A Long Time Coming

ALTC Chapter One

ALTC Chapter Two

ALTC Chapter Three

ALTC Chapter Five

Heart's Passage

No Ocean Deep

Infinite Possibilities

Cate's Home Page

It was rush hour, that moment on a Friday night when half the population was trying to get out of the city for the weekend, and the other half was trying to get in for a night in the clubs, bars, theatres and restaurants scattered around the metropolis. And Shelby was caught in the middle of it, trying to get out to the Arts Centre, on the other side of the river, in time for the evening’s show.

“Damn it,” she groaned, leaning on the wheel. Several horns sounded around her as other drivers tried to negotiate the obstacle she now represented. “Yes, thank you,” she said dryly as someone’s middle finger waved at her from a passing window. “Very helpful.” With a sigh she reached down and released the hood, then undid her seatbelt and opened her door, sucking in a breath as a taxi missed her by a matter of inches. “Jesus.”

She moved around to the front of the car, ignoring the milling mass of people that swirled around her as the lights at the intersection changed again and allowed the pedestrians to cross. Shelby reached under the front of the hood and found the latch, unclipping and lifting it.

“Right, you bugger, what is it this time?” She stood with her hands on her hips for a few seconds, trying to assess which one of the car’s many trouble spots was causing the problem. “Okay, let’s try this.” She leaned in and began tweaking the battery terminals, knowing that had been the problem the last time.

“Come on, lady, shift it!” came a yell from somewhere behind the car, followed by more leaning on the horn.

“Whaddaya think I’m trying to do, ya buffoon,” Shelby retorted, sticking her head around the side of the hood to glare at her abuser. A few more adjustments and she slipped back behind the wheel. She invoked the names of several saints and turned the key.

Nothing.

“Shit.” Shelby glanced at her watch and admitted defeat, knowing that if she had any hope of getting to the theatre in time for curtain up, she had to forget about trying to fix the car herself. “Time to leave it in the hands of the experts,” she muttered as she reached for her cell phone. A few minutes later, a tow truck on the way, Shelby switched on the car’s hazard lights and resigned herself to the passing waves of abuse.

**********************************

“Hello, Richard.” Sarah smiled up at the tall man who was walking towards her. Richard Salerio was one of the top attorneys in town, and one of her major sources of forensic work. He also happened to be smart, funny and dashing. Though he was older than her by a decade, his hair was still dark and full with a splash of distinguished grey at the temples. His ready smile greeted her.

“Hello, lovely lady,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “It’s good to see you, as always.”

They were in the foyer of Sarah’s office tower. Commuters hurried past them on their way home, while shoppers bustled around, making the most of the shops and restaurants that filled the marble-lined space.

“You look wonderful,” Richard said, taking Sarah’s hand and leading her towards the nearest restaurant.

Sarah laughed. “You are such an outrageous liar, Richard,” she retorted. “I look like someone who’s been working flat-out for the last 10 hours.”

“You still look wonderful to me,” he persisted. “Come on, I can hear a Chinese meal calling my name, and I know you must be hungry.”

“I am,” Sarah admitted, happily following his lead. Her day had been a strange mix of the routine and the stressful, with one depressed client falling apart completely during a breakthrough session. Sarah had a pounding headache, but the prospect of dinner with one of her favorite people was already beginning to dilute its effects.

“Reservation for two in the name of Salerio, thanks,” Richard said to the maitre d’ who greeted them at the door.

“Ah yes, sir. Follow me if you would.” The head waiter picked up two menus and wound his way through the crowded dining room toward a table for two against the front window of the restaurant. “Your usual table, Mr Salerio, Dr Morgan,” he said, pulling back Sarah’s chair for her.

“Thank you.” Sarah sat and took the offered menu as Richard settled in opposite her. “How have you been?” she asked. “I haven’t seen you since … when was it?”

“That charming serial rapist I was defending three months ago,” he supplied, smiling wryly at her.

