Catching Up 16

"What about this one?" Gary said, pointing to one of the lamps.

April briefly considered it. "No, it's not the right match."

"You've said that about all of these," he said, giving a short sweep with his arm to indicate the entire shelf's worth of lamps.

"Let's keep looking," April said. "I'll know the right one when I see." She continued walking slowly down the store aisle, Gary in tow, navigating around the other shoppers who were also whiling away their Sunday afternoon. Getting to the end of the aisle, she turned the corner and saw two women a couple of yards perusing wares. It took only a moment for recognition to hit her.

April froze. She stopped breathing for a second; her heart skipped a beat.

It can't be

, she thought.

It can't be.

But it was. There, a little further up the aisle, dressed in a bright-red blazer, was Ruby.

She hadn't seen Ruby in years, not since college, but it was her, without a doubt. Still the same long legs, still the short-cut auburn hair, still the self-assured pose. She didn't recognize the blond woman with Ruby, but Ruby she recognized all too well. Ruby was seared into her memory.

She knew that she had to get herself and her husband out of there before Ruby saw her. She tugged on Gary's sleeve and started to say something but just then Ruby turned her head and saw her.

Oh, fuck

, April thought.

Ruby's eyes went wide and then she broke into a giant grin. "April!" she said out loud, catching the ear of several people in the store, including Gary who turned to look at her. Ruby walked towards them, her companion following just behind.

April managed out a weak "Hi" just before Ruby enveloped her in a hug which she belatedly returned after a second. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Gary gaping.

Ruby held the hug for a moment and then abruptly broke it and turned to Gary. "Hi," she said, holding out her hand, "I'm Ruby."

"Gary," he said, returning the handshake. "I'm sorry, who..."

"Ruby is my old college roommate," April said, before Ruby could answer that question. "It's been, what, seven years, Ruby?"

"Wow, I think you're right," Ruby said. "Seven years. My god." Then, again to Gary, "So, are you April's boyfriend or husband?"

"Husband, three years as of this coming August."

"So, you made an honest woman out of April. Congratulations to you both. Oh, this is my girlfriend, Tiffany."

"Hi," Tiffany said, smiling politely at everyone.

"Pleased to meet you," April said, all the while wondering to herself who the hell would name their kid Tiffany.

"How have you been?" Ruby said.

"I've been okay," April said. "You?"

"Yeah, I've been great. What are you doing these days?"

"Architecture, I work for a local firm."

"What? That's great! Good for you."

"Thanks. What about you? You moved away, are you back visiting?"

"I moved back a few months ago. My mom's been sick lately -- she's okay now -- but I wanted to be closer to her to help keep an eye on her. Still getting used to being back but it's not quite as traumatic as I feared," she said, with a joking-not-joking half-smile.

April returned the look with her own half smile. "Hmm. Well, welcome back. Listen, it's great seeing you again but we really need to get going."

"What, you have to go now?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, really, but we should get going."

"I thought we were getting a lamp," Gary said.

"There's nothing here that I like. We'll buy one another day," April said.

"Oh," Ruby, "okay. I was hoping to chat some more, it's been so long since I've seen you."

"Hey, I've got an idea," Gary said, "why don't you two come over to our house for dinner sometime? You two can catch up."

April could've killed him right then. She couldn't keep the flash of anger from her face, but Gary wasn't facing her, so he didn't see it. Ruby did, unfortunately, she was certain of it. She saw just a hint of that damnable smirk on Ruby's face and then it was gone.

"I'd like that," Ruby said. "How about this Wednesday night, say, six?"

"That works for me."

"Sound good to you, April?"

"Sure," April said.

"Here," Ruby said. She took her phone out of her purse, typed in a new contact on it, and handed it to April. "Go ahead and enter your number and address." April did so and then entered Ruby's number in her own phone.

"I'm looking forward to this," Ruby said. "It'll be fun."

"Yeah," April said.

"It was nice meeting you," Gary said.

"Same here," Tiffany said.

"See you Wednesday, then," Ruby said. She gave April another quick hug and then she and Tiffany turned and walked away holding hands.

April made a beeline for the door and went straight to their car. As Gary drove them out of the parking lot, April said, "I hate it when you do that."

"Do what?"

"Make plans without consulting me."

