Changing Tides 2
By Kanay
Changing Tides 2
By Kanay
“Wake up, sleepy head,” Sarah called out as she burst through the door and headed directly for the window. She quickly adjusted the blinds to let in their full light, brightening the room as if the overhead light had been turned on high. She turned and watched as her daughter tried to ignore the sudden brightness, closing her eyes tighter and throwing the blanket over her head.
“Last day of school, aren’t you excited?” she asked, allowing a tiny smirk to surface.
There was a bit of muffled noise coming from underneath the blanket, probably a response, but Sarah couldn’t make it out. Instead, she walked to the bed and sat down, placing a gentle hand on the body snuggled beside her.
“The last week is always the hardest,” she offered gently.
At that, the covers flew off and a tiny head appeared. Elizabeth Bishop had made her first appearance of the morning.
“That’s what you said about the first week of school,” she boldly reminded her mother.
Sarah pursed her lips in thought for a moment, realizing that despite her daughter’s young age, she was no one’s fool. Fighting off a laugh, she pat her daughter’s side and stood up.
“Tell you what, Munchkin. You make it through this day and we’ll celebrate with some pizza.”
“I don’t want to,” Elizabeth pouted.
“And why not?”
There was a brief moment of silence while Elizabeth searched her feelings, finally stating the only thing that played repeatedly in her mind. “I miss Mommy.”
Sarah sat back down. Danni’s absence these past two weeks had been rough indeed, and she noticed Elizabeth had seemed withdrawn, but she thought if she gave their daughter extra attention then Danni’s absence wouldn’t be as noticeable. She was wrong. Her added attention was no substitute for Danni.
“I miss her too, Hon. But remember what we talked about before Mommy left? How she was working on a very important job and she had to be in California for a little while?”
Elizabeth nodded, tears beginning to well in her eyes.
“When Mommy and I talked on the phone last night she reminded me that she’s coming home in a couple days.” Sarah paused a moment, partially to allow this information to sink in, but mainly to calm her breathing. When Danni first mentioned she was going to have to go to California for a couple weeks the news hit her hard. They hadn’t been apart more than a single day in their eight year relationship. How she was going to survive two weeks without her life partner…her wife…was a mystery. The days had been long, but the nights seemed longer, and each day that passed the emptiness inside her grew. She knew exactly how Elizabeth felt right now and she wanted to cry too, but she remained strong. Two more days and Danni would be home again.
“Can we have ice cream too?” Elizabeth asked, startling Sarah out of the daze she slipped into.
Sarah smiled and ran her hand vigorously through her daughter’s long dark hair. “We can have ice cream too.”
Elizabeth jumped out of bed and ran to her bathroom, preparing for her day. Her clothes already laid out from last night, Sarah knew she would only be a few minutes at most and took the opportunity to slip away and begin cooking breakfast.
“Don’t be long, Hon.”
Downstairs, the morning light had already filtered into the kitchen hours ago and the vase of brightly colored daisies brightened the room further. The coffee was already made and the simple task of preparing eggs and toast should have been an easy one, but thoughts of Danni’s homecoming occupied her mind and Sarah found it difficult to concentrate. The phone suddenly ringing was a welcomed intrusion.
“How’s my beautiful woman today?”
“What are you doing calling me at this hour?” Sarah asked. “It’s still the middle of the night there.”
“Only four a.m., but I’m more than happy to make the sacrifice if it means I get to talk to the two most important ladies in my life.”
Sarah smiled. “Well, the younger one of us is still getting dressed, but if you don’t mind talking to this old lady I promise to hand the phone over when she comes down.”
“Sounds like a deal,” Danni said.
“Before I forget, I was giving some thought last night about our anniversary. What do you think about a weekend getaway in New York when you get back?”
“What about Elizabeth? I don’t think we should leave her—”
“Of course not,” Sarah cut in. “We bring her with us.”
“That’s not much of a romantic weekend,” Danni suggested.
“I know, but I really think we need to spend some time together as a family again. We both miss you very much.”
Sarah head tiny footsteps in the background getting louder and she cupped her hand over the phone, preventing Elizabeth from overhearing anything tiny ears shouldn’t hear.
“Sounds like a plan.”
“…And if you think you’re getting through your first night back without me making passionate love to you, you’ve got another thing coming.”
Sarah didn’t need to be in the same room to know Danni was intensely blushing.
Feeling rather devilish at the moment, Sarah played innocent and asked, “Everything ok, Love? You’ve gone quiet.”
“Whose on the phone?” Elizabeth asked nonchalantly, announcing her arrival. If nothing else, her spunk and curious nature mirrored that of her mother. While she waited, she parked herself into a chair and sipped at her orange juice nonchalantly.
