Disclaimer: Without prejudice. The recognisable characters herein are the property of Michael Crichton, John Wells, Amblin Entertainment, Warner Brothers and other people with more money and influence than I have and are used here without permission. Jenny, Mina, Karen, Becca and certain aspects of Brets backstory (including his surname) are my own creations. I have also invented certain aspects of Ray and Neela's backstory for the purposes of this story.
Spoilers: None, as far as I'm aware.
Content: Nothing, unusually.
Notes: Sorry, sorry, sorry this has taken so long - real life bites and my muses suck, so there's my only excuses. It's been a crazy little while is all. I really…well, I really struggled with this chapter, so I hope it doesn't show too much.
Second Time Around
Chapter 11
Bret rolled his shoulders to remove the sleep induced stiffness as he wandered into the kitchen practically on auto-pilot, one hand reflexively reaching for the fridge door handle. He had a plan - get up, get orange juice, settle on the sofa and watch bad daytime TV. The band had had a gig last night, and he was exhausted. As if to emphasise the point, he yawned widely, and felt his neck muscles complain bitterly.
Sometimes he wondered if he was too old for this music lark.
Shouldn't a guy of his age have other priorities by now anyway? He rolled his eyes, frankly stunned that his mind would, or indeed could, go there at this stage of the day. It was way too early to be that philosophical about life. A cold draft circulated around his bare feet, and he concentrated his efforts instead on finding the orange juice carton.
It was a brief, and eventually fruitful, search as he came away with what felt like a half full carton of Tropicana. He sighed. Part two of his plan for today had fallen into place.
He was unscrewing the cap of the orange juice carton when his eyes caught on the mess on the countertop. Damn Ray - he thought, cursing his absent flatmate - never puts anything back in its proper place. Bret knew he wasn't the tidiest of people, but he had nothing on Ray that was for sure. Bret moved over to examine the mess.
The calendar jumped to his attention. Didn't it normally hang by the phone? His spare hand reached to pick up the offending item, when his eyes caught on the delibarate red circle. Around May 5th. The capitilised letters underneath were underlined. J - E - N - N - Y. The name was followed by a carefully inked number - 27. Jenny - 27. Wasn't today the 5th?
Bret glanced at his watch for confirmation of the date. His mind started racing. Jenny's birthday.
That was why Ray had gone off with all that stuff. There was some sort of party in Lincoln this weekend. And he hadn't been invited.
Which, he thought, given the way New Year had gone was hardly surprising. Besides, he shrugged off his initial feeling of hurt, he couldn't have gone anyway. It was Karen's anniversary, and he'd agreed to take care of Becca tonight.
He'd swapped a weekend with one precocious 5 year old goddaughter, for an evening with his equally precocious 3 year old niece.
He raised the orange juice to his lips, thinking rapidly. He should do something though, he thought. He shouldn't let her birthday go unmarked. She has to know he cares about her - even if he was too much of a coward to phone her or go up there. Mind you, any man would be deterred after being given the cold shoulder so dramatically.
She practically threw you out, the devil on his left shoulder reminded him, needling him again when he already felt distinctly unsteady. His resolve wavered momentarily. She must have had her reasons - the angel countered - and Bret suddenly felt on balance again. Dented pride once again in check, he remembered back to that night.
It definitely hadn't been supposed to go like that.
Well, it had. Up to the point where she showed him the door.
He was more worried than anything by that. More concerned by the sudden change in temperature in the room. By the fact that one word made the difference between her being warm, receptive and more than willing, to being the ice queen. He'd had to work hard to get past the dent in his own ego - which had been, unsurprisingly significant - but he had managed it.
And he was still hopeless for the girl. Although they'd met a grand total of three times, Bret just had a feeling about her. He didn't know quite what it was yet. Jenny was different. And he was a walking cliche, he thought, shaking his head in disbelief.
None of these thoughts were getting the birthday quandary solved.
So...what could he do then? What could he get her? He couldn't go up there, could he phone? No. No. Phoning would be bad. There would be stuttering and awkwardness and he'd feel stupid and make an idiot of himself. Text? That could work...but it was so impersonal. Anyone could send a text. His mind began to spiral. It had to be a present then. He could write a card to go with that - something witty, charming and loveable. Something to endear himself to her again. So, what did Jenny like? It had to be personal, but not too personal. He looked around the apartment for divine inspiration of some kind. What could he get that could be delivered third person and could be delivered today? Chocolate? Well, she was definitely a chocolate kind of a girl, he knew that much...Blue eyes caught on something held by a guitar shaped magnet to the front of the fridge.
