A Friend (by Gillian Jones)
Upon entering the townhouse the next morning, and seeing the state of the dining room, Leena uttered the exact same word she had said as she left the house the night before; "Newlyweds!"
Seconds later, Helena came down the stairs energized and alert. Myka followed behind her, slightly sluggish and much slower. She was a sitting duck for Helena's teasing.
"Hello, Leena," Helena greeted the woman as she hugged her. Leena heard them come in the night before, but never saw them.
"Welcome back, Mrs. and Mrs. Bering-Wells," Leena said as she walked towards them.
"We're not going formal are we?" the very formal Brit asked.
"No," Leena said definitely as she hugged Myka, "…but I do like saying it."
"As I like hearing it," Helena confirmed.
As the three women started back towards the kitchen, then stopped as they walked passed the dining room which was in disarray. The plates, with food still on them, were pushed askew. The dining room chairs were pushed aside, one of them knocked over. The linen table cloth was all wrinkled, and one napkin was rolled up in a ball. The only thing Myka did take care of, before grabbing Helena the night before, was to extinguish the candles and push them to one side. Now they stood side by side, the only witnesses to the exquisite love making that occurred in the room last night.
"By the way, dinner was superb, thank you," Helena said to Leena as she led them into the kitchen.
Myka was so tired that all she could do was nod her head. She needed her coffee before she could form words. Helena was about to take advantage of Myka's state.
"You didn't touch the dessert!" Leena exclaimed when she saw the lemon pound cake still whole and wrapped up on the counter.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that exactly," Helena said in a sing-song voice. She put her finger in her mouth after sharing that thought. Myka moaned her name in warning.
"Let me get you coffee," Leena said to Myka who sat at the island and put her head in the hands.
"In fact," Helena continued, "Mrs. Bering-Wells was quite taken with the delectable dish…," Helena tried, and this time, Myka put her hand on Helena's arm to stop. Leena clicked her tongue at Helena's teasing. She knew exactly what was going on.
"Do you have a plane to catch?" Myka smiled, trying to get Helena to stop.
Helena pushed up her sleeve on her black jersey dress with the leopard belt and looked at her Rolex watch. "Yes, I do," she concurred.
"Where are you off to today?" Leena asked, pouring herself a cup of coffee.
"I am going to meet with the administration of Walter Reed Medical Center to discuss Wells Corp's plan for biotronic neural networking in exoskeleton wear," Helena said, grateful Leena hadn't ruined the morning by offering to make her tea.
"Of course you are. OK, do you want anything to eat before you go?" Leena asked, ready to make them breakfast.
"Nothing for me, but perhaps Myka wants to nibble on something?" Helena teased, leaning over to kiss Myka.
Myka was even too tired to blush at her wife's teasing. "Are you going anywhere else?" Myka asked and she meant going to the White House to visit Sam.
Helena raised herself up on the balls of her feet, her hands behind her back, as she looked up at the ceiling contemplating her answer. Finally, she stood still, looked Myka in the eye, and said – "No, I don't think I need to."
Myka pulled Helena in and kissed her, with all the energy she had left. "I love you," Myka said, pleased that she wouldn't have to worry that she would hear about Helena's visit on the news.
Helena leaned in to Myka's ear, pushing her curls out of the way. "As I do you, Mrs. Bering-Wells."
Leena smiled at how cute the newlyweds continued to be with one another. It's no wonder, she thought, that magazines, television and media sites all wanted to interview the most sought after couple.
"Did everything go as planned with Operation Wedding Gift?" Helena asked Leena.
"The what?" Myka asked, looking at both women for an explanation.
"Yes, it's working perfectly," Leena reported back.
"I'll show you later, darling. I will give you a demonstration in the dining room," Helena said coyly. Then she quickly added, "Those are two separate thoughts, by the way."
Myka laughed and followed Helena into the front hallway. "I'm having lunch with Bridget," Myka said, as she handed Helena her large satchel pocketbook.
"Irene never told me how her tea went with Bridget. I guess it went well," Helena said, getting her leopard print coat on.
"How did Irene know to do that again?" Myka asked, as she playfully held the lapels of Helena's coat so she couldn't move.
"Myka! I am a scientist. In addition to my vast understanding of the physics of biomechanical engineering, I am quite verse in human behavior," Helena said slowly as she grazed Myka's hands with her fingers.
"You are?" Myka asked in mock amazement.
"Oh, I am," Helena said, moving in closer and running her hands up Myka's arms. "I like to study my subjects up closely, in a variety of settings," the scientist said softly.
Myka took in a sharp breath, the smell of Chanel filling her nostrils, the touch of Helena's fingers giving her goosebumps. "You…do?" Myka gulped. Helena had won this round, fair and square.
"Yes, I do. For instance, I plan on studying my favorite subject while she's submerged in water this evening," Helena said, and smiled when Myka swallowed hard. "It will be a hands-on experience."
"Hurry," was all Myka could say. "I mean …back."
"I will, love," Helena promised as she kissed her wife goodbye and went out into the City cold where Pete was waiting for her.
Myka watched Helena leave and only when she couldn't see the car anymore, did she closed the door and realize she was freezing. Looking at Helena always warmed her. Myka let out a long sigh and turned to see Leena standing there, smiling.
"You two are too cute," Leena said as she went upstairs.
