DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT MY SHOW. IT BELONGS TO
THREE SISTERS/BARRON-PENNETTE PRODUCTIONS
CAROLINE AND THE
INTRUSION
Caroline's loft
"Could they be standing any closer? There are hotel
rooms in New York."
"Yeah," Caroline's eyes fell. Her gaze fell onto the hands that stroked Julia's upper arms. Each
finger sparked a shiver down the base of Caroline's spine. An artist's hands,
conversely. Even this subtle movement triggered the outpouring of sweat across
her brow.
She placed her small fingers on her arms and closed her eyes tightly,
wishing, needing them to be HIS. HIS??? Was she losing her sanity? Why did
their union spark so much, what, longing?
"Come on, Annie, let's go to Remo's."
"All right by me. I forgot my Pepto Bismol." She gasped while clasping
her stomach, directing her pain to Richard and Julia.
Annie initiated their departure, leaving Caroline in her wake. She allowed her gaze to intrude upon their
private moment once last time. Standing in the doorway, she analyzed every
interaction, every expression he made and sketched it in her mind. Richard,
laughing? What was the world coming to?
"Okay, you're not leaving for the war. We'll be back in 52 minutes."
Caroline flushed. Did he hear? Or worse, did he even care?
"Shut up, Annie. I'm coming." She flung her purse over her shoulder and
shivered despite the warmth of her apartment.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
At Remo's
"Caroline, why are you so distracted?" Annie's eyes revealed concern
for her friend.
"Nothing, I don't think the lasagna agreed with me." She lied in
attempts to convince even herself. She could not confront how she felt. For
that could mean possible defeat.
"Come on. You know what you need, Caroline?"
"Hmm…?" she said, her eyes lacking expression. Her fingers tapped at the table impatiently. Her heart
pounded with anxiety that had only recently characterized the thoughts coursing
through her mind.
Richard. She silently prayed. Richard. A sob confined her speech,
denied the oxygen in her lungs.
Annie remained preoccupied with her own vision for Caroline. Seldom did she miss the pain so apparent in
Caroline's countenance.
"You need a date. I have just the guy. A friend of mine I went to
college with. His name is David. What do you think? Caroline……?
Caroline……..?"
Caroline's expression lingered on her salad. Her fork playfully swatted
at the cucumbers, a futile attempt to drown herself into something other than
thoughts of HIM.
"Uh, I don't know Annie, I'm kinda feeling down after the whole Richard-Julia
situation. I think I need some time to defeat my feelings for him. I can't
believe the sight of them together would crush me so much. When I'm around
them, I feel as if I'm suffocating." She began to dig her fingers into her
palms, her nails, imprinting evidence of her frustration.
"Come on, Caroline, what'll it hurt? You need to get out. You need to
stop obsessing over someone who doesn't even deserve you. I'll bring David
around tomorrow night, okay, you'll be grateful I did."
"So, why are you not dating him, then?" cynicism marking her features.
"He's too slow paced for me. I need vibrance, a thirst for life, a………."
"I know WHAT you need, Annie, and it sure isn't that." Caroline
chuckled despite herself.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Caroline's loft, after lunch
Caroline opened the door slowly, methodically planning her encounter
with Richard. She saw him, hunched
over, intently finishing the last of her Easter line. His back vibrated from his
hurried strokes. It longed to be caressed. Silently, she approached him. He
remained ambivalent to her presence and when she placed her fingers onto his
shoulders, he jumped.
"Hi Richard.." she murmured softly into his ear. What are you doing?
She admonished herself. Slowly and gently, her fingers worked into his flesh,
releasing the tension that had escalated between them within the past few
weeks. Richard found himself leaning into her fingers, abandoning all doubts,
submitting to his desires. His shoulders slumped with defeat as Caroline's
hands tenderly melted into his flesh.
As if on cue, Julia entered the living room with a huff. Her Italian bounded off of the walls,
intruding their forbidden rendezvous. Caroline leaped to her chair, her eyes
penetrating Richard's, their mutual stare, stained with guilt.
"Julia…..what are you doing here?" Richard questioned through clenched
teeth.
"Ugh, Reechard, I can't believe you forgot…….#@%^&^%"
her Italian curses, slicing the apprehension lingering in the air.
"What did I forget?" He rose from his chair,
and rushed to her side, taking her slender fingers in his. His world was
becoming too complex. His palms were laden with perspiration, and his vigilance
for her welfare, waning with each moment he spent with Caroline.
"The party tonight, dear, for my Father, you
know, the one who raised me?" Her furrowed eyebrows expressed scrutiny.
"You mean, the one who tried to kill me? Oh,
joy, lucky me…." Richard muttered under his breath.
"It's okay, Richard, you can leave. I'm almost
finished with the strips…" Caroline approached the window, faking indifference,
as a sob escaped her throat. Too
consumed with his own shame, Richard trailed behind Julia like a lost puppy
seeking affection. Caroline crumbled to the floor, embracing her knees as if
they were a life raft. Richard. She whispered to herself. Tears clouded
her view and she drifted into a barren slumber.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Caroline's
loft, the next day
Richard remained silent for the entire day,
occasionally rising to use the restroom or refill his coffee. Caroline bent
over her latest panel, her mind, attempting to focus on the cartoon strip, and
not on the warm breath that tickled her arm.
"Hey Richard," she quavered. "Um, can I check
something on your panel? I think I may have screwed something up." She managed
with every ounce of self-control she possessed. Tension danced between the two
of them. Please tell me. She begged silently. Her mind raced with images
of her in his arms. His hands were mangled in her red locks, his arms,
caressing her's out of concern. She entertained the sensation of his arms
around her waist, massaging her lower back, shielding her from the world.
"Here," his harsh word intruded her illusion.
He thrusted the panel into her hands, their arms briefly touching. His gaze met
her's with mutual longing. Please, say something, Richard. When she
peered at him, though briefly, all sense faded. All logic, a distant memory of
a world without color. They maintained this for some time. A stray lock of hair
fell to her forehead. Instinctively, Richard pushed it back, his hands,
lingering on her brow, his thumb, caressing her cheek.
Suddenly, the door thrust open with a resonant
thud. Its reverberation interrupted
their tender union and again, Caroline and Richard's feelings were concealed by
circumstance. Annie glided across the floor, her grin revealing confidence. In
a grand sweeping gesture, she presented a tall, blond man. Caroline's
expression penetrated Richard's, as if requesting permission to respond to the
stranger that stood in her doorway.
"Caroline, my dear friend, this is David.
DAVID. Oooh boy, time has done him well."
Caroline countered Annie with a smirk of
indifference.
"Hello, David." He approached her
slowly, analyzing her. Her eyes mirror someone who has fallen beyond help.
Hopelessness, no, something more, intense longing. He peered into her eyes,
intent to ascertain why she would not return his innocent gaze. Why her hands
toyed with the side of her skirt.
"Hello Caroline," his warm hand
extended to her trembling one. She held
his hand with polite obligation, meeting his gaze with an apathetic glance. There's
someone else. To his astonishment, Caroline sustained her grasp and reached
for her purse on the counter.
"You ready?"
"Sure…" he fumbled with words. Okay,
I suppose a degree in psychology doesn't necessarily verify that I can read
people like an open book. Even someone as seemingly transparent as this woman.
TO BE CONTINUED………………………………………………