Shelby moved to the couch near Lauren and Harper. Some of the women said they were happy to see Shelby, even if they weren"t sure they meant it at the moment. Harper and Lauren remained silent.
"Please continue, or were you talking about me?" Shelby said, causing the drunken Leah to giggle uncontrollably.
"What were we talking about?" Ellen said brightly, trying to ease the tension.
n.o.body said anything.
"Well, I walk in and find a room full of my friends, with the exception of two people that shall go unnamed, and the room falls silent. What am I to think?" Shelby went on.
Julie wasn"t the kind of woman to back down from a challenge, "As a matter of fact Shelby, we were talking about you. We were talking about what a drunken a.s.s you"re making of yourself."
"Of course it would be you Julie, who told the truth, how refreshing." Shelby laughed.
Lauren stood up, Harper following close behind. "I think we"re going to go now, thank you for a lovely evening."
"Oh, don"t leave on my account. I"d love to hear what insights you have on my drunken a.s.s."
Lauren turned to her, "Shelby, you know you shouldn"t drink this much."
"I think you"ve lost the privilege to tell me what to do," Shelby shot back, standing to face Lauren.
Abby joined in, at that point, "Shelby, I think Lauren has a point. You"ve been drinking too much. You"re turning into another person and it isn"t a nice person."
Leah giggled, "I think she"s a very nice person."
"Shut the f.u.c.k up, Leah," Julie said, with venom.
Leah sat back and shut up. Even drunk she could tell she was way out of her league.
Shelby looked over at Abby and then surveyed the room. "So you"ve decided I"m not a nice person. Tell me Abby, how exactly would you act, if Sandy walked out on you?"
"She"d probably cut his d.i.c.k off," Julie said, seriously.
The others laughed uneasily.
Abby answered Shelby, "Honestly, I don"t know what I would do. I might end up in the bottle just like you, but I would hope my friends would tell me how f.u.c.ked up I was and help me get through it."
Shelby took her seat, with a wicked grin on her face. She looked into the faces of her teammates, and then said, "So, you all want to help me get through this. Well, in that case, let"s have another drink and talk about what an a.s.s I"ve been and how wonderful it is that Lauren has found someone else... so quickly. So quickly, in fact, that it"s hard to believe she and Harper weren"t getting it on before she left me."
The entire team answered at once, "No, they weren"t."
Lauren and Harper had remained standing during the previous exchange. Harper wanted to leave but Lauren was focused on Shelby, so Harper remained by her side antic.i.p.ating the explosion that was about to occur. She could feel it in Lauren"s grip as she squeezed Harper"s hand tighter and tighter. The men in the room all filed out the door, heading for the house. They wanted no part of the catfight they saw coming.
"I see, so you"re all sure that she wasn"t f.u.c.king this gold digging country b.u.mpkin before she left me. Did you know she slept with me the night before she left? How does that make you feel Harper? Sloppy seconds, I believe they call it." Shelby was not going to let it go.
Anger flashed like lightning through Harper. She squeezed Lauren"s hand tighter. Shelby had turned into a witch, one without a soul. There was no telling what she was going to say next. Harper needed out of that room, in the worst way.
Ellen, ever the peacemaker, said, "Shelby, let"s go in the house and get some coffee."
"I don"t want any f.u.c.king coffee. I want another drink. Leah, go find us a bottle at the bar."
Leah obediently went to the bar. She was met by Becky, who took the bottle from her hand and escorted her back to her seat. Leah was truly intimidated by Becky"s size and obeyed without any comment.
Shelby continued to attack Lauren and Harper, not noticing that Leah returned without the bottle. "Come on, Harper, don"t you have anything to say for yourself. You waltz in to Chapman"s Mill; take my wife and now my friends. Don"t you have anything to say?"
Harper"s anger showed in the way her jaw was set and in the tone she used when she answered Shelby. In a low, calm and steely voice, she said, "Shelby, if you want to discuss this, I would be happy to, but not while you"re drunk and, may I add, not at work."
"Oh, I think I hit a nerve. Little Harper is getting angry," Shelby laughed. Leah joined Shelby"s laughter; until she saw the look Becky was giving her and stopped abruptly.
Dee whispered to Chita, but Harper heard her, "Little Harper might kick her a.s.s, if she keeps it up."
Evidently Shelby heard her too. "Is that right, Harper? Do you want to kick my a.s.s? Isn"t that how you rednecks settle your differences?"