“Someone wants to talk to you,” Sarah said, handing her the phone and returning to the eggs and toast, relishing in her own naughtiness.
“Mommy!” Elizabeth screamed into the mouthpiece.
Sarah only half listened while she prepared Elizabeth’s breakfast, though it was hard to make out their conversation when she only had the words of a six year old to go on. She did manage to learn that Danni would be bringing her back something, not a surprise, and judging from Elizabeth’s frequent mentioning of apples she had assumed Danni mentioned their upcoming trip to New York.
Several minutes later she placed a plate of runny eggs and burnt toast in front of Elizabeth and beckoned the phone back.
“I love you too, Mommy,” Elizabeth said before handing Sarah the phone.
“Danni, I know this is a crazy question, but have you taken any of my clothes with you?”
Danni sounded as confused by the question as Sarah was embarrassed by asking it. “No, why?”
“Well, I was doing laundry the other day and I noticed some items missing. I thought perhaps you packed them accidentally.”
“I’m sure they’ll turn up,” she suggested. “Socks and undies always manage to get lost.”
“I suppose,” Sarah halfheartedly stated. “Well, I better get going.” She glanced at Elizabeth, who was happily enjoying her breakfast, though she could only guess the child missed more than Danni’s presence since she had taken over the cooking duties in Danni’s absence. “We have to leave in a few minutes or this Munchkin is going to be late.”
The women quickly said their goodbyes and hung up, and while Sarah got their jackets ready, Elizabeth scooped the last remnants of her breakfast onto the floor for Molly, their Irish Setter, to lap up. Unfortunately, despite Molly’s old age and eagerness to eat any table scraps, she snubbed her nose at the eggs and walked off, silently looking forward to Danni’s return as well.
“What about the dishes?” Elizabeth yelled.
“Don’t worry about them. I’ll only be gone a few minutes,” Sarah reminded her as she assisted Elizabeth with her jacket and backpack. “I’ll do them when I get home.
As she did every morning when she drove Elizabeth to school, Sarah locked the door behind them and helped Elizabeth with her seatbelt when they reached the car. The street was rather quiet this morning, not a single person in sight, which was odd considering the tourist season was about to begin. But then it was midweek and people did still have work and school. Still, there was an eerie feeling that they were being watched. She gave a quick look around as she moved around the car, making sure everything was as it should be, but when she still didn’t see anything out of the ordinary she chalked it up to paranoia and missing Danni and buckled her own seatbelt before starting up the car and pulling away.
Danni had barely hung up the phone when a knock at the hotel door caused her to jump. Out of caution, she hesitated opening the door at such an early hour, and it wasn’t until the familiar rhythmic knock sounded again.
“Jordan, open up!”
Danni quickly moved to the door and ushered Karen inside before she woke up everyone on their floor.
“I saw your light on so I thought I’d say hi.”
Danni looked her friend and partner over carefully, but it didn’t take a genius to realize Karen was intoxicated.
“Are you just getting in now?” she asked.
Karen slumped her hand on Danni’s shoulder and leaned closer, the strong smell of alcohol evident as her speech slurred slightly.
“This is Cali. There isn’t a chance I’m going to be here for two weeks and not live it up, girlfriend.”
Danni raised her brow in concern, unsure if Karen would be up to working in only a few short hours.
“Relax, Jordan. I can see it on your face. I’ll be fine after a few gallons of coffee.”
“Just don’t fuck it up, Karen. I need this client. We win this case and I can finally make a name for myself in the business. Maybe even branch out on my own full time in Jersey.”
Karen shook her head and walked to the desk, plopping down in the chair as if the gravity in the room had just doubled. “Why you would want to settle there when you could have it all in Philly is beyond me.”
Danni walked to the tiny table across the room and began making coffee. Somehow she guessed all sleeping was done for the night. “Have you forgotten I am settled? I have a wife…a child…a life I love…and I wouldn’t trade any of it for anything.”
“I’m not saying you don’t love Sarah and Lizzie, but come on! You’re not getting any younger. Do you really want to settle when you’re in the prime of your life?”
Danni didn’t need to think about it. The answer came instantly. “Yes.”
Karen looked her over good, studying her friend’s features long and hard, and saw something new. Pure contentment. Had it always been there and she simply hadn’t noticed before? She didn’t know, but she felt honored to witness something so pure.
“Well, I’m not going to interfere, Danni. I don’t understand it, but I’m not going to interfere.”
Danni smiled, appreciating what a good friend she had in Karen. Not that Karen could interfere in her relationship with Sarah. They were like two magnets always pulling towards each other.
