellen pushed her cart down the personal-care aisle, selecting last-minute items for their trip tomorrow. She was looking forward to spending more time with Kate, especially since the cut-finger incident. Something had sparked between them. She had felt it and was sure Kate had as well. At least she hoped so, or was it just wishful thinking? The more she dwelled on it, the more she believed it was impossible. Kate was drop-dead gorgeous, while
she
was overweight and plain—nothing special. What could Kate possibly see in her?

She finished collecting what was on her list for both of them and headed toward the checkout. As she rounded the aisle toward a cashier, she saw Linda and Janice in line.

“Well, hello, you two.”

“Ellen, how are you?” Linda hugged her. “We thought you’d left already.”

“Tomorrow. I was going to call tonight to say good-bye, but you can always reach me on my cell, too.”

“Yeah. We phoned a couple of weeks ago, Saturday night, I think, but you weren’t home. We didn’t leave a message, though, and then things got so busy.” Janice began placing items from their cart on the conveyor belt.

“I was at my parents’,” Ellen replied. “It was a dismal party, and Sandra had to work late.”

Linda looked at her oddly. “Saturday night? Just before finals?”

“Yes.” Ellen placed a separation bar on the belt and began to unload her cart.

Linda glanced at Janice, who shook her head quickly. But not quickly enough.

“What?” Ellen asked.

“Nothing.” Janice’s shrug seemed phony.

“Spill it,” Ellen demanded. “What about Saturday night?” Her friends were silent for several seconds, then Linda said, “We, uh…saw Sandra…that night.”

“Oh?” Ellen supposed that must have been late, too late for her to drive all the way to Alexandria.

Linda didn’t answer. When they put the last item on the belt and began a conversation with the checkout person, Ellen knew something was going on.

“Come on, you two, you’re supposed to be my best friends.” Linda sighed heavily. “We saw her at Rosie’s…around seven o’clock, I guess it was…”

She and Janice ventured nothing further, and from their awkwardness Ellen knew Sandra hadn’t been alone. She stood very still, the familiar pain of rejection clutching at her heart and stomach. “I see.”

While she finished checking out, Linda and Janice waited for her by the exit. They walked her to her car and helped load her groceries in the trunk.

“Listen, Ellen—” Linda began.

“No, it’s fine. Look, we haven’t dated that much. We never said our arrangement was exclusive. Both of us are free to see whomever we please.”

“But she lied to you.” Janice sounded angry.

“She was probably trying to avoid hurting my feelings. It’s okay, really.” Ellen closed the trunk and opened her car door. “Listen, I’ve got to run. I have a ton of stuff to do before I leave in the morning. Would you guys mind checking in on General Beau a few times? Kelly takes wonderful care of him and plays with him far more than I do. But he does like you both and variety is always nice.”

“We’d be glad to,” Janice said.

“Have a great trip.” Linda hugged Ellen tightly. “Be careful, and call us when you discover something interesting. And let us know when you’ll be back in town so we can get together for dinner.”

“Will do.” Ellen waved as they headed toward their car, but when she could no longer see them, she dropped her cheerful demeanor.