"I thought that you'd like to have them over for dinner. You were just saying the other week how we don't host enough."

"Yeah, well, maybe I didn't want Ruby over for dinner."

"What, she seemed nice enough to me."

"Right, because you know her better than I do."

"I didn't say that. I just assumed that you'd be okay with it, especially if she's an old friend of yours."

The rest of the drive was silent, April looking out the window the entirety of it. Of all the days to go to that store, she kept thinking to herself. They could've gone anywhere else that day and April might not have ever seen Ruby again.

They returned to their one-story middle-class starter house with its well-manicured lawn, right in between and across the street from all the other middle-class starter houses with their manicured lawns. Once inside, April went straight to the kitchen to pour herself a drink.

"Why didn't you tell me that your old roommate was a lesbian?" Gary asked, walking into the kitchen.

"What?" April said, turning to look at him, a bottle in one hand that she'd just pulled from the cabinet.

"Why'd you never mention that you roomed with a lesbian?"

"Why would I mention it? It's not a big deal."

"I just figured it'd have come up at some point."

"I never even told you I had a roommate so why would it have come up at all?"

"Let me guess, you two got drunk one night and had a one-night stand," he said laughing.

She glared at him. "You can be a real fucking bastard sometimes, you know that?" She turned her back on him, put down the bottle, and got out a glass, doing all of it as loudly as she could without breaking anything. Gary came up and hugged her from behind.

"Hey, hey," he said, chuckling, "you know I'm just teasing you."

"It wasn't funny," she said, shrugging him off. He went into the living room, still laughing, while she had that drink.

That night April barely slept at all. The next day, sitting in her home office, she couldn't concentrate on work. She sat in front of her computer looking over the same proposed revisions again and again, but no matter how many times she read and re-read them, she couldn't focus on them. Instead, she kept thinking of the first time that she'd met Ruby, their first day in the dorm together. Each of them had been sitting on the edge of their beds in their respective corners, sizing each other up. She remembered the Sarah McLachlan poster on the wall behind Ruby.

"I should get something out of the way now instead of later," Ruby had said. "I'm a lesbian. Is that going to be a problem?"

"No," April had answered, even though she'd never had any lesbian friends let alone roommates before.

"Good," Ruby had replied, "My freshman year the first girl they were going to pair me up with actually did have a problem with it, so I just like to avoid any repeats of that little fiasco."

"Let me guess," April had said, "you're going to say that old joke, 'don't worry, I won't bite.'"

"Oh no," Ruby had said, laughing, "I absolutely bite."

April gave up on trying to get any work done and closed her laptop. Then she called Ruby.

"Hey there," Ruby answered. Her voice sounded light and breezy. It always did, April thought. Light and breezy, that was Ruby. Not a care in the world; complications were for other people, not Ruby.

"Hey," April said. "Do you have a minute?"

"Always for you."

"I mean, are you free to talk right now? Are you with Tiffany or anyone else?"

"Nah, I'm at work but no one's around. What's up?"

"I think we should call off dinner. I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"I don't think it's a good idea for us to be around each other."

"Why not?"

"You know why not."

"I really don't. Why don't you tell me?" The tone was still light, but April thought she could tell the first hint of an edge to the tone, the age-old indicator that her former roommate was starting to become upset. What usually followed was Ruby deciding to prove who the boss was.

"Look, it was great to run into you yesterday, it was, and I'm happy for you, and I'm happy that you're doing well, but I don't... I'm happy with my life right now, Ruby. I don't want anything to damage that."

"Still overreacting as always, I see."

"We can't..."

"Here's what's going to happen -- Tiffany and I are going to come around Wednesday night for dinner. We're going to get to know your husband a little bit better, we're going to see your house, and we're going to have some nice food and drink. And I'm going to catch up with my old roomie who I haven't heard from since we graduated. Understand?"

"Ruby..."

"Understand?"

April sighed. "I understand."

"Great. Now be sure to fix something tasty. I'm thinking of lasagna. See you then." The line went dead. April cursed out loud as she put her phone away.

Two nights later, Ruby and Tiffany arrived on time. Gary greeted them at the door while April stayed in the kitchen preparing the salad.

"This is a great house you have," April heard Ruby say. "And here is a little present from us, some wine for the evening."