Lorelai's Florists...and an address about three blocks away.
Excellent.
That would work. He screwed the cap back on the orange juice, rattled the fridge door shut, and crossed the apartment back to his room to find some clean clothes and his wallet.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Sleepily, Jenny turned over to examine the red digits of her alarm clock. '08:30' they told her. May 5th. She inwardly groaned and turned onto her back, hair fanning across the pillows.
Her birthday.
She was 27. Officially a year older.
She wondered if there was any possibility of a low key day - maybe just her and Neela, taking Mina to the park and out for ice cream, then coming home to a dinner of something spectacularly fragrant and exotic that Neela and only Neela could ever make the way she liked, before putting Mina to bed and cracking open a good bottle of red wine, accompanied by an indulgently girly DVD. She fancied Dirty Dancing herself, but ever the diplomat, she would probably let Neela choose.
She knew how much Neela disliked Patrick Swayze after all, though she'd never understood it.
A long sigh escaped her lips. She knew there was no chance of a low key day.
Neela, God love her, couldn't let a birthday pass by without celebration.
And besides, she remembered with a start, Ray was up this weekend anyway.
Had he arrived last night? She couldn't remember seeing any sign of him when she'd gotten in from work, but that didn't mean anything. She was so tired, Attila the Hun could have been sitting in the living room and she probably wouldn't have noticed. It had been a crazy busy night for some reason. End of the month? People out spending the pay cheques before the mortgage payments and utility bills had a chance to swallow it all? She guessed that was as good an explanation as any.
Her question was answered by a soft click at the front door, and muffled voices in the hallway.
Jenny groaned again, and forced herself to get out of bed.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Good morning, sunshine."
Jenny waved away Neela's smiley remark, determined to get to the kitchen. Her feet dragged along the cold linoleum surface. Neela followed her, alarmingly alert for this time in the morning. Jenny suspected she'd already had a cup of coffee. No one got that perky on a Saturday at 8:30am without coffee. She ran a hand through her still tangled hair and yanked her dressing gown tighter around herself.
"Ray here?" She tossed out, offhandedly. Neela busied herself by the sink, but she couldn't help but feel there was one beady brown eye on her at all times.
"Nope." Liar, Jenny thought, pouring herself a cup of strong coffee. She moved into the living room and slouched on the sofa, taking a long drink of coffee.
"Happy birthday."
Neela handed her a card.
"Presents later…" She cut herself off abruptly. "Once trouble is up and about."
"Thanks."
"Got any plans?" Neela threw out, apparently offhand. Jenny looked up.
"Nope." She paused, thinking for a minute. "Gotta drop by work. Check my shifts."
"On your birthday?"
"Neela." She sighed. "It's just another day in 365."
The brown eyes rolled disbelievingly. Jenny focused instead on the brown liquid in front of her, still trying to fully wake up and absorb the day. Another year older, but apparently not yet another year bolder, she thought wearily, draining the last of her coffee, mind flashing back to the one person she knew wouldn't be turning up to help her celebrate today.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Have you got the...?" Ray produced the kitchen foil from behind his back, and brandished it like a weapon. Neela, despite herself, giggled lightly. "And the...?"
Neela trailed off, knowing that in this house the walls had ears. Big cloth elephant ears that belonged to a certain 5 year old who had a mouth almost as big as her ears and hadn't yet learned the lost art of keeping a secret. Ray picked up on her meaning.
"Appropriately marked and placed."
Neela smiled at him. He smiled back, knowingly.
"You underestimate me, dear Neela."
"Are you surprised?" She shot back, over her shoulder, rearranging the plastic cutlery for the hundredth time.
"Where's the birthday girl?"
"She's at work." Ray frowned curiously. Neela picked up on his apparent puzzlement, and smiled again, this time more softly. "Checking her shifts. Had to do something to get her out the house for a couple of hours."
"Yeah," Ray agreed. "She not a big fan of birthdays?"
