Moonstone (32 page)

Kelsey shook her head. She stared at Joy for a long moment. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I need to go.”

“Last night wasn’t just another date for me,” Joy finally said. “And I screwed up this morning. I shouldn’t have gotten out of bed without telling you something.” She paused. “I’m ready to fall for you. And that scares me. Because I don’t know what you’re ready for.”

Neither spoke for several minutes, and finally Kelsey pulled away. “I have to get to work.”

“Listen. I want to promote the rock stars in the sales department. The rock stars. The ones who realize every part of Alpine is their responsibility. They go out of their way to make customers satisfied.” Steven continued, “And I’m not sure what’s happened over the past few months, but this is the second customer complaint I’ve received.” His sigh was exaggerated.

“But this complaint was about software glitches,” Kelsey said. She could hear the music in the background and doubted her boss was listening. “And the last complaint was a networking problem. You hired me in sales. I can’t make customers happy if the product has flaws.”

“In fact, that’s exactly what I need from you—our rock stars make customers happy. No matter what.” He paused. “Look, I’ll put it to you straight. We think you’ve gotten out of sync with what the team needs from you.”

Kelsey heard the last sentence repeat in a loop. She knew she needed to argue that she was exactly what Alpine needed in sales and that the problem was on the tech side. A couple of bad reviews and a sink in sales over the past month wasn’t justification for her to lose the promotion—a promotion that had already been offered and nearly guaranteed. But then she heard herself agreeing, “You know, you’re right. I am out of sync. In fact, I’ll type up my two weeks’ notice and send it to you today.”

“Wait, what?” There was a pause before her boss continued. “This meeting was to discuss your month-end reports and whether or not you are qualified for this promotion. Maybe I wasn’t clear. I’m not interested in letting you go. I want you on my team. I’m asking you to step it up here.”

“I understand. But I need to quit.” Kelsey hung up the line before Steven could. She stared at the sign to Raceda Community Pool and the statue of the whale fin. She’d driven here, intending on a swim after the phone call with Steven, but now she couldn’t bring herself to move.

Her phone lit up with a text from Joy. She’d gotten three in the past two hours and she hadn’t responded to any of them. She hadn’t responded to her texts or the phone calls from the past week. It’d been a week since she’d seen Joy. A week since the night she couldn’t get out of her head.

Kelsey read the latest text:
I don’t want to text you with issues about Alpine and have you respond to that when you haven’t responded to anything else so I’m having Denise call you.

Kelsey tossed the phone on the passenger seat and reached for her swim bag. She still hadn’t decided what to say to the first text Joy had sent that morning:
Are you okay?

The answer was no, of course, and after the call with her boss, she figured saying nothing might be the smartest option. At least at the moment. She needed time to think.

Maybe it was fate. That’s what her mom would have said. Joy stared out the office window as the realtor on the other end of the line detailed the offer from her clients. It was a corporate deal. Moonstone would become a cog in the wheels of Sharp Vision and the optometrist who took over would hardly be a part of the fabric of the community. Of course the realtor didn’t say any of that. Joy knew what happened in deals like this. But maybe that was okay. She watched the Blue Line Ferry cut across the bay and murmured a reply to the realtor’s question. Yes, she’d gotten the paper copy of the offer. And yes, she understood the terms. She had three days to decide.

Joy hung up the line and went over to the window to watch the ferry dock. She stared at the figures below. Two men tied the ropes and then pulled out the plank to cross the distance between the boat and land. “Fate” was a favorite word of her mom’s, but Joy had never trusted that anyone or anything could be aligning the cosmos in her favor. And yet she couldn’t argue with the timing on this. The day before she’d gotten an email from an old classmate. Her clinic was hiring. The job was in San Francisco. And on a whim, Joy had called the clinic. The impromptu phone interview with the owner went well. He’d asked her to come down for an in-person interview and they were already discussing benefits and salary options. Joy guessed she had the job if she said wanted it. The question was whether or not she could say yes.

The one hitch in fate’s plan was Kelsey. No matter how Joy weighted the options, Kelsey threw everything off on the scale. But she hadn’t heard from Kelsey in a week. Joy reached for her jacket and briefcase. She texted Vanessa when she got to the car and then tried to concentrate on the road. The job interview was at six and she had to push the speed limit if she was going to make it on time. Vanessa’s name popped up on the screen, and Joy answered the call. “Where are you?”