"Thank you so much," Gary said. "This'll go great with dinner. April's fixing up lasagna tonight."

"Sounds good," Tiffany said.

"Great choice," Ruby said.

"Let me go set this down in the dining room and then I'll give you a short tour of the house," Gary said.

April heard them go into the living room, heard Ruby commenting on the wedding photos on the mantle. She then heard them all tromping down the basement stairs, where she knew Gary would happily display his home brewing kit and give them his sermon on the best brewing techniques.

While April turned off the oven and pulled the dish out of the oven, she heard a single person coming back up the stairs. She put the pan down on top of the range and turned to see Ruby standing at the threshold, both arms crossing her chest.

"It's been a long time," Ruby said.

April took off her oven mitts and put them back in the drawer. "Yes," she said, as neutrally as she could.

"Alone at last."

"Please keep your voice down."

"Don't worry," she said, "they won't hear us downstairs."

"Just keep it down."

"You never told him, did you," Ruby said. It was a statement, not a question.

April didn't answer. It was an acknowledgement, not a denial.

"Why didn't you?" Ruby said.

"Stop," April said.

"Why didn't you?"

"I said stop it."

"Why didn't you?"

April avoided looking at Ruby. She bit her lips. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ruby approach her.

Just then the two of them heard the others walking up the stairs, Gary continuing whatever anecdote he was telling. Ruby stepped back, cool as ever, while April needed a moment to collect herself.

"Hey," Ruby called out, "April's almost got dinner ready. I was just telling her it looks delicious."

"It smells great," Tiffany said.

"She's a great cook," Gary answered from the dining room.

"I bet she is," Ruby replied.

The dinner was awkward for April, but if Gary noticed any of his wife's discomfort, he said nothing. He spent the meal conversing easily with Ruby and Tiffany. He did most of the talking, either about his hobbies or about his work at the bank. Ruby and Tiffany seemed interested, whether because they really were or because they were great at faking it, April couldn't tell. For her part she said as little as possible during the meal.

"This is a great dinner, April," Tiffany said. "I wish I could cook this well."

"Thanks," April said. "It's nothing really."

"How did you two meet?" Gary asked Ruby in between bites of pasta, gesturing with his fork to indicate Ruby and Tiffany.

"I met her at church," Ruby said.

"Really?"

"Nah, just kidding. Met her at a bar. She told me her name was Tiffany, I told her I was Ruby, and we both decided it was fate to be together." Everyone laughed except April who mostly focused on pushing around the food on her plate.

"And how'd you and April become roommates?" he asked.

"April was a transfer. My old roommate had moved out. Housing put her in with me and that was that."

"How long were you two roommates?" Tiffany asked, getting in on the conversation.

"Just a year," Ruby said. "I was a senior and April was a junior."

"What was April like when you met her?" Gary asked Ruby. April put down her fork and stared at her plate.

"Oh, I shouldn't spill secrets," Ruby said, not entirely convincingly.

"That's precisely what I was hoping you'd do," Gary said, laughing. "No, really, what was she like back then?"

"Well... when I first met April, she struck me as a bit uptight, studied all the time, hadn't ever let her hair down, you know. I like to think that I helped her learn how to loosen up a bit."

April dug the nails of her left hand into her leg underneath the tablecloth.

"Since we're having a Q-and-A session," Ruby said, "I've got a question." She looked right at April. "Why didn't you stay in touch after college?"

April looked up from her plate and at Ruby. "I don't know," she said. "I didn't have any reason, I just didn't. I mean..." She took a breath. "You graduated a year before me and moved out of state. I still had to get through my senior year. Then I was busy finding a job and a place to live. After a while I just put it all behind me. I lost track of a lot of people from back then, not just you. It wasn't personal. I just moved on, is all."

Ruby paused before saying, "Yeah, I can see that."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry for not staying in touch," April lied.

"Thanks, I appreciate you saying that."

"Well," Gary interrupted, "sorry if I touched on any sore points."

"Not at all," Ruby said. She raised a glass. "A toast -- to catching up." The rest joined in her toast and drank.

The four continued with polite conversation for the rest of dinner; Gary told the story of how he and April had met online, and then he and April alternated telling details of their first date. After dinner the two guests made their excuses and headed towards the door.