In the same steely voice as before, Harper glared at Shelby saying, "No, actually Shelby, I feel sorry for you."
Shelby shot up off the couch. She took two steps toward Harper, before throwing the booze, left in her gla.s.s, into Harper"s face. Everyone was up on their feet in seconds, waiting for Harper"s reaction. Harper wiped her face, with her hand and glared at Shelby. She had never hit anyone outside of taekwondo cla.s.ses, but she really wanted to hit this woman. She didn"t get a chance. Lauren stepped in front of Harper and slapped Shelby, hard across the face. Shelby"s bourbon gla.s.s shattered on the floor.
Lauren was red with anger, "Shelby, you have no right to do this. If you think I would still be with you, if Harper hadn"t come along, you"re mistaken. I"ve been leaving you for a year and you were too self-absorbed to see it. Ask your friends, they saw it coming."
Heads around the room nodded in concurrence.
Lauren kept going, "So blame me for falling out of love with you, if you want to, but Harper is not the one responsible for our relationship collapsing."
Shelby was still holding her face where Lauren had slapped her. Her blood shot dark eyes reflected the flames from the fireplace and the pure rage boiling inside her, "So the trust fund baby got bored and bought a new toy. Does mother approve?"
Harper saw Lauren visibly stiffen, as she stood close behind her. Harper thought it best to let Lauren have her say. Maybe this would finally be the end of it.
Abby stepped a little closer to the standoff, in the center of the group of women, "Shelby, back off. That"s enough."
Ellen tried in vain to break up the altercation, "Sit back down everybody. Let"s just calm down and try to talk this out like ladies."
"Fat f.u.c.king chance of that happening," Julie said, flatly.
"I don"t want to sit down," Shelby shouted, becoming even more out of control, she shrieked at Lauren, "Did you ever love me?"
"I thought I did," Lauren said coolly.
"You thought you did? What, now you know what real love is, is that it?" Shelby would not back down.
Lauren never hesitated, "Yes, Shelby, if you want to know if I"m in love with Harper, the answer is yes. And if you want to know if what I feel for her is more than I ever felt for you, the answer is yes again. I never wanted to hurt you like this, but you didn"t give me a choice. You"re being a b.i.t.c.h and this hara.s.sment has got to stop."
"f.u.c.k you, Lauren. And don"t think I"m through with you either, Harper. You have no idea the world of s.h.i.t I can bring down on you," Shelby seethed.
"Shelby, you"re going too far. Shut up before you end up in a law suit," Abby tried to reason with her.
"Do you think I"m afraid of this girl, this rube, fresh off the farm?" Shelby hissed.
Harper was thinking, Shelby was about to get a kick to the face, if she kept it up, but her training told her to remain calm. It was getting harder and harder to do that. She really wanted to knock the living s.h.i.t out of this b.i.t.c.h and leave. The better part of valor was losing its appeal, but this was Lauren"s problem to deal with. She needed to let her do it.
Lauren grabbed Shelby"s arm to get her attention, "You should be scared. Harper"s not as innocent as you think and she has access to her own money, more money than you"ll make in a lifetime. She could bury you in lawyers. Wake up Shelby, it"s over and done with, we"re completely and irrevocably finished. Move on."
Harper caught Shelby"s arm in mid air as she swung at Lauren. She held it there and glared into Shelby"s eyes, "There will be none of that. Now, Lauren has made it clear where she stands. I suggest you call a taxi and go home. I hope we don"t have to do this again. My redneck might start to show."
There was no doubt in anybody"s mind that Harper was not making a threat, but a promise. The sinister grin she had on her face was enough to let them know, Harper"s patience had worn thin. She released Shelby"s arm, only after she felt Shelby submit to her strength. Shelby left with no further incident. She simply turned to the door and walked out, defeated.
Leah was right behind Shelby. Harper heard her say as they went out the door, "Does this mean we"re not going to have s.e.x?"
"I"m going to take her keys and have Sandy to take her home," Abby said, following Shelby out the door.
"Harper, man, you got more patience than me," Chita said, when they all sat back down, trying to absorb what had just unfolded in front of them.
Harper wasn"t paying any attention to Chita; she concentrated on Lauren, who was sitting with her head in her hands. "Are you okay?" Harper asked rubbing Lauren"s back.
"I just hope she finally gets it," Lauren said, through her fingers.
Julie"s dry wit announced itself again, "You basically told her the last six years of her life was a lie. I think it will probably sink in this time."