“Ah yes. Lovely fellow.”

“Mmmm. Not one of my successes.” Richard frowned briefly at the memory, before smiling rakishly at his dinner companion. “Still, it was worth it to spend some more time in your company.”

Sarah laughed out loud. “An outrageous liar AND a hopeless flirt. You’re incorrigible.”

“How can I not be around such beauty?”

“Oh stop it,” Sarah laughed as the waiter approached. “Shut up and order.”

***************************************

Shelby jogged up the busy city street, dodging pedestrians as she climbed the hill towards Sarah’s office block. Her search for a taxi had proved fruitless and she judged it quicker to try one last alternative. It was hard going against the flow of the masses, even thought her wallet was considerably lighter courtesy of the tow-truck driver who had just hauled her car away.

“Jesus, this street doesn’t look so damn long when you’re driving,” she muttered as she ducked around a bike courier who cut across her path. Sarah was her last hope for getting to the theatre in time. And that was only a faint one. If the therapist followed her usual pattern, she only took her car into the office about half the time. “Please let today be one of those days.”

Finally, she reached the steps leading up to the foyer of Sarah’s building. As she made her way towards the bank of elevators, past a glass-fronted restaurant on her left, her eye was caught by a familiar blonde head. Shelby stopped and changed direction, though she knew the chances of Sarah wanting to interrupt a dinner with … Don’t know him but he looks like some lawyer, she thought … just to take her to the theatre were unlikely … it was worth asking.

****************************************

“I’ve been thinking,” Richard said after the waiter had taken their order.

“What about?” Sarah took a sip of wine and was surprised when Richard took her hand as she replaced the glass on the table.

“About us,” he replied, taking a firmer grip on the therapist’s hand. “We’ve known each other a long time.”

“Yes we have,” Sarah replied cautiously, not at all sure she was happy about where this conversation seemed to be going. Still, she left her hand where it was, unwilling to make any quick judgments.

“I was thinking that it might be nice to get to know each other a bit better. Maybe in a more social setting,” Richard continued. He studied Sarah’s face carefully, looking for any reaction, though he was pleased that her hand stayed in his.

“This is a social setting, Richard,” Sarah replied, smiling.

“Yes, but I mean, a social setting where we don’t spent all our time talking about the latest nutcase we’re trying to save from the maximum security prison.”

“Tch, Richard that’s no way to speak of the mentally ill,” Sarah chided him, though she softened it with a smile. It was an old argument between them, though one neither took all that seriously.

“You know what I mean,” Richard said. He squeezed Sarah’s hand. “We like each other, I think.” He waited for Sarah’s smiling nod before he continued. “And I think we could get to like each other a lot more. I’d like to try.”

Oh dear. Sarah put her other hand over his and patted it gently. “Richard you are a lovely man …” A movement outside the window caught Sarah’s eye. With a shock, she realized it was Shelby. She snatched her hand away from Richard’s, a part of her mind wondering why she felt the need to hide that familiarity from Shelby. Damn.

****************************************

A wave of jealousy washed through Shelby, even as she saw Sarah’s hand quickly withdraw. Her eyes met the therapist’s and Shelby could feel herself forming a wan smile. She waved weakly.

I’m losing my mind, she decided. Of course she’s seeing a guy. Of course she is. When has she ever said that women were her thing, Shelby, you idiot. She curtailed her wave, her hand dropping to her side. She could see through the window that Sarah was rising to her feet and suddenly she felt the need to get away. Quickly she turned and headed back towards the steps down to the street.

***************************************

“Excuse me for a moment, Richard,” Sarah murmured as she stood up. “I’ll be right back.” She knew the only reason Shelby would be here would be to see her, but the hurt expression on the younger woman’s face had said more than words could. Sarah felt the bottom drop out of her stomach as she moved to the door of the restaurant. Once outside though she realized that her friend was almost back on the street.

