A/N: sry that other chapter was soooooo ridiculously long (if anyone read it) so here's a shorter one. read on!
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Zelda sighed as she walked into her bathroom. Samus was washing her face in the sink, and Saria was rubbing the scar on Samus' leg. "Talk about a fight between a couple of lady palookas," Zelda said from the doorway.
"Yeah," Samus agreed, splashing some cold water onto her face. "We're really a couple of cats."
"You wanted to see me about something, Saria?" Zelda asked, remembering what Saria had said earlier. She moved her fingers over the teethmarks in Samus's leg.
"Oh Zelda," Saria whispered. "I'm going to have a baby."
Zelda straightened and looked at her. Samus turned towards her too, and Saria began to cry, still smiling.
"Why darling, that's wonderful!" Zelda said warmly, embracing her shaking friend. "When did you find out?"
"Earlier today," Saria answered.
"Honey, that's great!" Samus said.
"But Zelda," Saria whispered. "What ever am I going to do with a baby?"
"Oh, send it to college," Zelda joked.
"Land it with the marines," Samus suggested. "Say sister, when're you going to tell Jack about it?"
"I can't," Saria said.
"Well why not, isn't he old enough to know?" Zelda laughed.
"W-well, I mean--"
"Come on dear, what's his phone number?" Zelda asked.
Saria's tears were coming full throttle right now, and that old smile had come back. "El Dorado 58-598."
"Got it," Zelda said, walking over to the telephone. She picked it up as the other two entered the room after her. "Hello, operator? Get me El Dorado 58-598, please."
"Oh but Zelda, what'll I tell him?" Saria asked nervously, a frown appearing on her worried face.
"Don't worry; you'll know when you hear his voice," Zelda assured her.
"But Zelda...I've still got my pride," Saria said, trying her best not to cry anymore.
"Reno's full of women who've got their pride," Samus said. She looked over at Zelda. "It's a pretty chilly exchange for the guy you're stuck on."
Zelda did not seem to register what Samus had said at first, but turned to stare at her a moment later. Samus quickly turned away and began brushing her hair. Then Zelda jumped and gave the phone to Saria. "Here, take it!"
"Hello?" Saria said shakily into the phone. "Hello, Jack ....... no, no, nothing's wrong, I'm fine. It's just that I'm--" She braced herself. "I'm going to have a baby ......" Suddenly her expression lit up. Zelda and Samus grinned at each other, then politely walked outside. "Oh darling, are you?" Saria asked. "You're--it's all right? You aren't upset? Oh Jack ...... I--yes. Yes, of course. Oh, thank you so much!! ..... all right. I--I'll do it as soon as I can! Good-bye!" Saria set down the phone, then smiled and rushed outside to the others.
"He's not upset!" she cried. "It's all right! Oh Zelda, I'm going to get the first train leaving Reno! And when I get home, I'll--I won't ever argue with Jack ever again!"
"Well, you'd better go get packed," Samus said.
"All right," Saria obliged. She gave Zelda one more tearful hug, then ran off to go get changed. This left Samus and Zelda awkwardly alone.
"Listen, sister," Samus said quietly. "When're you going to get wise to yourself?"
"What d'you mean?" Zelda asked. She tried not to look at Samus, and said, "I got divorced this morning, Sam."
"Oh, a Reno divorce," Samus snorted.
"I've still got my pride, Sam," Zelda whispered.
"Look, Reno's full of women who have their pride," Samus said. "But you don't ever see one of 'em going home happy."
The telephone rang then. The two women looked at each other. Zelda grinned hopefully, and Samus ran inside to the phone.
"Hello?" she asked excitedly. "........no, operator, we've completed that call."
Zelda's expression sagged again, and she walked around the porch to sit on the window sill. Sympathetically, Samus walked over and sat on the inside of the sill. "Listen, sister ...."
"It's no use, Samus," Zelda said sorrowfully. "We can try negotiating; but it's just no use. What does it all come up to in the end? Compromise."
"Well what the heck?" Samus asked. "A woman's compromised the day she's born, Zelda."
Zelda snorted and gave a small smile, then shook her head. " There's no point in fooling myself. Link doesn't want me, Samus. "
"Now how do you know that?" Samus asked.
Zelda inhaled deeply. "I have waited every day to hear from him. I have waited every day for a letter from him."
"Have you written to him?" Samus inquired.
"No, of course not," Zelda answered.
"Well then how do you know that he's not waiting around for YOU to write HIM?" Samus asked, raising her hands in the air in exasperation.
Zelda looked up. This possibility hadn't occurred to her, and she briefly smiled, but soon the feeling was over. If Link was really the man she knew he was, HE would've been the one to write first.
"No, it's over between us," she said in a soft voice.
Samus paused for a moment, then said, "Look, Zel--I come from a world where a woman's gotta come up on top, or it's just too darn bad." She paused again. "You know, I lost my man once, too."
"You?" Zelda asked in disbelief, smiling a little.