"Jenny's not a big fan of fuss." Neela shuffled forks between her fingers and laid them down, apparently satisfied, although Ray couldn't note any obvious difference from how they lay before. "Not over her anyway. But she deserves it."
Ray nodded.
"Anything I can do?"
"Yeah." Neela squared the knives delibarately. "Go familiarise yourself with the BBQ."
Neela indicated the grill with a sweep of her arm, and threw a brief glance heavenwards as she looked back towards Ray. There was the odd cloud in the sky, but it was altogether a bright, crisp May day. Unusual for their part of the world. Ray reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder in a gesture he hoped would pass for reassuring.
"Don't worry so much."
He said, turning to leave her. He stood, dutifully contemplating the BBQ for a few minutes, before he realised that one grill was much like another, and once it was lit basically all he had to do was turn the food occasionally and make sure it was all cooked. Possibly while wearing a silly apron. Most barbeques he'd ever seen had involved at least one person wearing a silly apron. He shook his head, deciding that he probably watched far more daytime television than was strictly healthy to form these stereotypes.
He was contemplating this, when Neela appeared at his shoulder. She was nervily flitting about, looking for ever more menial tasks with which to occupy her hands.
"So," he opened easily, "who all's coming to this shindig?"
Neela eyed the garden space - which was sufficient, but not enormous.
"Well," She drew the word out in a long breath. "You, obviously, Kirsten and Sarah are bringing the kids round later - so we'll have a full on rabble."
"How many?" The question was almost instinctive.
"In addition to our own? Kirsten has 4 and Sarah has 3, I think, including one who's a babe in arms." Ray raised his eyebrows, and Neela smiled. The thought of 8 children under the age of 10 was a daunting one, no doubt. Normally, he struggled with just the one. "Oh, and I think a couple of girls from the bar are dropping in later - Jessica and Kimberly, I think."
"Cool." Neela scowled at his use of the word, and his apparently completely unfazed tone. "Relax. Tension doesn't suit you."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Jenny returned from the bar about half past 10, and found that her hopes for a quiet birthday were already shattered. Neela was busying herself preparing what looked like enough food for a small army.
"What's all this?"
Jenny's voice was halfway between merely demanding and an all out screech, causing Neela to jump and curse low under her breath.
"Oh." She turned, wiping her hands down her apron."You weren't supposed to be back yet."
"Neela," Jenny said in a warning tone, running a finger round a ceramic dish full of chicken wings. "Tell me you haven't."
"It's just a few people." Neela turned back to the kebabs she was busily preparing, avoiding eye contact. "Honest."
"Yeah." Another figure appeared, and Jenny turned to see his rangy frame lounging in the doorway, a knowing smirk on his face. "Including a small army of children."
"Ray." Jenny did her best to sound surprised at his appearance. "When did you arrive?"
She added politely.
"First thing this morning," Ray answered. "Sorry, I didn't see you - Neela had me out on errands as soon as I got here. Happy birthday, by the way."
"Thank you," Jenny noted, manners never forgotten. "A small army of children? Are Kirsten and Sarah coming around?"
"Yep," Neela chirruped - taking a taster of the barbeque sauce, invoking a necessary pause in the conversation. "I invited Andrew and Oliver too, just so you'd have some male company."
She addressed Ray instead, ignoring the expression on Jenny's face. The grey eyes rolled in frustration. Mina, who had been up rather later than her mother had intended the night before, materialized in the kitchen, scuffing her feet and still wearing crumpled pyjamas. Seeing her mother's preoccupation, she attached herself to Jenny instead, nuzzling into the denim clad leg.
"Hear that, kiddo?" Jenny ruffled her goddaughter's hair affectionately. Mina looked up at her from under slightly sleepy lashes. "You get plenty of playmates this afternoon."
"Where's Uncle Bret?" Mina peered up at her father curiously, clearly expecting him to be part of a double act this weekend. She looked disappointed when he seemed to be alone. "Didn't he want to wish Aunt Jenny a happy birthday?"
"Yeah. Sure, he did." Ray looked over at Jenny, who stood nervily a few feet away. "He's just got family stuff."
Jenny didn't look up, perhaps feeling the green gaze boring into her. She had enough sense to know the real meaning of the words, even if those intricacies necessarily passed her goddaughter by. Mina frowned, lines creasing her forehead, brown eyes intent on her father.