“…Well, not exactly,” Karen added as an afterthought. She looked to Danni, who was sporting a confused expression, and continued, “I couldn’t help but notice you were blushing when I came in, to which I might also add you seemed pretty wide awake for four a.m. You wouldn’t have been getting jiggy on the phone again, huh?”
Danni could only smile and shake her head. Walking over to retrieve two cups of steaming coffee and offering one to Karen, she said, “You never cease to amaze me.”
“So I was right!”
“No. Well, not exactly. I was talking to Sarah, but that’s the extent of it. I mainly called this morning because I wanted to wish Elizabeth a good last day of school. I wanted to be there you know, but this whole case never seems to end. If we lose this I’m going to be pissed off.”
“Relax, Jordan. It’s in the bag.”
Karen sipped her coffee while organizing her thoughts, which were still pretty scattered due to the nine vodka shots and countless martinis she had since midnight, but celebrating was in order. The information they dug up on their client’s opposition was sure to sway any jury’s decision in their favor.
“In case I need to remind you, nothing is ever in the bag in this business. Always expect the unexpected.”
“You’re right.”
“Of course I am.”
Both women were silent for the next moment or two and the noise in the hall suddenly began picking up. Shuffling feet and low voices murmured and signs of a new day were evident.
“I think I’m going to try to catch some Zzz’s,” Karen said finally.
“I think that’s a good idea. Let’s push breakfast up to nine so you get some decent sleep. We don’t need to be downtown until eleven anyway.”
“You’re a mind reader.” Karen rose and staggered slightly to the door. “Catch you later, Jordan.”
Danni followed her to the door and watched as Karen wobbled to her room. “On your stomach, Cochise.”
Karen gave her a thumbs-up and quickly disappeared into her room. As Danni stood in the doorway, she thought about Karen’s words and about settling like Karen had mentioned. It was true she had given up so much to be with Sarah. Her career was still in its early stages when she made the decision to give it up and live in Cape May, only working part time to keep her name active in the business. She could have gone so far by now, probably could have even been a partner in the firm, but to have all that and be without Sarah was like trying to live without breathing. Sarah was her life. And when they decided to have a child and Elizabeth came along, she had everything she could ever want. Again, her mind repeated Karen’s question: Do you really want to settle when you’re in the prime of your life?
“Yes.”
Nearly a full hour after Sarah left with Elizabeth she finally found herself coming home. The quick drop off at school took a slight detour when she saw the lights at Vicki’s shop on and decided on a harmless little hello to carry her through the day, along with a pound of Vicki’s finest delight, peanut butter fudge.
Her mind was a million miles away when she noticed something odd. The small planter on her front porch had been knock off its stand and had actually cracked. Since she knew she hadn’t been the one to break it, and it hadn’t been like that when she watered the plants yesterday, she made a mental note to remind Elizabeth later that she should be more careful in the future when playing on the porch.
Opening the door, she thought it was odd that Molly hadn’t run to greet her like she normally did. But then again Molly was acting odd herself lately. Danni’s absence had that affect on everyone.
“Molly…” Sarah called out, but the shuffling of dog feet she expected was replaced with a distant barking.
She followed the sound of the barking and discovered that Molly had somehow managed to shut herself in the basement. When Sarah opened the door, Molly charged out and ran through the house, returning moments later and eagerly licking her face.
“What is with you?” she asked, happily accepting Molly’s kisses. She pat behind her ears a few times, rubbing the tips the way Molly likes so much, and allowed her mind to drift away again.
“I know, I miss her too,” she admitted when Molly butted her head against Sarah’s leg for attention.
Sarah stood and began her morning routine, placing the bag of fudge in the refrigerator to keep it from being a distraction. ‘Out of sight, out of mind’ always prevented her from eating the full package in one sitting, though she sometimes had trouble with even that method during certain times of the month.
When she moved to collect the breakfast dishes, however, she discovered they had already been cleaned up and neatly stacked in the drainer by the sink. Confused, she stood frozen in one spot while she thought about the moments before she and Elizabeth left this morning. She didn’t remember cleaning the dishes, but that was the only explanation for them being cleaned now.
“You’re losing your mind, Sarah,” she told herself. Without thought and despite need, she grabbed a sponge and began wiping down the counter and tabletop when she began feeling strange again, like she had at the car earlier.
Visually scanning the room, she noticed everything was immaculate and in its place, even the coffee maker that she hadn’t put back since Danni left was in its place.
“That’s got to be it. You’re getting old and you’re losing your mind.”
