Leander dropped his end of the tablecloth. “I bet that’s all you heard—reasonable. I can’t believe you entrusted a party so important to that nut! Okay. You are nuts!”
“Come on, Leander. Have a little faith. Sedilla’s taste in music isn’t that bad. She just tends to go towards the schmaltzy stuff. Besides we do want them to be a bit on the romantic side. I am trying to catch Ross. Remember?” She decided not to mention that the group’s name was Light 106, which was a play on an easy-listening station.
“The woman is tone-deaf and you entrust her with providing the music. Well, all I can say is you better start praying to whatever deity you believe in because I’m sure we’re going to need some divine intervention.”
“She is not tone deaf, Leander. She can’t be; she sings in a chorus.” Casey countered.
“And has she ever invited you to a performance, Casey?
“Well…no, but—“
“I rest my case—so to speak.” Leander picked up his end of the tablecloth snapped it, wrenching it from Casey’s hands. They might as well have been a comedy act and it was only by sheer willpower that they were able to complete the final preparations for the evening.
Casey dabbed Jasmine oil behind her ears, on her wrists and between her cleavage. She stepped back surveying herself in the full-length mirror affixed to the closet door. She smiled at her reflection. Rosanna would have to be unconscious not to respond to what Casey considered a pretty sexy package. Her outfit consisted of a strapless powder-blue sundress, high-heeled sandals, which she hoped she’d could dance in, if not, she would kick them off). She had piled her thick auburn hair up in an elegant bun with combs, leaving loose strands framing her face. She thought this style might serve two purposes: to look great and to keep her cool. She applied light makeup as she knew she would be lucky if it lasted for half the evening. Casey wanted to dazzle her Rosanna as the object of her lust came through the entrance to the roof garden. Merely thinking of Rosanna caused her to want to throw herself on to her bed and indulge in one of her favorite activities with her little buddy. There was, however, no time for that. With a little luck, and some heavy flirting, the delectable Ms. Romero would be hers for the taking. She grinned wickedly at the thought of seeing Rosanna in summer attire. She bounced up and ran to her kitchen to retrieve a bottled water.
Casey’s intermittent e-mails and phone calls over the past months had paid off. Rosanna had finally relented and decided to attend the B-party, as she and Leander had dubbed it. Casey’s initial attempts to lure Rosanna to her apartment were met with terse responses and adamant refusals. Casey was nothing if not persistent. She promised, pleaded and played on their high school friendship. The last tactic had turned out to be the best one. They reminisced about old teachers, students and escapades and realized why they had been such good friends in the first place.
Although Leander had warned Casey several times about inviting Solace to the party, she could not resist the evil streak that ran through her. She knew it was wrong to involve Solace but she thought it would definitely add a bit of spice to the evening’s proceedings. Always one to leap first and then look, she did not think of the consequences of the two women meeting for she did not know the extent of their relationship. Leander had simply told her that Rosanna had called Solace’s name as she dropped off to sleep--or something like that. Leander was such a drama hound, though. They were probably nothing more than good friends. The fact that she had not mentioned the presence of either woman to the other did not weigh heavily on Casey’s conscience at all.
Leander vigorously shook first one then the next four containers. He grinned as he thought of the contents in the lovely decanters. His great grandmother’s recipe would certainly liven up the party. He hadn’t made it in a while so he was careful to follow the directions to the letter as he wanted it to have a kick but not deliver a blow that would render the unsuspecting individual unconscious. He was, however, aware of the drink’s addictive nature. He would make a sign, warning party-goers of the potency of the potable and he and Casey would have to make sure no one who had the drink would be driving home. All that would be taken care of once he got dressed. He planned to wear his new khaki walking shorts, a blue tank top and sandals. He had been working out and wanted to show off what muscle definition he was developing. He sighed as he posed and flexed in the mirror. At least Casey had agreed upon the blue theme. He suddenly grimaced when he thought about the music. Good grief, they’d be fortunate if Sedilla’s group played even one decent dance tune. He should have insisted that Casey let him pick the band. Leander sighed in resignation. He stopped suddenly, trying to remember if he had told Casey about his special brew. Oh well, no matter. It would be a crowd-pleaser for sure anyway.
L. D. growled as she donned the navy blue slacks and matching sleeveless shirt. Navy blue was at least close to her beloved black. She was also trying out a new hairstyle, with a bang falling rakishly over her left eye rather than brushing it all back. Why she was going to this ridiculous blue party she could not fathom, but secretly she hoped that Solace would be there. Only the light at the end of this blue tunnel would make the event worth attending. Casey had casually mentioned that she had invited Solace, but that she was going to get back to her to let her know if she could definitely be there. As L. D. had not wanted to drop her cool façade in front of Casey, she had simply smiled and affected an air of nonchalance upon hearing this news. Inside, however, everything was fluttering and beating wildly.
Since their first heated kiss, they had shared several of similar intensity, but Solace had not allowed L. D. to go further even though the heat and passion between them was incredible. L. D. was aware that she could not continue to rehearse and perform with Solace for too much longer without making love with her. She picked up a black handkerchief and wiped her forehead. She did not wear makeup, so she did not have to worry about smudging it.
L. D. walked over to her answering machine and pressed play to listen to her messages. Matilda wanted to have lunch with her. She would call her later. She thought, with mild interest that she had neglected to tell Matilda about her invitation. Had she merely forgotten? Well, she and Matilda had not had one of their sessions in about a year. They seemed content to simply exchange e-mails and phone calls. That was fine for L. D. She was certain that Matilda had moved on to someone else—someone she could mold into her image of perfection. L. D. was certainly not that person.
Solace ran to unlock the door to her apartment, narrowly missing a cushion as she scrambled back to her bathroom for some last-minute touch ups. All Jessie saw was a blur of blue and white cotton followed by Solace’s wild mane fanning out behind her as her friend dashed into her bedroom.
“Well, at least you’re dressed. That’s something,” Jessie said as she dropped into her favorite cushion. Bizarrey the Cat appeared and jumped onto her lap for their usual petting session. Jessie sighed thinking that she would now have to brush any stray cat fur off her blue slacks. She did, however, stroke the soft little head and received purrs of contentment from the friendly feline.
Solace emerged and twirled in front of Jessie. She wore a white sundress with spaghetti straps and tiny blue flowers. The dressed flared slightly at the waist and looked cool and comfortable. Solace had wrestled her unruly locks into a ponytail and wore blue low-heeled sandals. She decided against wearing any makeup as it was just too warm.
“How do I look, Jess?” she asked breathlessly.
“Great. Are you after someone?” She asked suspiciously. Jessie moved and Bizarrey the Cat scampered from her lap. She stood, brushed her slacks and straightened her blue and white striped tee-shirt. She checked her white clogs for smudges, noticing none and awaited Solace’s reply.
“No, but if the opportunity presents itself, who’s to say? I’ve decided to try to enjoy life again and not wait around for Rosanna to call me. She’s not coming back and I am not going to spend any more time pining over her.” Solace’s stomach tightened at the thought of her lost love, and she made a valiant effort to maintain her composure.
“Okay. Well, let’s go,” announced Jessie. “Do you have all your stuff, Solace? Do we need to look for anything? Please say you have everything together.”
Solace’s mind flashed on Rosanna and her many attempts to organize her life. She picked up a small shoulder-bag, where she had tried to remember to put everything she might need.
“Unbelievably, I think I’m ready? Do you see my cane?”