"We'll have to do this again sometime," Gary said.

"I agree," Ruby said, putting on her coat. "Thanks again for having us over."

"Yeah, thanks so much," Tiffany said.

"It was great seeing you again, April," Ruby said.

"You too," April said. They all said good night, and the women departed.

Later that night as Gary read in bed, April was washing up in the bathroom and thinking back to that night, that one night, years ago with Ruby. It had been just a couple of weeks into the new semester.

"You're trying to get me drunk," April had said, giggling, sitting on the floor, back propped against her bed. There had been just the one light on in their room, the bedside lamp, suffusing the room with a soft glow.

"You're on to me," Ruby had answered, sitting next to her, refilling April's cup from the bottle of spiced rum.

"Do you do this with all the women?" April had asked, taking another swig of her drink.

"Just the ones that I like," Ruby had said and scooted closer to April until their bodies were touching.

April shook her head and returned to the present. She turned out the bathroom light and went into the bedroom. As she climbed into bed, Gary put his book down and looked at her. Without any preamble, he said, "You and Ruby had a falling out, didn't you." When she didn't answer, he continued. "That's why you hadn't mentioned her before to me, because you weren't friends anymore."

April shrugged. "She was a good friend, but she could also be demanding at times."

"I shouldn't have invited her over. I'm sorry."

"No worries. It was okay seeing her again. And they seemed to have a nice time." April climbed into bed and turned off the lamp.

"So, we good?" he asked.

"Always," she answered. They kissed each other a good night and fell asleep.

A couple of mornings later April was working in her home office. It was a clear day and sunlight shone through the window. She was finishing up the revisions to the latest plans when there was a knock on the door. She got up and walked to the door, wondering if it was that package she'd ordered.

She opened the door to find Ruby standing there, casually dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, and with a large black purse.

"Hey," Ruby said with a grin, "I was in the area and thought I'd stop by."

April gaped. "Ruby," she said, "you can't be here."

"I can and I am. Why don't you let me in; we can talk inside, away from any prying eyes."

"Ruby..."

"Don't make me make a scene, April." Ruby wasn't grinning anymore. "Neither of us want that."

April looked around, scanning the street and the opposing houses to see if anyone was watching, but she didn't see anything. Still, she was certain several of her older neighbors were likely home. She opened the door and Ruby brushed past her as she stepped inside.

April shut the door behind her as Ruby kicked off her shoes. "Does Gary ever come home for lunch?" Ruby asked.

April hesitated only a moment before answering, "No, he stays downtown." She wanted to look away from the other woman's gaze, but her eyes seemed locked on Ruby's. "Why are you here?" she asked Ruby. She knew it was a silly question. She knew why Ruby was there, but she didn't want to believe it. She hoped there was another reason.

"The other night," Ruby said, "over dinner, why did you lie about us losing touch?"

"I didn't lie."

"I emailed you a couple of times after graduation and you never replied. Why didn't you ever answer my messages?"

Because I was free

, April thought. "I don't know," April said.

"It hurt when you didn't reply. I think you owe me something to make up for it, don't you?"

April didn't answer as Ruby stepped closer, said nothing as the taller woman took her in her arms, didn't protest as Ruby's lips found hers. Her lips parted and their tongues touched. She melted into the kiss, and it was as if the years melted away. It was no different than all the other times that they used to kiss in college, late at night and early in the mornings, afternoons between classes. Ruby hadn't lost a single touch, it seemed like to April; the other woman still knew just how to hold her, how to kiss her.

Ruby broke the kiss. "Let's go to the bedroom," she said.

"Not there," April said.

"Do you have a guest room?"

"No, that's the office."

"Then your bedroom it is," Ruby said, taking April's hand.

April hung her head as Ruby led her down her own hallway to the room where she and her husband slept every night. Mid-morning sunshine streamed through the half-open slats; they could hear a bird chirping outside.

"Strip for me," Ruby said, and April did, surprising herself with how immediately she complied. It was the same as it'd always been between them, Ruby telling her what to do and she'd do it. Strip. Kneel. Spread. She always obeyed. She shucked her shirt and sweatpants, and then her bra and underwear, until her clothes lay in an untidy pile at her feet, and she stood bare for Ruby's appraisal, something else that felt oh so familiar.