“Your apartment,” Vanessa said.

“It’s yours now.” Joy silently wondered if Vanessa was there alone. She didn’t ask only because she didn’t want to know.

“I know. But I still like to think of it as your place. It’s good to hear your voice. Sometimes texting gets old.”

Joy felt the same listening to the lilting cadence that was uniquely Vanessa. “I’m driving down. You could hear me in person tonight. If you’re free.”

Kelsey glanced at her watch. It was a quarter to five. She’d promised Denise that she would come before the clinic closed, but when she realized that Joy’s car wasn’t parked in the usual spot, she wished she’d come earlier. Even if she couldn’t bring herself to respond to Joy’s texts, she wanted to see her.

The door to the clinic was locked, but Denise opened it at her knock. She smiled. “Hey, stranger. Long time no see.”

Denise had been at her house the night before. Kelsey had avoided dinner but Barb and Denise tried their best to drag out the story. It hadn’t worked.

Denise picked up a clipboard and handed it to Kelsey. “This is the list we’ve compiled of glitches in either the software or how we’re trying to connect everything. But the important issue is Helen’s new printer. We can’t figure out how to get it to talk to her computer when Alpine is running.”

Kelsey glanced over the list on the clipboard. “Most of these issues will be pretty quick to fix.”

Denise sighed. “Good. I’ve got a yoga class at seven.”

“Yoga?”

“The instructor’s French. We started talking one day in the locker room at my gym.”

“A French yoga teacher. Attractive?”

Denise grinned. “And I’m old so the yoga’s good for my balance. The teacher’s good for my mood. She’s my age but you should see her stretch.”

Kelsey couldn’t help smile. “Got it. You can leave me a key.”

“That’s okay. I’ll stay and keep you company if it won’t be long.”

“Did Joy ask you to babysit me?” Kelsey knew the answer as soon as Denise looked at her. She shook her head and cussed under her breath. “To tell you the truth, I was hoping she’d be here.”

Denise pulled the computer chair out and pointed to it. “Sit down. I’ll skip yoga.”

Kelsey didn’t sit. She shook her head. “I’ll work through this list faster if I’m alone. I won’t screw anything up. I promise.”

“I know you won’t. And I also know that wasn’t what Joy was thinking. She didn’t want you to have to be here alone. She felt bad that she couldn’t stay.”

“Why’d she leave then?”

Denise hesitated. “She had an interview. In San Francisco.” Denise shook her head. “She wasn’t going to tell anyone. I only know because I happened to be old friends with the optician who works at the place where she’s interviewing. She called me up and asked about Joy. I gave her a good recommendation.”

“But what about this place?”

Denise shrugged. “She’ll either hire an optometrist to take her place or she’ll sell, I guess.”

Kelsey sank down in the chair. She closed her eyes. “It’s late, Denise. Go to yoga. I’ll be here for a while.”

Denise set her hand on Kelsey’s shoulder. “What happened?”

“I wish I had an autopilot button. And I could keep pretending nothing was wrong. I’ve screwed up so many things.” Kelsey picked up the clipboard and switched on the computer. “For some reason, I had this idea that since she had everything together she could handle my shit.”

“I think it only seems like she has everything together,” Denise said. “Aren’t most of us a complete mess on the inside?”

Kelsey shook her head. “I don’t know why I thought she’d stay here. You even warned me. Some days I hate that I moved back to this damn town.”

Vanessa was stretched across the bed with her eyes closed. She was still breathing hard, but the rest of her body seemed completely relaxed. She reached up and brushed a fingertip over Joy’s lips. “I’m pretty sure I can’t move.”

Joy smiled. She bent down to kiss Vanessa’s lips. “You’ll change your tune in an hour when it’s time to go dancing.”

“Dancing? Are you kidding? No way.” Vanessa shook her head. “But I do need to pee. And we both need wine.” Several minutes passed before she finally climbed out of bed. She padded out of the room without bothering to reach for her silk robe that hung over the footboard. It was pink with red roses. She’d bought it in Chinatown and looked beyond sexy in it, but she was even more attractive naked. Joy watched Vanessa’s round butt cheeks until she disappeared from view. She reappeared with two glasses of white wine.

