B.L. Miller - Crystal's Heart

"Don't bother, I'll move over here," Crystal said as she moved her clutter over to the other side of the table. The change in position caused the smoke to curl up the side of the building instead of entering the kitchen. Laura watched as a smirk came to the stripper's lips before being hidden by the coffee mug.

"Guilty as charged," she admitted, sitting down in the chair recently vacated by the other woman. She took a sip of her coffee before continuing. "I just really can't stand the smell of smoke in my house. Bobby has taken up smoking and I don't let him do it in there either."

"Who's Bobby, your boyfriend?"

Laura set the coffee cup on the table and smiled. "Um no. He's my younger brother. I don't have a boyfriend. You?" She did not expect an answer and was surprised when Crystal shook her head. "No boyfriends. Men are pigs."

"Well, not all men, Crystal. Peter and Michael are perfect gentlemen."

"Peter and Michael are queer. They don't count."

"I don't know what's so hard about putting the toilet seat down. One time the boys were over here and I forgot to check and ended up with a wet bottom." She laughed at her own story, hoping to force a smile to the young woman's face. Instead Crystal continued to stare into her coffee, her eyes taking on a faraway look. The writer felt her stomach rumble and remembered that she hadn't eaten yet. "I think I'll make somee.g.and toast for breakfast. Would you like some?"

"Naw." Crystal stood abruptly. "I'm about to head out anyway."

"Going out for the day?" Laura secretly hoped that would be the case. She didn't want the pot smoking, beer drinking stripper around when her mother showed up.

"Yeah, I'm not into family get-togethers. Have fun."

Laura had just sorted out her newspaper and was about to begin reading when she heard the front door slam and a string of expletives fly out of her roommate's mouth. "I can't fucking believe that starter went again!" Crystal angrily tossed the keys across the room. "I don't care what Rick says, that mechanic friend of his doesn't know his ass from a hole in the wall." She pressed her hands against the short half-wall separating the kitchen and living room and finally locked eyes with Laura. "I guess I'm not going anywhere after all," she sighed.

"Michael is a mechanic. Maybe he can take a look at it for you."

"Fat lot of good that does me today," the stripper grumbled. She had hoped to get some beer and replenish her dwindling supply of marijuana. "I'll try to stay out of the way."

"You know the cable is hooked up to the TV in your room," Laura said. She was glad Crystal didn't hint about borrowing her Jeep. "Um may I ask a favor of you?" The stripper looked at her warily. "Would you mind not smoking pot while my brother and mother are here?" She raised her hands to forestall the protest she saw forming on the blonde woman's lips. "I know what you do in your room is your business but even with the incense, my eighteen year old brother will know what you're doing behind closed doors."

The words struck an unintended nerve as Crystal's mind flashed back to hearing her sister cry out through the wall separating their bedrooms. "When are people showing up?"

"In about four hours."

Plenty of time to get stoned before they get here. "Fine. Where's the nearest liquor store?"

"Martin's on Fourth. About three, three and a half miles." She realized Crystal's intentions and was secretly pleased that the store was so far away. She still wasn't happy with thei.e.that her family might meet the stripper but she knew it would be even worse if alcohol was added to the mix.

Crystal knocked her knuckles on the countertop. "Of course it is. What's the temp out there now? Eighty, ninety degrees?" Laura was certain it was closer to seventy but she didn't see any point in mentioning it. "I'll be in my room." The stripper went upstairs, fishing her cigarettes out of her pocket in the process.

Good. Stay there, Laura thought to herself as she watched the temperamental woman climb the stairs. She looked at the clock and groaned. Time to get moving.

First came the dusting, then the vacuuming. Polishing and window washing was next and she Laura was just filling up the mop bucket with hot water when the doorbell rang. She opened it to find Jenny standing there, her face hidden by the brightly wrapped box in her arms. "The other parts are in the car," she huffed as she gratefully handed over her burden.

"You do remember that he drives a compact, not a minivan."

"These are the ones the man at the store said were right for Bobby's car," Jenny protested as she retrieved the rest of the stereo parts from her car. "You asked the salesman which ones to buy?" Laura asked incredulously. "Jen, you know better."

"Don't you start," the brown haired woman warned gently. "Not everything I buy has to be approved by Consumer Reports." "But" Whoops, Laura thought when she saw the look in Jenny's eyes. "I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

"Yup," the therapist agreed.

"It's a good thing I have you around to point out all my little neuroses," she said, taking advantage of the empty street to lean down and give Jenny a quick kiss. "By the way, Crystal is here."

"Did you warn her about your mother?"

Laura reached into the car and pulled out the last box, bumping the door with her hip to close it. "No. She was supposed to be gone all day but her car broke down."

"You should before General Patton arrives," Jenny said as they reached the threshold.

"My mother is not that bad."

"Not that bad? Laura, do you remember Thanksgiving four years ago? The one and only time you brought me to your mother's home?" She held the door open as Laura stepped inside.

"I honestly didn't think she'd walk in on us." Laura winced at the memory of her mother walking into the kitchen and finding the two of them locked in a passionate kiss.

"You know she blames me for corrupting you."

"Of course she does," Laura agreed with a playful grin. "After all, I was just an innocent young woman before I met you."

"Somehow that's not quite the way I remember it, Love." Jenny walked over to the cupboard and grabbed two glasses. "How long do we have before she gets here?"

"About two hours." Two hours to get this place cleaned up and ready for inspection, Laura thought to herself as she opened the refrigerator and retrieved the pitcher of ice water. As it did every time her mother came for a visit, Laura's nerves were on edge. Her father and both grandfathers had been career military and her mother was the perfect officer's wife. There was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she was missing something something that her mother would be certain to notice. "Does everything look all right?"

"Laura everything is perfect. The pictures are straight, the dishes are all put away, the tablecloth is pressed. Stop worrying."

"I can't help it," she replied, leaning into Jenny's gentle touch on her shoulders. "I just want everything to go right. Jen, promise me you won't start?" The hands gently massaging her shoulders paused. "Your mother needs to move into the nineties."

Laura turned and slipped her arms around the shorter woman's shoulders. "Jen, you gotta understand. Grandpa Matthews was a staunch Republican and my father was as conservative as they come. Thei.e.of her only daughter in bed with another woman wasn't exactly an easy pill for her to swallow." She gave a small smile. Jenny's parents were the most open-minded people she had ever met and it was hard for her ex-lover to accept intolerance. "Please?"

"Change is good for the soul, you know," Jenny tried one last time. Laura knew she had won and gave the smaller woman a kiss on the forehead. "Spoken like a true therapist. I'll do my best to keep her away from you." A thought occurred to her. "Speaking of therapy " She walked over and shut the sliding glass door, not wanting her voice to carry. "I wanted to talk to you about something that happened last night." "You okay?" Her ex-lover's concern was evident and Laura smiled.