As a source of comfort, she reached down and pat Molly again, who had come to sit at her side. Tossing the sponge into the empty sink, she gave the room one last quick glance before she left, noting that the only thing resembling anything untidy was a tiny pile of daisy pedals on the counter.
Vicki casually tidied up the shop as she flicked on the television and began her morning ritual of watching the soaps before baking, taking her time as there wasn’t much planned today. This weekend would be a different story though, having a history of being one of the busiest weekend for business, behind only Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.
She took a quick glance around to make sure she hadn’t missed something, always worried she should be doing something productive instead of indulging in her soaps, but everything was in its place. Every souvenir was priced, everything dusted and straightened and ready for the weekend rush, and the trays in the counter were ready for their products. It was only a matter of baking them, which she would continue as soon as she found out who was the father of Olivia's baby. The show had dragged this story out for weeks, each episode teasing the answer would be revealed, but she had a strong feeling today was the day she would finally find out.
A half hour later she had been so engrossed in the show that she hadn’t even noticed the slight movements in the back room until a dark shadow appeared in the doorway to the main room. Startled, she turned quickly and froze at what she saw.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded.
“Alright, Jordan. What gives?”
Karen stared across the tiny table she and Danni shared at the pub and insisted she explain her unusual behavior.
“You’ve been in a fog all day. Are you sick or something?”
Danni sat back in her chair and carefully thought about the question. “I don’t think so.”
“Then what gives? I thought I would be the one unresponsive today, given the condition I was in early this morning, but you’ve been on another planet all day. What’s going on?”
Danni shook her head in frustration and took a swig of her beer before motioning for another in an attempt to sway the conversation to something else. Anything else than how she was feeling.
“If you have the shits with me then spill it,” Karen said.
Danni resisted the urge to roll her eyes and fought off the urge to start crying. Talking to Sarah and Elizabeth this morning wasn’t exactly the brightest idea, and certainly not the best way to start her day. At least when they talked before bed she had the overnight to get over missing them, but talking in the morning only forced her feelings to surface at the most inopportune time.
Danni sighed loudly. “I guess I just miss Sarah and Elizabeth.”
Karen didn’t resist the urge to roll her eyes. “Well duh. You’ve been apart for almost two weeks now. That’s normal.”
The waitress promptly brought another round of drinks and Danni wasted no time in indulging. The fresh bottle was half gone when she put it down again and burped softly. “I’m sorry.”
Karen giggled.
“Tomorrow’s Elizabeth’s kindergarten graduation and I’m going to miss it.”
“What? How can you miss something like that? That’s a once in a lifetime event!”
Danni couldn’t fight off the tears any longer and they started pooling in her eyes.
“Sarah’s going to tape it for me.”
“That’s not the same thing and you know it.”
A few seconds passed while Karen thought about options, but the only thing that made sense was the one Danni already knew the answer to. She placed a gentle hand on Danni’s and voiced what they were both thinking.
“Go home, Jordan. Tonight. If you catch a red eye you’ll make it by morning.”
“I can’t,” Danni explained. “We’ve still got two more declarations to get tomorrow.”
Karen pursed her lips mockingly. “Do you think I’m so incompetent that I can’t finish this without you?”
“No, but—”
“No buts, Jordan. You’re getting your ass on a plane tonight if I have to drag you to the airport myself.”
Danni smirked, and then for the first time since calling home this morning she smiled. “You sure you can handle it?”
“Uh, yeah. I think I have a few years experience in this,” Karen said sarcastically.
Danni reached across the table and took Karen’s face in her hands, kissing her lips enthusiastically. “You’re the best!”
Karen blushed. “Yeah. Tell me something I don’t know.”
How Danni was blessed with a friend as great as Karen, she didn’t know. They had been through a lot together over the years, and it was Karen who eventually convinced her to go for it with Sarah, Karen who had been there and listened when they had their fights, and Karen who urged her to stop putting up her defensive walls and just be with Sarah. Reaching in her pocket for a few dollars now, she was about to pay the tab when Karen pulled the friend card one more time and beat her to the tab.
“Let’s get you packed and on a plane. Sarah’s going to be so surprised she might jump you when you walk through the door.”
“Well, I sort of called already and left a message on the machine at home. I mentioned I might be coming home early.”
Karen nodded her approval as they stood and walked towards the door. “You’re good. You walked me right through that one.”
Danni grinned mischievously. “Not intentionally. I really was torn about what to do.”
“Maybe so, but I didn’t see it coming. You walked me right down that path and I wasn’t even aware you were doing it,” Karen confessed, leaning in and whispering, “And that’s what makes you a good lawyer.”