"But..." She trailed off, her mind clearly racing, confused. "Aren't we family?"
"Yeah. In some ways," Ray confirmed gently. "But Uncle Bret's got a sister, and a niece. And he's got to take care of her this weekend."
Mina's frown faded somewhat.
"How old is his niece?" Mina questioned. "Will I ever meet her?"
"She's only 3," Ray answered. "But yes, I don't see why you can't. One day, maybe."
Mina, placated, let the subject lie. Ray left the kitchen doorway then and disappeared from view. Jenny stood in complete silence for a few seconds, before turning and following Ray.
"Is all that true?" She eventually muttered, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, stopping him in his tracks halfway across the living room. Ray looked at her in surprise. "Is that really why he didn't come?"
Ray nodded, turning to face her fully.
"Yep. It's Karen, his sister's, anniversary," Ray elaborated. "He's babysitting Becca tonight."
"Good," Jenny affirmed - voice steady, but expression wavering. He thought he might have detected disappointment, but he couldn't stake his life on that. "I wouldn't want..."
"What?" The question was somewhat sharp. "Him to have stayed away because of you?"
Ray sighed heavily.
"Give him some credit, Jenny."
"I haven't seen him since New Year. I was..." Jenny broke off, the rest of the sentence hanging somewhere in dead air, where eventually she decided it should actually remain. "I think Mina misses him."
She finished instead, trying to divert the conversation.
"Don't make this about Mina," Ray admonished, more harshly than he'd intended. Jenny's grey eyes sparked momentarily and she visibly bristled."When it's really about you. If you miss him, you've gotta tell him that."
"It isn't easy." Again, Jenny bit her lip, chewing on a piece of loose skin, the pain keeping reality close. "What I told you - that's the first time I've told anyone. It was hard. I don't think I can go through that again."
"The best things in life are never easy, Jennifer." Ray's use of her full name emphasised the older, wiser role he'd taken on in Jenny's life. "You're stronger than you think you are."
He regarded her for a second before he again turned to leave. Much as he hadn't planned it, he felt himself falling easily into the hole in Jenny's life that should have been occupied by Ryan - the older brother that she never got the chance to really have. He expected this realisation to make him more uncomfortable than it did - but, he reasoned, it wasn't a conscious decision, nor would he ever try consciously to replace Ryan. He knew only too well that he'd never be able to.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
The day wore on - a passive kind of a silence descending on the house. The guests arrived at about lunchtime - first, the sisters and their entourages arriving in silver and black MPVs respectively, then the girls from the bar about an hour later in a dark red Toyota. Ray hadn't been sure what to expect of Jenny's sisters. Neither of them were in the slightest like their younger sibling. Kirsten was tall and rangy, with long light blonde hair with the same natural kinks as Jenny's and brilliant blue eyes. Sarah, though closer to Jenny in height, was somehow altogether more angular, with dirty blonde, totally straight short hair. Jenny, it seemed, was the black sheep in more ways than one.)
Both hugged her, and both had brought gifts and a bottle of wine, but there was an underlying tension that he'd have to have been blind to miss. Both of the husbands seemed harmless. Inocuous. He couldn't really come up with a better description. It was definitely a family where the women were always destined to be the dominant force. Jenny's face truly brightened, though, when the children appeared. Her nieces and nephews, like Mina, were the centre of her world.
He was introduced to the rabble of children - Caitlin, Rose, Ben, Ryan, Jack, Lily, and Amber - but was secretly glad when Neela pulled him away to begin the food preparation. Mina was hyperactive in the presence of so many playmates - so he gladly left others to take care of them.
All he had to do was take care of the food. And not give anyone food poisoning. So far, it seemed to be going OK.
Ray stood back and took in the full picture - Jenny looked happy. She'd changed and was now wearing a white cap-sleeved t-shirt teamed with loose, khaki combats, topped with a floppy cream sunhat to protect what was almost unnaturally pale skin. Her freckles were coming out in the sun, and her long red hair was braided in pigtails down her back. Ray reconsidered the words he'd used to describe the way she looked. She looked relaxed. He couldn't remember ever seeing her relaxed before.
He twirled the tongs in one hand and gave the sizzling food a passing glance.
"Hey." An unfamilar voice intruded into his thoughts. "How's it going?"
