Melissa Good - Storm Surge

As she entered, she glanced at the big doors leading out to the balcony, where the early evening light was still drenching the stucco surface. "I like summers," she announced, as she stripped out of her business suit, hanging the skirt and blazer neatly on hangers inside her closet. "You still get home as late, but you feel like you've got some day left."

Kerry changed into a pair of shorts and tank top, and retreated back down the stairs just as Chino came bouncing in from outside. "Hey Cheebles." She knelt and gave the Labrador a hug. "Are you glad to see me?"

Naturally, the dog was. Chino's tail wagged furiously as she licked Kerry's face, only stopping when Kerry stood up and made her way over to the cabinet that held the all important dog food supply.

"Gruff!" Chino sat down next to her bowl, tail sweeping the floor.

Kerry turned and put a hand on her hip. "Excuse me, madame."

Chino's tongue lolled out happily.

"Dar taught you that look, didn't she?" Kerry had to smile, as the dog looked back at her with those utterly unquestioning brown eyes, as steadfast and honest as her beloved partner's. "Little punklet." She opened up the dog food and filled Chino's bowl with both wet and dry, setting it down and watching her wolf it down. "Glad I don't eat that fast."

"Gruff?" Chino looked up at her, and went back to eating.

"I'd bite my fingers off." Kerry chuckled. She leaned back against the counter and considered the question of her own dinner, or more precisely, her's and Dar's, since Dar was stuck on a late conference call and wouldn't be home for at least an hour.

Dar would be totally happy if she offered her a bowl of cereal and some ice cream, and Kerry knew it. She also knew she probably would be happy with the same thing, and, on occasion, that's what they ended up with when they came home very late.

If she wanted to order something from the club for them, that would be okay too. Kerry peeked inside the refrigerator, pondered her choices, then she removed a premade pizza crust from the fridge and pulled the flat pan it went on from the oven.

She removed the crust from its wrapper, and went back to the fridge and removed a small jar of marinara sauce, a small jar of olives, some jalapeno peppers, a package of pepperoni, several slices of ham, a bag of mozzarella cheese, and a can of peaches, taking them back over and setting them on the counter.

Whistling softly, she assembled the pizza, putting down a layer of the sauce, a handful of cheese, then scattering the rest of the items indiscriminately over the surface before she covered it all over with more cheese.

Only then did she carefully place peach halves on one half of the pie, her face twitching a little.

Once she was done, she popped it in the oven and dusted her hands off, returning the fixings to the fridge and removing a bottle of ice tea. She wandered out onto the porch with the tea, settling on the two person swing as Chino joined her. "You finished already, Cheebles?"

Chino licked her lips, and sat down.

"I guess so." Kerry popped open her tea and sipped it, as she gazed out across the Atlantic Ocean. Pushed aside all day, the memory of her conversation and unexpected request now surfaced, and she nibbled her lip, thinking about what on earth she was going to say to a bunch of--

Kids? Like she'd been?

Kerry frowned. The kid she'd been, and the girls she'd gone to school with, probably would not have stepped outside the carefully constructed conservative box they'd grown up with to request who she'd become speak at their event.

Just would not have happened. Maybe they'd have talked about it, though she doubted even that much, but to demand it?

So what in the hell was she supposed to say to them? And if they were that confident already, why even ask her to give a speech? Kerry sighed. "Maybe they are interested because I'm a successful businesswoman," she reasoned. "I mean, I am."

That idea seemed a lot more appealing than thinking the girls wanted her just for the scandal it would cause the school. Kerry appreciated a good scandal, and she had to admit she was a little bit amused at the request, but she decided she'd come up with a respectable presentation and take the opportunity to visit her hometown without causing any headlines. She was still going to kick Angie's ass though.

Kerry relaxed against the back of the swing chair, a little ambivalent about the prospect of her sister's moving. On the one hand, she was glad Angie was getting out of the big house she'd lived in with her ex-husband, but disappointed she was moving in with their mother.

She'd half dreaded Angie's idea of moving down to Miami for very selfish reasons. But she understood that by moving back with Mom, the chances of Angie's son's father joining her were pretty much done. Brian's reluctance had disappointed her profoundly and she, truthfully, wasn't looking forward to meeting up with him during the move.

She knew she wasn't going to be kind. Kerry managed a wry smile. Brian probably knew that too. But you never knew about people, and maybe he'd end up surprising her.

Maybe she'd end up surprising him with a punch to the jaw. You just never knew. Kerry glanced down as her cell phone buzzed. She put the cap on her tea and answered it, smiling when she saw the name on the caller ID. "Hello, oh love of my life."

"Boy I'd love to have patched you into that goddamned conference call," Dar answered, "that sure would have livened things up."

"Anytime." Kerry could hear the sound of the ferry in the background. "You get out early?"

"Yeah," Dar replied. "I told them I had to go get fitted for cleats. That pretty much stopped the conversation and everyone said they had to leave."

Kerry started laughing in reflex. "Oh no."

"Hehehe," Dar chortled along with her. "I can't wait to send Maria around the building tomorrow to see what rumors that stirred up."

"How about if I use my red pencil to put little dots across my forehead," Kerry suggested. "Like mini train tracks. I can pretend not to be wondering why everyone's looking at me."

"Everyone looks at you anyway," Dar said. "All right, let me get off the phone so I can drive. Be home in a minute."

"Cool. I made pizza."

"Remember the peaches?" Dar asked, in a hopeful tone.

Kerry grimaced. "Yes." She cleared her throat. "Honey, couldn't you be hooked on something more normal, like anchovies?"

"Yuk."

"Okay." Kerry sighed. "Let me go see how it's doing. See you in a few."

"Bye."

Dar clicked off. Kerry spent a moment more watching the water before she got up and went back inside, trading the muggy warmth of the patio for the brisk chill of the air conditioning as she slid the door shut behind Chino and walked into the kitchen.

She could smell the pizza. She put a glove on her hand and opened the stove, peeking at her creation and judging the bubble factor of the cheese. Satisfied, she removed the pan and set it down on the stone cutting board, dusting the top with a bit of parmesan. "There."

"Gruff." Chino was sitting near her bowl, watching Kerry expectantly.

"Oh no. Don't even think about getting pizza for dinner, madam." Kerry pointed the can of cheese at her. "Go get mommy Dar."

Chino's head swiveled toward the front door immediately, as they both heard the sound of Dar's car door closing. "G'wan, go get her."

The Labrador raced for the front of the living room just as Dar entered, plowing excitedly into her knees and knocking her backwards. "Hey!" Dar grabbed for the door frame. "Watch it, you furball!"

"Aww...she loves you." Kerry watched from the doorway, leaning against one side of it as Dar got the door closed and tossed her briefcase on the loveseat, followed by her linen jacket. She had a white shirt on with the sleeves rolled up partway to expose her tanned forearms. The ends of the shirt were already untucked from her skirt in an appealingly rakish picture. "So do I."