“Tell me about her,” Vanessa said, settling into bed. She took a sip of wine.

“What are you talking about?” Joy stalled. She set the wineglass down on the nightstand and rolled on her side. Vanessa’s breasts were at eye level. It would be easy to distract her with one fingertip.

“We haven’t had sex like that since the first night we were together.” Vanessa reached down and touched Joy’s chin, tilting her head up. “And I know when you’re busy thinking.”

“I’m not thinking.”

“Don’t lie.” Vanessa’s tone wasn’t sharp. “
You
are always thinking.” Vanessa picked up the dildo lying in the middle of the bed. She turned it upside down and then held it upright like a flag pole. “Too bad these things don’t feel nearly as good when there’s only one person involved.”

Joy sighed and reached for the wine. “I don’t think when we’re having sex.”

“Then that’s the only time. Look, I’m not saying that I mind being used to vent your frustrations—if it feels that good, who would complain? But don’t pretend there’s no one who got you this worked up.”

Joy took another sip of the wine and then shifted back in the bed. “You could get a new mattress. This one sags in the middle.”

“Molly has a nicer bed. We go to her place most of the time.”

“So is Molly getting serious?” Joy glanced at Vanessa when she didn’t respond. “Does she know about us?”

“Molly knows.” Vanessa nodded. “I called her this afternoon when I got your text. She knows you and I have an open relationship. The problem is, she hates the idea of sharing anything. Honestly, I don’t like the thought of anyone I sleep with having sex with anyone else either. Do you think that’s love or jealousy?”

Joy shook her head, then added, “I don’t know. Maybe. I’m the wrong person to ask.”

Vanessa laughed. “That’s why you and I get along so well. Both of us suck at relationships.” Vanessa swung a pillow at Joy’s head. “Come on, tell me about her. The longer you wait, the more convinced I am that you’re in deep.”

“We knew each other in high school. She was one of the cool kids. I wasn’t.” Joy smiled. “I had a huge crush on her.”

“Ooh, I love this already.” Vanessa folded her legs and turned to face Joy. “And now you ran into her again and holy shit, she’s queer?”

Vanessa’s excitement was authentic. And endearing. “Yeah, she’s queer,” Joy said. “And she’s into me.”

“Wait, is this the same chica I met? Kelsey, right?”

Joy nodded.

“How’d I not know that she was an old high school crush?”

Joy shrugged. “But the thing is, she has all these issues with an ex that she hasn’t let go of yet.” Joy stared down at the silk robe at the foot of the bed. “And I have this feeling that she’s not being honest. Either with herself or with me. There’s more to the story.”

“Too bad you’re really into her.”

Joy nodded. It was useless pretending otherwise. She’d felt sick for the past week. It wasn’t a flu, but she had no appetite and she couldn’t sleep at night. When she’d gotten the email about the job in San Francisco, she’d hoped that would be some kind of sign. And the job seemed great. Exactly what she wanted. But she wasn’t sure she could walk away from Kelsey. “Now it’s your turn. Tell me about your new girlfriend.”

Vanessa reached across Joy to open the nightstand drawer. She took out a necklace. A diamond heart pendant hung from a gold chain. “This is cheesy, I know, but no one has ever given me anything like this. I’ve only worn it once. But I get it out at night and stare at it. She loves me. And I’m terrified.” The diamonds caught the light and glittered as the pendant swung in a circle.

“You know what I realized? People don’t fall in love overnight. It isn’t a one-night stand sort of thing. It takes all the ups and downs. I know I should have realized this long ago, but I didn’t. I was waiting for that swept-off-your-feet feeling—that one moment when you lock eyes and find a soul mate. But I think that’s probably bullshit.” Vanessa paused. “I’ve known Molly for two years. I had no idea that she was into me until that day Tina had her meltdown—when I left your place early. I showed up at Tina’s house after that six-hour drive—and she wasn’t home. Molly said she’d gone out to a bar with some friends. I was so upset. Then Molly asked me if I wanted to come in and talk even if Tina wasn’t there. I looked at her for the first time and thought, holy shit, she’s been right here this whole time? She’s sexy, smart…and she’s there when I need her. After Molly and I went on our first official date, I texted Tina and told her thank you.”