Gerri Hill - One Summer Night

“I really can’t stand women like that,” Deb continued.

“Well, I really don’t know her,” Jo said. “And I doubt I’ll ever see her again.”

“Count yourself lucky that she didn’t try anything,” Deb repeated. “She apparently has something women like, although I just can’t see it.”

Are you blind? Jo thought. Deb’s remarks didn’t fool her.

Deb was simply jealous and Jo wondered why this had not occurred to her earlier. Deb had been single most of the time Jo had known her. She was shorter than Jo, a little heavier, too, but Jo thought she was cute. Not drop-dead gorgeous like... well, like some women, but she was still cute. Jo remembered that Deb had rarely dated, though. Deb would never stir the kind of passion that Kelly apparently invoked in... some women.

“Well, she didn’t try anything. Maybe I just don’t have what she likes.” Jo gave a nervous laugh. It would be a miracle if she made it through the evening.

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Chapter Six

June turned into July, and Johanna cursed the heat as she sat on her black inner tube in Bull Creek. It was nearly four o'clock The temperature, which had topped out at 102, had now dropped to a sultry 99. Paddling into the shade, she splashed cold water on her shoulders, now tanned a golden brown from her weeks in the sun. She was spending many afternoons with Harry, fishing the lake and cooking fresh catfish and bass for their dinners. She had even joined Betsy and Janis for dinner on a couple of occasions, though she refused to discuss that sordid weekend in June. Betsy had asked only once, and Johanna had lied and said that nothing had happened. Betsy left it at that, even though they both knew she was lying. She had not accepted Deb’s second 50

invitation to dinner. The first had been too stressful and she was afraid Deb would bring up Kelly’s name again. Kelly had called her only once and thankfully, the answering machine was the only one who heard the whole message. Once she heard Kelly’s voice, Jo had deleted the message without even listening to it.

Now, with July coming to an end and August just around the corner, Jo was thinking ahead to the upcoming semester.

Soon she would be busy planning her classes, attending faculty meetings, and living her life as scheduled.

She didn't allow herself to think about Kelly Sambino, even during the lonely, hot nights of summer, when she swore she could still smell Kelly in her bedroom. The trick was staying busy. She went to Hippie Hollow, the only nude section of Lake Travis, and swam naked in the clear waters.

She made a trip every morning to Zilker Park and swam laps in the cold, cold waters of Barton Springs. In addition to their afternoons and Sunday brunches, she had dinner once a week with Harry and sometimes he drove the boat while she skied. She stayed busy. She didn't think about Kelly Sambino. She didn't think about the wonderful night they had shared, making love until dawn.

"Right," she said aloud. Who was she kidding? Did a day go by that she didn't remember Kelly’s kisses? Laying her head back on the tube, she closed her eyes to the sun, remembering every detail of that night. She felt herself go warm all over again and knew it had nothing to do with the July heat. She tipped herself out of the tube and submerged in Bull Creek, laying on the limestone bottom as the cold water rushed over her, cooling her senses.

Soon, the neighbor’s dog started barking, welcoming them home, and she cursed her lack of solitude. The kids would be splashing in the water soon. Oh, she was getting 51

cranky, she thought. Thirty-six and already a grouchy old woman!

Later, one evening in early August, Susan, the dean of the English department and a good friend, called her.

"Arnie wants to do steaks on Saturday. Come over. Plus, I want you to meet someone. We've hired a novelist for the semester to teach the creative writing class."

"That's great," she enthused. "Of course I'll come.”

Jo knew that the department had wanted to get a published author for this class. Last semester, they had to settle for a graduate student, as the university had snatched their lone candidate from beneath their noses.

She was somewhat relieved at Susan's call. It meant that the fall semester would soon be starting, and she could get on with her familiar, routine life and leave the awful confusion of the summer behind her.

On Saturday, she ironed her shorts while standing in the spare bedroom wearing nothing but her underwear. It was hot and humid outside, and she had the air conditioning turned down to 70. She wasn't sure how many more weeks she could take of the heat. Laughing to herself, she wondered how many years now had she been saying this same thing?

She tucked a white T-shirt in her shorts, slipped on her sandals and drove to Susan and Arnie's house, only ten minutes away. They had been friends for years and when Susan was appointed dean four years ago, it had done nothing to alter their friendship. She treated Jo as an equal, at college and away. Jo frequently joined them for dinner during the school year.

She pulled into their drive, parking beside a Ford Explorer, which she assumed belong to the novelist they had hired. She wondered what he would be like. Austin City 52

College wasn't small, but it couldn't compare to the University of Texas, where most of the teaching talent went.

She rang the doorbell, then let herself in. She heard the faint sound of voices in the front hall. Making her way through the familiar living room to the sliding door, she stopped abruptly when she saw Kelly.

"Oh, God," she whispered. "No, no! It can't be.”

The woman she thought she would never see again, the woman she had hoped she would never see again, the woman she couldn’t stop thinking about, was but a few feet away.

Kelly Sambino stood beside Susan, a beer held casually in her hand as she listened intently to Susan’s story. Johanna's eyes traveled up her long, tan legs, slim waist, past her full breasts, to her face, and the memory of their night together came crashing through like a wave racing to shore, hitting her full force, as if it had only been yesterday that they had been so intimate with each other.

"Oh, God," she said again, suddenly feeling a little sick.

Arnie was sticking a match to the charcoal and, as flames erupted, he stepped back. Jo stood in the living room, indecisive. She had half a mind to flee, and if Susan hadn't looked her way at that moment, she might have done just that.

"Jo, you're here. Come on out," she beckoned. Johanna bravely walked the few feet to the door, and despite her better judgment, slid it open.

"Hi," she said, looking first to Arnie, then Susan, then finally resting her eyes on the very dark ones of Kelly Sambino. Oh, God, she thought, I can't do this.

"I want you to meet Kelly Sambino. We're lucky to have her," she said, and Jo walked towards them.

"Hello," Kelly said and stuck out her hand.

"Hello," she answered and took that hand, her heart pounding in her chest.

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"Stole her from St. Peter's in San Antonio," Susan said.

"Really?" Jo was surprised by the steadiness of her own voice.

Kelly released her hand slowly, and Jo quickly shoved hers in her pockets, trembling.

"Oh, yes. She's going to be a great addition to our staff,"

Susan went on, and Jo couldn't drag her eyes away. What is happening here?

"Get yourself a beer, honey," Susan told her.

"Yes, I think I better," Jo muttered, ignoring the amused look Kelly gave her.

"How're you doing, Arnie?" she asked, as she walked to the large, red cooler and dug a beer out from beneath the ice.

"Great. You?"

Jo paused for a moment, then lied. "I'm doing good."

Arnie moved closer to her and asked in a low voice, "So, what do you think of the novelist?"