"Nearly ready." Ray turned to find himself face to face with - and rather too close to - a petite brunette. She was slim, pretty, and smiling at him. He gave her a surprised smile back. "Uh, hi."
"Hey," she greeted, taking a sip of her drink before she continued. "Sorry, you just looked kinda alone."
"Just doing what I'm told."
"I'm Jessica, by the way." He shook the proferred hand. She smiled again, revealing a row of almost unnaturally bright white teeth. "But I'm usually just Jess."
"Ray," he replied. "Nice to meet you."
"So." Jess shifted position, pushing one hip out and running a hand through her hair. "I know how I came to know the birthday girl. But how do you know Jenny?"
"She's..." Ray began, flicking a brief glance at the best friends who stood across the garden from him. "Well, I used to work with Neela, way back."
"Wait a minute." Jess sounded enlightened. She held his gaze almost too intensely. "You're the doctor?"
Her jaw practically dropped.
"You're Mina's dad?"
"Jenny told you, huh?"
"She mentioned Mina's dad was back on the scene," Jess elaborated. "And that he was a doctor from up north - Chicago, isn't it?"
Ray nodded.
"Well, it isn't necessarily a problem." Jess stepped closer, which he hadn't thought possible. He knew flirting when he saw, and heard, it.
Ray looked over, and was very glad to see Neela turn in their direction.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Is she...?" Neela's fingers tightened on her glass, and she took a long deliberate drink, meeting Jenny's amused eyes over the rim. Jenny mouthed the remaining word at her with a smile - which only served to irk her more.
"Why?" Jenny cocked her head, flicking a casual glance in the direction of the grill. "Does that bother you?"
"No," Neela replied defiantly. "Ugh. Could she be less subtle?"
"Neela?" The brown eyes flicked back round, full of disdain for the brunette. Jenny shrugged, still smiling. "It's just Jess."
"I know." Neela squared her shoulders, tone increasingly belying her words. Jenny stifled a giggle at how affronted her best friend was. Not to mention how easily wound up she could be. "I'm not bothered. But I think I'm going to..."
Neela grabbed the nearby empty serving platters, and gestured across the garden in the direction of the grill.
"You know, people are getting kinda hungry..."
"Do what you have to do."
Jenny tossed out as encouragement, watching her friend cross the small patio area determinedly, two large white platters balanced on her hand.
"Ray." She cut across the willowy brunette as if she wasn't standing there, her tone authoritative yet friendly. She flashed a smile at Jess, whose expression was suddenly stony cold. Neela came as close to being sized up as she ever had in her life. And she came closer than she'd ever come to doing it. It felt strangely good. "Any of that food ready?"
"Sure." Ray reached for one of the platters, placing it by the grill, apparently oblivious to the real motivations behind what she was doing. For that she could only be glad. "Kids getting hungry?"
"The big kids are kinda hungry too." Another smile at Jess, as she tucked a loose curl behind one ear. "Salad only fills people up so far."
Neela gave what she hoped was her most devastating smile, and watched as Jess slunk away into the background. She'd live to fight another day, Neela reasoned. She felt like she was marking her territory - but why? She looked over at the toned arms, deftly switching food from the grill to the platters, and scanned upwards - despite herself - feeling that old butterfly returning to roost in her stomach. Had she really been jealous? Was she really that easily wound up?
Could she fall for him again? Or should the question really be - had she already fallen for him again?
She shook her head to remove the stupid questions, and concentrated on carrying the food back to tables without dropping it. For some reason, her hands felt a little shaky all of a sudden.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"So that's Mina's father?" Kirsten opened, fairly bluntly. She had met the blonde only a handful of times before, but knew that Kirsten, more than the other Ramsay sisters, had a habit of being forthright. She was so beautiful, she could get away with it. Kirsten's eyes were locked on Ray, appraising him quite obviously.
"Yeah," Neela answered almost absently, focussing on keeping her food precariously balanced on the paper plate, and attempting to add sauce to her sausage roll. Kirsten threw her hair back and sipped thoughtfully from her glass of wine. Jenny stood nearby, lips a pursed line, desperate to say something.
"What did you say he did..?"
"Kirsten!" Jenny admonished, knowing her sister well enough to get the meaning behind her words. Kirsten merely gave Jenny a cool glance and continued.