Myka smiled and then remembered the state of the dining room. She waited until Leena was upstairs and ran into the room, collecting plates to put on the tray and scooping up tablecloths and napkins. She saw Helena's nightgown on the chair and picked it up. Then she scurried to the kitchen, depositing the tray haphazardly on the island. Then she dashed off to the laundry room and threw the huge ball of fabrics into the washing machine. Myka placed a large gulp of blue detergent and pressed the on button.
Leena would wonder later who put the wash on and would gather quickly it was Myka. Helena didn't know where the laundry room was. She would also wonder how everything turned pink, until she would find the answer wrapped up in the middle of the white lines– Helena's red nightgown.
"Breaker, breaker, this is …oh my God, Pete's right, we do need nicknames," Claudia yelled out as she tried to locate her girlfriend in the expanse that was their new apartment. "Where are you?"
"I'm in the closet," Eileen yelled.
"Not anymore you're not," Claudia teased as she took the steps two at a time to find her.
"I can't find my shoes," Eileen said when the techie stepped into a closet that her old apartment could have fit into. Neither woman had the apparel to fill even half the closet so they decided to share it. On one side hung skirts, blouses, sweaters, and even pants were on hangers. The shoes were lined up under the outfits. On the other side were several shopping bags of clothes, out of which Claudia pulled an outfit each day.
"I gotta hang this up," Claudia said, but only because she knew Eileen was going to say it first if she didn't. Her hand swept the entire row of shopping bags.
Eileen knew that Claudia could live like this for the rest of her life. "You have time," she said to the techie as she kissed her. Then Eileen had the brilliant idea to see if they made cartoon character hangers or ones decorated in the Star Wars motif. That would get the techie to hang up her clothes – maybe.
Eileen found her shoes and both women were going to leave when they heard a noise downstairs. Still unsure of whatever noise meant, the young couple froze in their tracks. Upon hearing it again, they walked to the bedroom door and Claudia instinctively pushed Eileen behind her before opening it.
"It's just me, girls," John Sullivan called up from the large living room.
"Dad!" Eileen said, "You scared us!" She didn't want to sound annoyed, but her heart was pounding in her chest.
"Oh, Mr. S, you gotta stop doing that," Claudia said, leaning on the banister as she caught her breath.
"I thought you'd be gone by now, so I used the key. I won't do it again," John said as he took his tool box and started up the stairs.
Eileen saved everyone the trouble and introduced him to the doormen downstairs. If she didn't, he'd only sit there all day until she came home and they allowed him in. "All repairs to your apartment are included in the maintenance fee," the senior doorman explained, but Eileen just laughed. She knew her father would never understand that. As it was, her parents were afraid that their daughter and girlfriend were going to get lost in the huge apartment and starve to death.
"Maybe we'll get you ankle bracelets, like the cops use," her mother teased, but gave it serious thought.
"Helena has a device that can track people," Claudia blurted out at dinner one night when they visited Brooklyn. Kathleen had all kinds of questions about that.
Eileen kissed her father goodbye, and Claudia hugged him. "Now where to begin," they heard John Sullivan say as his eyes scanned the vast space. So many pipes to check, so many doors to oil.
"Why is your father here on a weekday?" Claudia asked as they rode down in the elevator.
"I think he took a vacation day," Eileen laughed. "I liked the way you were going to protect me up there," she said, leaning into Claudia as the carriage descended.
"Of course," Claudia said, puffing out her chest and bouncing her head up and down. "I would protect you from anything."
Eileen found that endearing and she moved in to kiss her girlfriend, but Claudia pulled back. "Except Helena. I am not sure I am ever going to be brazen enough to …not that I would have to, of course," Claudia said.
"Oh, I think you could handle her," Eileen said, completing her kiss. "You rushed in yesterday to save me."
Claudia let out of snort and then stopped. Eileen thought she could handle Helena Wells? That was impossible and everyone knew it. She had rushed into Helena's office, but if Helena had made one move, she was pretty sure she would have fainted. Claudia decided not to think about that part and focused instead on the fact the Eileen thought it was something good.
"Are you coming?" Eileen said to Claudia as she stood against the railing in the elevator with her thoughts.
"Sure," Claudia said, holding onto her thoughts.
Myka texted Helena until the Brit had to go into her meeting at the hospital. Myka tried to focus on work, but knowing Helena was not in the building made it hard. She was glad she had plans for lunch. At the prearranged time, Myka walked into the Edwardian Room in the Plaza Hotel. There, at a table next to a window, sat Bridget. As soon as she saw her friend, Bridget stood and kissed Myka on the cheek, all while she was on the phone.
"If you don't want the deal, that's fine. I have investors lined up and really can't afford your indecision, Trump," she said, winking at Myka. "I really have to go now." With that, the investment banker put her phone away.
"You look…wait, you look less rested than when I saw you yesterday," Bridget said, waving for the waiter to come over.
"Sparkling water," Myka said and he went away to get it.
"Our first night home," Myka smiled and felt the heat of her blush rise to her cheeks.
"Please tell me you're at least taking vitamins," Bridget laughed.
The two friends looked at the menus and ordered. "Enough about me," Myka said as she took her napkin and put it in her lap. "What's going on with you?"
And then Myka witnessed something she had never seen – Bridget Cummings crying.