Gerri Hill - One Summer Night

"Are you okay with everything?" Kelly asked.

"No," she said honestly.

"No? Jo, last night was . . .”

"Last night was a mistake," Johanna said, almost angrily, meeting Kelly’s eyes. "A big mistake. I'm going to pretend last night never happened.”

"Why? It was incredible.”

"No," Jo said, shaking her head. She motioned toward Sherry. "Shouldn't you be getting back?”

Kelly followed her eyes to Sherry, then looked back at Jo. "Jo, she's just a friend."

"Right. So I've heard."

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"I can explain," Kelly said.

"No, there's no need, really.” She looked away, then back at Kelly, drowning in her dark eyes despite her best attempt not to. "Last night was something I don't care to repeat. I don't know about you, but I've never done anything like that before and good God, you've got a girlfriend! How could you?" she hissed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's not like that," Kelly protested. “We’re not involved.”

Jo raised one hand and shook her head. “It doesn’t really matter. It’s none of my business.”

Kelly looked frustrated. “Look, we had a relationship at one time, yes. But that’s over. Jo, we’re just friends. I swear.

Let's go somewhere and talk, please.” She tried taking Jo’s hand but Jo pulled away.

"I've nothing to say to you, and I told you, it’s none of my business" she whispered, just seconds before Sherry joined them.

"Kelly? Are you coming? I think we're next," she said sweetly, and Jo bit her lip. The woman looked like she had just stepped out of the pages of a magazine. Jo hated her.

"Yeah. I'll be there in a second.” Kelly turned to Johanna again. "We need to talk," she said quietly. “You have to let me explain.”

"Don't bother. Just leave," Jo said and turned away.

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Chapter Five

When Deb called on Wednesday to invite Jo out to dinner, she still hadn’t recovered from the weekend and had no desire to go out. Instead, she invited Deb to her house on Friday for steaks. It would give them a chance to catch up, maybe renew their friendship.

She had just put in a CD when Deb knocked. Jo took time to straighten the magazines by the sofa before greeting her.

“It’s so good to see you.” Jo stepped back from the door and motioned her inside.

Deb, holding a bottle of wine, gave her a quick one-armed hug. “You, too.”

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She looked around Jo’s living room and nodded. “I’ve always loved your house. I’ve missed coming here.”

Yes. Jo remembered, before Nancy, that Deb would sometimes spend the entire weekend with her. They would cook a meal together or just spend a lazy afternoon on the deck talking.

“I know. It’s just. . . you never seemed to hit it off with Nancy.”

Deb nodded in agreement. “I never liked her much, you’re right. I didn’t think she was right for you.”

Jo forced a smile to her face and took the wine from Deb.

“Well, that ended up being true.” She turned toward the kitchen. “But I’d rather not talk about Nancy,” she called over her shoulder. “Go out to the deck. I’ll bring the wine.”

Jo leaned against the counter and rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to ward off a fast-approaching headache.

She had no desire to talk about Nancy, but was afraid Deb would bring up Kelly. She certainly did not want to face questions about her.

Pushing off the counter, she grabbed two glasses, determined to enjoy Deb’s company. They had been close at one time and Jo could use a friend that was single, too. She sometimes felt like a third wheel when she hung out with Betsy and Janis, although not because of anything they said or did. But still, it would be nice to have a single friend to go out with occasionally.

“Your backyard has grown up,” Deb observed.

Jo handed her a glass of wine and sat down, leaning her elbows on the patio table. “I know. I’ve got to stop planting things. Pretty soon, I won’t be able to see Bull Creek.”

“Oh, no. I like it. It gives you more privacy. But if I recall, you never had much of a green thumb,” Deb laughed, pointing at her potted plants, which were in dire need of water.

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“I know. It’s all I can do to keep the ones in the house alive. I’m always amazed when things out here survive,” she said, motioning to her yard. The lot had been wooded when she bought it. Over the years she had added native shrubs and plants to give her more privacy from her neighbors. She was most proud of the stone walkway she and Harry had built years ago. She followed the path with her eyes as it twisted down to Bull Creek.

“Do you still swim?”

Jo smiled. “Well, I float in the inner tube. It’s kinda hard to swim in only four feet of water.”

“I guess you still go out to Harry’s?”

“Every Sunday for sure. But I don’t teach in the summer anymore, so I go a couple of times a week. I’ve been getting him to pull me in the boat.”

“Well, if you wouldn’t mind company some Sunday, I’d love to go skiing again.”

“Sure,” Jo agreed, although she doubted she would invite Deb on a Sunday. Sundays had become a ritual for her and Harry. She didn’t want to spoil it by bringing an outsider.

They sat in silence, watching the antics of a squirrel as it tried to invade the bird feeder. For once, she had remembered to fill it.

Jo was aware of the uncomfortable lag in their conversation, but she couldn’t determine the cause of it. They hadn’t been around each other in years and perhaps it had been wishful thinking on her part to believe they could just fall into old habits. People change and she supposed they had, too.

“I’ll get more wine,” Deb offered, intruding on her thoughts.

Jo watched the blue jays dive at the squirrel. She wished she hadn’t invited Deb to the house. Maybe they should have 47

gone out to eat. They would have had more distractions, something other than a squirrel to stimulate the conversation.

“Are you dating anyone, Jo?”

Surprised, Jo glanced at Deb, silently watching as she refilled her glass. “No. Not since Nancy left,” she said. And it was true. Her one night. . . affair. . . with Kelly could hardly have been called a date.

“I thought so, but when we never saw you around, I assumed you were seeing someone.”

“No.”

“I was a little worried about you the other night,” Deb commented.

“The other night?”

“At the bar. You left with that. . . with Kelly Sambino.”

Jo felt herself blushing. “I just gave her a ride to her hotel,” she lied.

“Well, you should be thankful she didn’t try anything.

I hear she’s quite the stud in San Antonio.”

“Stud?”

“You know what I mean. Lots of parties, lots of different women hanging on her arm. Christy said she dates several at one time, keeping them all in the dark about the others.”

“Really?” Jo wondered why Deb felt the need to tell her all this. Frankly, she could not care less about Kelly Sambino!

“Yeah. I didn’t really like her that much,” Deb said.

“I thought she got on fine with the team.” Jo was surprised that she felt the need to defend Kelly.

“Oh, she can play ball, all right. But, you know, her attitude was so... California. She was just so conceited.”

Jo held her tongue. If there was one thing she had learned about Kelly, it was that she was not the least bit conceited. But Jo said nothing, forcing what she hoped was a smile onto her face.

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“And you know that woman that showed up for the Sunday game?” Deb continued. “That wasn’t even her current girlfriend, according to Christy. Sambino had been dating someone from their softball team.”

Jo rubbed her eyes quickly, wishing Deb would lose interest in this subject and go on to something else. She did not want to discuss Kelly with Deb or hear all these things about her. It was what she had suspected, of course, but it only made her. . . affair. . . with Kelly that much worse. She pinched the bridge of her nose again, her headache having settled behind her eyes.