"What? I'm only curious."
"I didn't," Neela replied patiently, turning back from the food table, balancing her plate on one hand. "He's a doctor - an emergency room attending."
"Nice," Kirsten returned, eyes flitting over to the grill, where Ray looked like he'd been born to stand there, alternately dishing out the burnt offerings from the grill, sipping from a bottle of beer, and delighting in making silly faces at Sarah's youngest, Amber, who was gurgling happily in her fathers arms. "He's good with them."
"Kids," Kirsten clarified, smiling in the very detached way she had. Neela followed her finger, knowing fine well what Kirsten was referring to. "Look - "
"Yep." Neela took a mouthful of her food.
"Are you thinking about having any more?" Kirsten asked almost nonchalantly. It was all Neela could do not to choke in her shock. "You two make a gorgeous couple."
Jenny's eyes opened wide, and she gaped at her sister's bluntness. Neela recovered herself enough to swallow the bite of her sandwich.
"We aren't..." She stuttered. "We're not together."
"Oh," Kirsten mouthed. "Shame."
"Kik." Another, slightly desperate, male voice intruded into their conversation. Kirsten followed the voice, seeing her husband standing physically seperating their two eldest children, one of whom was crying, the other of whom looked petulant and red-faced. "Can you come here a minute?"
The blonde left the conversation then, to attend to the needs of her eldest daughter, who'd been grazed in an argument with her younger brother. Jenny sighed, the scene obviously familiar.
"I'm sorry about her," Jenny said, rolling her eyes. "Kirsten was born without the gene that codes for tact."
"It's OK." Neela shrugged, chewing thoughtfully. "It's a fair assumption, I guess."
"What? Because you two have a child?" Jenny sounded disbelieving. "Nah, that's just Kik making assumptions is all. In her sheltered little world, everybody who's anybody is married with 2.4 children, white picket fence and the dog."
"Jenny," Neela cut through Jenny's monologue before it really got started. "You don't have to continually apologise for your family. Kirsten's lovely."
"Thanks." Jenny grinned infectiously. "But you're a rubbish liar, Neela, it's one of the things I love about you."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
With Kirsten forced to retire in defeat with her increasingly restless children - and husband - the remainder of the guests began to drift away. Jenny glanced at her watch as she watched Sarah's black MPV disappear from the end of the driveway. 5pm. Not bad, she supposed. She wandered indoors, where only the core foursome remained. Mina was exhausted - a day toying with her adopted cousins could do that to her - and she lay half asleep on the sofa while a video played on regardless.
"Erm, Jenny." The redhead turned at the sound of her name. "Someone at the door."
Neela's tone was coming across as somewhere between surprised and amused. Jenny walked towards the door with a vague trepidation, especially being as she had never heard the doorbell. A large bunch of white and yellow flowers, wrapped carefully in an opaque white and silver cellophane, were being thrust towards her. The scent of cut flowers and pollen filled the hallway, and she felt her head buzz momentarily. She stepped forward, extending a hand to take the flowers.
"Oh," Jenny exclaimed breathlessly, her jaw dropping somewhat despite herself. "Wow."
She finished, feeling a faint pink blush creep into her cheeks. The courier smiled knowingly. Neela looked excited, fit to burst. Nervous fingers grasped the cellophane-wrapped green stems. The courier disappeared up the path, and Neela softly closed the door.
"There's a card," Neela pointed out, a grin splitting her face ear to ear. "Want me to...?"
"No, no," Jenny said quickly, grabbing for the card before Neela's fingers could grasp the small envelope. "I'll do it."
Under expectant gazes, she slipped the small silver card out of the envelope, and opened it.
Jenny,
Sorry I can't be with you in person to say this - but have a very happy birthday. Make sure they take extra special care of you, you deserve it :)
All my love,
Bret
P.S. - Whatever I did at New Year, forgive me?
"So, what does it say?" Neela buzzed excitedly by her shoulder, but Jenny snapped the card shut before prying eyes could see and slid it into her back pocket.
"I'd better get these into water," She said quickly, beating a hasty retreat to the kitchen for a vase.
"Bret," Ray sighed. "Nothing if not utterly predictable."