"Yeah," Samus said, grinning also. "But it only happened once; got wise to myself after that ..... I liked him a lot more than I ever liked any other man."
"Well what--what happened?" Zelda asked delicately, smoothing out her skirt in distraction.
"Well," Samus sighed, "As it turns out, he'd been spinnin' with some other dame for a while. I made a terrible row. Why shouldn't I? I should. But what I ought NOT to have done was to leave him--in the hands of that woman." She enunciated the last word with disgust. "Like a coward.... and that's what you are, Zelda Haines, you're a blithering coward." Samus strode away to the couch to leave Zelda with that.
Zelda stared after her in shock. "Why?!" she asked. She threw her legs over the window sill and stalked towards Samus. "Because I wouldn't stay and be second fiddle?!"
"Because you ran from the trenches under open fire!" Samus said back, getting off the couch. "You deserted him when the troops rolled in!"
"I deserted HIM!?" Zelda asked in indignation, rolling up her sleeve.
"Well, sure! You don't think he WANTS to be in the clutches of that red-headed octopus, do you?" Samus asked. Feeling dizzy, Zelda slowly sat down on the couch, and Samus sighed in frustration. "One, two, three, four, five, six seven eight nine--Listen, honey--don't you know that we dames have got to be more than school girl sweetheart?" Samus crouched down to Zelda's level. "We gotta be a wife! And a pal, and mother--yeah, AND a nursemaid."
She smiled and Zelda laughed, wiping away at a tear that was threatening to course down her cheek.
"Sometimes we've even got to be a cutie," Samus said. She hesitated, and looked at Zelda's wistful expression. "You should've licked that girl where she licked you," Samus said softly. She lightly hit Zelda's shoulder, finishing, "In his arms. That's where you win in the first round. And if I know men it's STILL Custer's last stand."
Zelda laughed quietly and stood up.
"I'll bet if you'd given him half a chance, he would've asked you not to get this divorce," Samus said confidently.
"Why, Samus....he did ask me," Zelda said quietly, furrowing her brow.
"And you STILL let him get away?" Samus asked, teeth gritted and hands on her hips.
"What else could I do?" Zelda asked, speaking mostly to herself.
"Listen, sister--what if that Link fellow had smallpox? You wouldn't have liked to stay with him, but you'dve done it, wouldn't you?"
"Yes, of course..." Zelda answered.
"Well, honey," Samus laughed. "The situation this guy's stuck in makes a bad case of smallpox look like a carnival. So while he's back there floundering in the darkness, YOU remove the one safety he's got--his legal marriage. And not a word of comfort outta you. And why?" The phone rang and Samus went to answer it, but she finished by saying, "Because you're too busy nursing your two-for-a-nickel pride. Operator, I told you we completed that--" Her eyes widened. She looked to Zelda. "You say it's New York calling Mrs. Haines?"
Zelda stared at her, and Samus said something else, then handed the phone to her. "Tell him you'll take that divorce paper and use it for confetti!" Samus rushed out of the room, and Zelda quickly picked up the telephone.
"Hello? Link?" she whispered.
Samus held her breath and hid in the hallway outside the room. She knew it was very rude of her, but she didn't want Zelda to say something stupid and ruin her chances of happiness. This is what she heard:
"How've you been, Link? .....oh, I'm glad to hear that...." Tears of joy came falling out of Zelda's eyes. "Oh, no, no, I'm fine but--it's just so good to hear your voice!" Samus smiled as Zelda laughed. "Well yes, my divorce went on this morning on schedule, but I can still ..... but Link ..... yes, but Link ......"
Samus got confused. There was something wrong....
"Well of course I haven't seen a paper, how could I, up here?" Zelda laughed. Samus couldn't see it, but she knew from the deadly silence that Zelda's smile had just dispappeared. ".....oh. I--see." She took a deep breath. "I understand the position you're in, Link. Don't worry." Tears started up again, but they were kind people do not tend to enjoy seeing. She inhaled again to steady herself. "Yes .... I hope you'll both be very happy ..... good-bye, Link. Good-bye." She hung up the phone, and sat on the couch with her mouth still half-open.
Sorrowfully, Samus walked into the room. "He married her, didn't he?" she asked softly.
Zelda stared in front of her for a moment, then nodded. "This afternoon." She stood up slowly, and walked across the room, though not aiming on going anywhere.
"Gee, sister, I'm sorry for being so hard on ya--" Samus began.
"No, no, it's all right, sister," Zelda choked, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. She nodded and didn't quite manage to hold back a large sob, saying, "It was a good try." Then she collapsed completely, falling onto another couch with her back to Samus.
"Aw, geez, sister," Samus cried desperately. "Buck up! Buck up!"
Zelda gave out another loud wail, and her hands clenched the couch's back. Samus, feeling terrible and awkward, quickly walked out of the room. No one else entered for the rest of the day, and Zelda cried herself to sleep.
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A/N: o dear, i suck at writing things like this. o well! plz review, i need them desperately for this story!!