“Shelby?” she called out, but the woman in question was opening the door of a conveniently available taxi even as the word came out of her mouth.

Shelby turned and waved again, rustling up a smile from somewhere, even though it felt tight and false to her. She ducked into the cab and slammed the door shut. “The Arts Centre, please,” she muttered at the driver. She looked back and saw Sarah standing helplessly at the top of the stairs. Damn it.

**********************************

Sarah sat back down at the table, nonplussed by Shelby’s reaction. Richard smiled at her and raised an eyebrow.

“Was that a client?” he asked.

“No,” Sarah replied. “I’m sorry for just disappearing like that. It was a friend of mine.”

“She okay?”

“I’m not sure. But I guess I’ll find out later.” Sarah picked up her spoon and looked down at the bowl of chicken and crabmeat soup that had been delivered in her absence. Silence from Richard made her look up. “She’s my flatmate. I’ll see her at home.”

“Aaaah. I didn’t know you had a flatmate,” he said. “I would have picked you for the type who likes her space and her privacy.”

“I do and I do,” Sarah confirmed. She took a sip of the soup. “Mmmmm, delicious.” She was trying to distract herself from worrying about Shelby. “But Shelby and I have known each other a long time and our schedules don’t actually coincide very often, so it’s a good arrangement.” Why do I have the feeling that I just hurt her?

There was a comfortable pause in conversation as they both concentrated on their first courses, Richard tackling a bowl of wonton soup. When they had finished and the waiter had cleared their dishes away, Richard again took Sarah’s hand.

“So, as I was saying,” he smiled. “What do you think?”

Sarah sighed. There’s just no getting away from this, she realized. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to hurt him as well, by not being honest … or at least by leading him on. “Richard … “ she began.

“Uh-oh, that’s a bad sign,” he said wryly.

“You are a dear man and a great friend,” Sarah said softly, looking him in the eye. “But I just can’t. I like where we are right now, and I’m not ready for anything else.” Okay, so, not so honest. “I’m sorry.”

He patted her hand gently. “No, don’t be sorry,” he replied, his smile kind, if a little sad. “Thank you for being up-front with me.” He withdrew his hand as the waiter returned with their main courses. Richard picked up his chopsticks and waved them at her. “Now, let’s enjoy this fabulous food and go on as we always have.” He smiled again and this time Sarah actually believed it was genuine.

“Thank you, Richard,” she murmured.

*****************************************

It hadn’t been one of Shelby’s better performances, she had to admit to herself. She’d arrived about five minutes before curtain, out of breath and frankly, as cranky as hell. Fortunately Karen had taken the reins pre-show and everything was just as it should have been. But during the show Shelby was late on one light cue and had missed another one altogether.

I’m damn lucky we’re well into the run and everyone knows the cues as well as I do, she thought to herself as she sat down in the Green Room after making sure the sets and props were stowed away. She was hot, sweaty and tired. Damn it.

“Hey boss.” Karen slid into the seat across the table from her and folded her hands on its surface. “You look like hell.”

“Gee thanks,” Shelby muttered. “It’s nothing half a bottle of tequila and a shitty night’s sleep won’t cure.” She lightened up enough to throw a weary smile Karen’s way. “Thanks for picking up my pieces tonight. I was crap.”

Karen shrugged and smiled back. “Eh. We’re all entitled to one crap night a run, right?”

“Right. Thanks anyway.”

“My pleasure. Instead of the tequila, can I interest you in a cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate mud cake? I think there’s still a couple of pieces left.”

“That sounds fabulous.”

Karen grinned and stood up. “Okay, don’t go away. I’ll be right back with the goodies.”

Shelby watched the young woman as she sauntered up to the counter, her tight jeans framing her long legs nicely. It was pleasant viewing, she had to admit. She’s not Sarah, her mind persisted. But Sarah’s clearly got other things on her mind and you’ve been kidding yourself about what could happen there, anyway, let’s face it. An image of that day on the sofa when she could have sworn they almost kissed swam in front of her eyes, maddeningly. I know what she said at the time, but the other night, with that guy … Her thoughts wandered away as the sound of Karen’s laugh distracted her.

