Half Truth

Francie arrived home around eight o'clock, entering the house just as Sydney walked into the living room carrying an armful of towels. "Hey Syd" she said wearily, tossing her purse on the couch. She eyed the towels suspiciously "what's all this?"

"Oh, hey Fran. Its nothing, I just flooded my bathroom last night." She continued towards the laundry room. "So what happened to your mom? Is she all right?"

"It was my grandmother, and she broke her hip. She'll be fine, but I had to stay with her last night, until my mom could fly in."

"Oh, I'm sorry, that's too bad. How did she do it?" She made a mental note to send flowers.

But Francie didn't hear her as she started towards Sydney's room. Sydney had just started filling the washing machine when Francie called out "Syd, whose shirt is this?" Sydney dropped the towels like they were on fire, and was in the bathroom where Vaughn's shirt was draped across the tub in two seconds flat. They both stared at it.

"Oh that" Sydney said, a little too casually, nodding her head. "That's Will's. It's Will's shirt."

Francie wasn't buying it. "That's not Wills. He would never wear that." She grinned. "It's too nice." It was true. Sydney didn't say anything. "Why is it all wet?" Francie's eyes brightened then , and she turned to look at Syd. "Was someone else here when you flooded the tub?"

Sydney was the best liar she knew. She spent her whole life lying. But now, when the only lie she could come up with was 'it's Danny's', she just couldn't bring herself to say it. So she told the truth. "It belongs to a coworker of mine." Okay, so it wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't a lie either.

"A coworker? Really?" Francie was instantly intrigued. "A coworker who's in your house, at night, who takes off his shirt, and that leaves it there. Where is it you work again?" She laughed.

"It isn't like that at all" Sydney began, not even fooling herself. "He came over last night just as I was drawing a bath for myself, to pick up an important file about work. We started talking about it, the file," she continued "and I forgot about the bath. He stayed to help me clean up, because he's a nice guy." Her voice sounded agitated, but she was smiling. "His shirt got wet…" she paused.

"And?" Francie asked, rolling her eyes slightly.

"And…and…and her took it off and forgot it all right?" she finished quickly, staring at Francie with a challenging look in her eye.

"Okay, okay" Francie said skeptically. "So he's just a nice guy than?"

"Yeah" she said softly, a dreamy, faraway look coming over her face. "He's a really nice guy."

"You are the worst liar I have ever met" Francie laughed, playfully pushing her.

That was enough to get Sydney's attention, and she laughed out loud. If she only knew the half of it she thought, shaking her head.

"I'm serious Syd. I'm your best friend, but I'm certain a perfect stranger hearing this story would agree with me" she grinned, her eyes laughing "that that boy got more than a file last night."

There was absolutely nothing intelligent she could say to that, so she just stood there for a moment, before "yeah, okay, sure Francie. That's what happened. Just keep telling yourself that, and maybe it will come true." She knew she was making no sense, and sounded like a six-year-old.

Francie was shocked. "Syd!" She had been pretty sure it was true, and Sydney' s reaction was the final nail in the coffin. "Are you honestly trying to tell me it's not true? And expect me to buy it? Do you think I'm stupid?"

She wasn't stupid. Sydney had never expected her to believe it. Right then all she wanted was to be able to tell her best friend how happy she was, for the first time in a long time. The man she was in love with loved her back. How she wanted to spend every moment with him, but she couldn't, and it was killing her. She wanted to hug her and, and cry with her, and giggle about a boy like they were in the sixth grade. But she couldn't. "Francie" she took her head "I don't think you're stupid. I think I'm stupid. This guy is just a good coworker friend. And it can never be more than that. Even if we both really wanted it to be." She looked at Francie with sad, almost pleading eyes. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah honey, I get it." She pulled her into a hug. "If you ever want to talk about it, thought, I'm always here."

"I know. Thank you." She didn't know what she would do without her. She pulled away, and hoped Francie didn't see her quickly wipe her eyes.

"I'm sorry Syd."

"No, it's okay. You're my best friend, and you're interested in my life. You had every right to ask. God knows I would have." She smiled sadly. "But it's just too complicated."

"I mean I'm sorry for you. And him, if he's anything like you."

"I'm sorry too."

***

It was a few months later that the phone rang just as she was heading out the door to work. She leapt for it, hoping it was him. It was so hard seeing him everyday, and not being able to be with him, but she still cherished any moment she could get. "Hello?" she held her breath, waiting.

"Sydney?"

She sighed. "Hi, Dad. What's up?"

"Sydney, we need to talk. It's important. Very important. Go to work like normal, but meet me for lunch at one thirty."

"Okay. See you then." She hung up the phone. What the hell could this be about? Her life couldn't get much worse. She hoped.