"But did you see her face?" Neela beamed, hearing the faint sound of rustling cellophane and running water from the kitchen. "She was wrapped."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Evening was drawing in around them - the sunshine had faded to a hazy half-light, the grill still smouldered slightly in the corner, emitting tiny wisps of white smoke into the air. Jenny was sitting at the picnic table outside, elbows on the table, staring at the card in her hand. Neela approached quietly, the task of tidying up momentarily suspended.
"You know, you can't summon him by mere power of your mind."
"Oh." Jenny looked up from under the brim of her hat. The end of one braid had come undone and the hand that wasn't holding the silver card was toying with the fiery hair. "Hey."
Neela slipped onto the bench opposite, sliding the cell from her pocket and laying it on the table, carefully covered by her hand.
"He's thinking about you too," she stated thoughtfully.
"What are you? Psychic?"
"No." Neela nodded towards the impressive vase of flowers which stood on the windowsill, in clear view. "Those are indication enough."
"Uh." Jenny blushed again, and dropped the card onto the table. "Yeah."
She agreed hesitantly, apparently embarrassed.
"I've never seen you - " Neela broke off, gesticulating as if she could pluck the right words out of the air. Jenny watched her, patiently and curiously. " - like this..."
"Weird, huh?" Jenny shrugged, her eyes downcast again. Neela thought she could just detect the merest glimmer of impending tears on the edge of her tone. "Dammit, he's the first nice guy to happen to me, well, ever."
Jenny brought her hand down on the table top with startling strength, as if trying to chase away the tears by mere force. She looked up.
"Why can't I let him in, Neela?"
Her voice was almost pleading.
"I don't know, hon." Neela pushed the cell-phone across the table, trying for subtlety and failing miserably. "But you're never going to find out sitting here pining, are you?"
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Ray watched the exchange between the two women from the kitchen window, his task momentarily forgotten. As he saw Neela get up to leave, he remained still - watching Jenny's reaction. Her hand hovered over the cell phone. She made a couple of half-hearted attempts - getting as far as flipping the phone open - before slamming it down again in apparent frustration. The back door opened, and Neela slipped into the kitchen.
"Will she do it?"
He asked, turning instead to face Neela. The bare shoulders shrugged, her back to him as she stacked leftovers back into the fridge.
"I don't know." Neela turned and leaned back against the cool metal door. "But I tried. And you tried."
"We've done all we can."
Neela nodded.
"How are you anyway?" He closed the gap between them, better able to read the weary lines on her brow. "Those kids looked like they were running you ragged."
"Oh, the kids I could handle." Neela smiled knowingly. "It's Jenny's sisters I find hard work."
"They're certainly..." Ray's vocabulary failed him. He changed approach slightly. "...well, Jenny's not exactly a chip off the old block, is she?"
"Not exactly," Neela concurred. "I can only take them in very small doses. They're..."
"...small town housewives?" Ray finished with a devastating accuracy. Neela inclined her head - he had taken the words right out of her mouth.
"Precisely." Neela raked her hands through her hair, causing the loose black curls to fall somewhat haphazardly back across her forehead. "They've never really approved of me - I don't think I quite fit their ideal."
"Me neither."
"Oh, I doubt that." Her tone dripped sarcasm, and she smirked knowingly. "I believe Sarah's exact words were, 'If I wasn't a married woman...' "
"Really?" She imagined she saw him blush slightly, a high pitched note of surprise registering in his tone. "I don't know what to say to that."
"Don't say anything." She grinned back at him, raising her eyebrows and cocking her head. "You'll either sound incredibly conceited or falsely modest. And neither appeal."
"Lose-lose situation? I get ya."
"Don't see it myself," Neela teased, pushing again at the boundaries of their relationship. Just how far could she go? How solid was their friendship really? The mock horror on his face told her that teasing was just fine by him "Age isn't really doing you any favours, you know."
He stepped towards her again, expression suddenly serious. She felt her smile fade slowly, as the apparent levity drained from the situation.
"You know, I'm glad we worked things out."
Neela furrowed her brow, confused by exactly what he meant. Seeing her confusion, Ray decided it best to clarify his non-sequitur.
"Everything - me seeing Mina, the money argument." He shrugged, as if to try and take some of the weight and intensity out of his words. "It's kinda worked out OK."
"Yeah," Neela agreed softly. "It kinda has, hasn't it?"