She smiled as she watched Karen joke around with the guy behind the counter.

Sarah was virtually pushing me into dating Karen not long after then, she remembered. She might as well have said ‘you’ve got no chance with me, Shelby, just like it’s always been’. Karen wandered back, carrying a tray of goodies. So why the hell am I avoiding Karen? Maybe a good time is what I need. And god knows, I do find her incredibly attractive. The age difference doesn’t bother her, so why should it bother me? A decision seemed to click into place for Shelby.

Karen sat down and handed Shelby her coffee and cake. “What’s up with you? You look a lot happier than when I left,” she said.

“Oh I was just thinking,” Shelby replied as she stirred a spoonful of sugar into her coffee. “Remember that rain check I asked for?”

Karen’s forkful of cake stopped short of her mouth and she met Shelby’s eyes. “Uh, sure.” Shelby quirked an eyebrow and grinned. “Oh, really?” Karen grinned back. “So … what did you have in mind?”

Shelby shrugged, overcome by a sudden bout of shyness. “This is good for a start,” she said, gesturing at the coffee and cakes with her fork.

Karen took a bite and chewed slowly before swallowing. “You said the last time we talked about this …” She smiled. “You said that you had some things to work out. Does this mean you’ve done all that?”

Shelby pushed a piece of cake around her plate with her fork. How to answer that … honestly, I guess. “I … uh … there was someone else.” She looked up to meet Karen’s eyes. “It wasn’t anything serious, hadn’t actually gone anywhere. But I needed to figure out how I felt about that.”

“And?”

“And, I guess it made me sad.” She smiled gamely. “It wasn’t a realistic thing, for a lot of reasons.”

Karen cocked an eyebrow at her. “And I am?”

“Well, gees, that makes me sound pretty opportunistic, doesn’t it?” Shelby said. “I don’t mean it that way. I just mean … that … I’m coming out of my funk, I guess.”

“Fair enough,” Karen replied.

“So … we’ve got a free night on Monday … would you like to have dinner with me?” For the first time in a long time Shelby found herself looking forward to exploring the possibilities with someone new.

“Mhmm, I would,” Karen said. “Then I know a great new club we can try out. I hear the dance mix there is incredible.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

****************************************

Sarah dropped her briefcase and car keys on the chair in the living room, loosening the jacket of her wool suit with her other hand. It had been a pretty routine Monday, but her thoughts had remained steadfastly distracted all day. Since Friday evening’s encounter with Shelby, Sarah had barely seen the younger woman. Even though it wasn’t that unusual for them to not see each other for days at a time, she had the feeling that somehow this was different. She had the distinct feeling Shelby was avoiding her.

Well, like it or not Shelby, here I come, she thought as she walked to her bedroom to change into something more comfortable. We still need to talk and I know she has the night off, so tonight is it.

A few minutes later she was more casually dressed in jeans and a polo shirt, and standing in front of the interconnecting door which led down to Shelby’s flat. One more moment of hesitation and then she knocked twice.

“Come on in,” came the muffled response from her tenant.

“Hi,” Sarah said as she walked down the stairs into Shelby’s living room. She was surprised to see the tall young woman dressed to the nines and attaching a pair of earrings as she stood in front of a mirror. “Wow, you look lovely.”

Shelby’s reflection smiled at her as she clipped the earrings in place. “Thanks. I wasn’t sure about these pants.” She tugged at the black linen.

“They’re good,” Sarah reassured her. “Are you going out?”

Shelby took a deep breath and turned around to face the older woman, who was leaning against the doorjamb, her hands in her jeans pockets. “Actually, I have a date.”

Sarah was expecting the unpleasant jolt that gave her, but she managed a smile. “Great. With Karen?”

“Mhmm. Dinner then dancing.” She picked her jacket up from the back of the chair. “Was there something you wanted?”

I thought so, but somehow I don’t think I’m going to get a chance to find out. Sarah straightened up and smiled. “Not really. I just wondered what Friday was about? You ran off so quickly.”

Shelby shrugged into the jacket while studiously avoiding Sarah’s eyes. “I was running late for the theatre. My car broke down and I was looking for a lift, but when I saw you were having dinner with … a friend …” She glanced up. “I decided not to ruin your evening and just got moving.”

“Richard would have understood, I’m sure,” Sarah replied. “But, thank you for thinking of me.”

The two women stood in uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, neither really knowing where else to go with the conversation.

“Well, I’ve … um … I’ve got to get going,” Shelby finally said, picking up her car keys.

“Have a great time. Say hi to Karen for me,” Sarah said softly, smiling as she watched Shelby head for the door. And goodbye to that.

Shelby walked to her car with the strange feeling that a door had just closed, and she didn’t just mean her front door. She fiddled with her keys as she turned back in time to see the light in Sarah’s bedroom come on. But another door opens.

Right?

********************************************

Shelby woke up with a jerk. Unfortunately, given the narrow bed she was occupying that jerk damn nearly sent her off the edge of the bed. It would have if she hadn’t been tangled in the long limbs of the women squeezed in with her. Karen murmured softly in her sleep and tightened her unconscious grip on Shelby.

She blinked in the late morning light, taking in her unfamiliar surroundings. After dancing till about 2am they had come back to Karen’s tiny bed-sit. Shelby looked around, absorbing details she had been too distracted to take much notice of the night before. The flat was filled with all the trappings of youth – television, stereo, computer in the corner, posters on the wall, and second-hand furniture that didn’t match. Ahhh youth, I remember it well, Shelby thought wryly.

She was hard-pressed to keep the smile off her face, she had to admit. Karen had proven to be a playful bedmate and the night had been exceptionally pleasant.

If not totally satisfactory. Shelby ran her fingers lightly along Karen’s forearm. Can’t have everything, she mused. Certainly not the first time around. She chuckled softly. Or the second and third. She doubted Karen would know, though. Sometimes it was good to have some years under your belt.

“Good morning.”

Shelby twisted slightly to see sleepy brown eyes blinking at her. “Hi there. How did you sleep?”

“Mmmmm, like a log,” Karen murmured, her voice still husky. She rolled away from Shelby a little until her back was against the wall. That allowed the older woman to turn in her arms until she was facing Karen. “How about you?”

“Pretty much the same.” Shelby smiled. “Thank you for a lovely night.”

“Mmmmm, thank you,” Karen said, leaning in for a kiss. “Why’d we wait so long?”

Shelby chuckled. “My fault.”

“I’m not complaining,” Karen replied. “You want some breakfast?”

“Love some.”

Karen laughed as she realized how tangled up they were. “You’d better move first, or I’ll be trapped in this bed for life.”

“You’re worst nightmare, right?” Shelby extracted herself from the bed sheets and stood by the side of the bed, reaching a hand down to Karen.

“It’d be pretty good for a couple of days, that’s for sure.” Karen took her hand and got up. “But I don’t like staying in one place for too long.”

Shelby watched as Karen scraped together the makings of breakfast, trying not to read too much into what the younger woman was saying. She’s young, and this is day one. Don’t go expecting much beyond day two, Shel, she told herself. Oddly, she found herself quite content with that. Que sera, sera.

*********************************

Sarah ploughed up and down the swimming pool, following the black lane line, using the monotony of the exercise to blank out her mind. It was the closest she ever came to meditation and it was something she desperately needed this morning.

Shelby’s car hadn’t been in the drive when she had woken, and Sarah knew that meant one thing. She was depressingly unprepared for how bad that had felt. Unprepared to admit how much she had wanted things to go differently between herself and Shelby.

Up and down, Sarah. Up and down.