Lauren sat back under Harper"s shoulder. "Oh G.o.d, Julie, I didn"t want to say that to her. She forced me."
Jordan added her two cents, "Yeah, that was kind of harsh."
Dee added, "s.h.i.t man, you know some lesbians don"t get it when you try to let them down easy. They get all emotional and s.h.i.t. I think Lauren did the right thing. Shelby shouldn"t have asked the question, if she wasn"t ready for the answer, you know?"
"Turn off your cell phones and lock your doors, when you get home," Shy Lynn said, surprising everyone. One, because she spoke and two, because she acted like she knew what she was talking about.
Abby returned with a frown on her face, "She told me to f.u.c.k off and shot gravel at me, as she floored it out of the driveway."
They all agreed they hoped she made it home okay and then Harper and Lauren went home. Harper had enough excitement for one evening. Taking Lynn"s advice, she unplugged the house phone and turned off their cell phones, after securing the house. She even put the lock on Jasper"s doggie door. Harper was taking no chances that her sleep would be interrupted, by a knife wielding crazy b.i.t.c.h with a grudge. d.a.m.n, she needed to get the alarm company out right away.
Lauren was too wound up to sleep. She paced the floor and made herself busy around the room, folding and refolding Jasper"s blanket while he waited for her to put it down on the end of the couch. Harper finally got up, took the blanket from Lauren. Harper grasped Lauren"s shoulders, making Lauren look her in the eyes.
"You did what Shelby forced you to do. Don"t feel guilty about it."
Lauren"s eyes welled with tears, "I never wanted to hurt her like that."
Harper hugged Lauren to her, "I know baby, I know."
Lauren said into Harper"s neck, "It"s true."
"What is?" Harper brushed Lauren"s hair back, so she could see her face.
"That I only thought I was in love with Shelby."
Harper smiled down at Lauren, "I"m glad I could help you out with that."
Lauren laughed and hit Harper on the chest, "You can never be serious."
"I am being serious. If I hadn"t gotten here when I did you might have found someone else," Harper said, squeezing Lauren tighter, teasing her. "And I"m glad I got to see you mad, so I"ll remember not to p.i.s.s you off."
Lauren pulled back, grinning and showing her dimples, "I can"t believe I slapped her."
"I can"t either. It was quite shocking actually. I didn"t know you were p.r.o.ne to violence." Harper laughed.
"I was defending your honor, you a.s.s," she said, but Lauren was laughing too.
"That"s right; I"m an innocent rube that needs to be taken care of. Exactly how much money do you have anyway?"
"Enough, and don"t play the innocent rube with me, I"ve slept with you." Lauren said, her eyes getting that smoky s.e.xy look Harper recognized.
Harper unlocked Jasper"s door, because on second thought she really didn"t want to get up and let him out. This was going to be a late night.
Chapter Twenty-One.
They slept in Sunday morning, waking up just in time to go for a run with Jasper and then dress for the ballet. They planned to eat lunch, before going to the performance hall, on campus. Lauren recommended the sauteed North Carolina flounder at The Patio on Benjamin Street. Lunch was relaxed and pleasant, with no mention of the incident from the night before.
Lauren looked beautiful in a dark blue, flowing silk pants suit. Harper wore black pants with a black and white silk top. They walked from the restaurant to the theater, enjoying the warm spring day. The trees and flowers were beginning to bloom around them, as they walked hand in hand up the sidewalk.
The program, performed by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, took Lauren and Harper on a tour through the swinging glory of the Harlem Renaissance era in the first suite called Uptown. The second, Dancing Spirit, paid tribute to Judith Jamison"s influence set to music by Duke Ellington, Winton Marsalis and more. The last suite was filled with African-American traditional spirituals as they moved effortlessly through grief and joy.
Harper and Lauren talked all the way back to the car about the ballet and how graceful the dancers were. They linked arms and sang a spiritual, gaining them looks from pa.s.sersby. Harper didn"t care. She loved doing crazy things and she was finding out doing them with Lauren was even more fun. They were laughing when they got into the Tahoe. Lauren absentmindedly reached in her purse and pulled out her phone to check for messages.
"Oh s.h.i.t, I forgot we turned off our phones," she said, staring at the phone, while it powered up.
Harper reached for hers and then remembered she hadn"t brought it with her. Lauren"s phone started to beep and buzz, vibrating repeatedly in her hand.
"Jesus, what in the h.e.l.l is going on. I"ve got fifteen calls from Abby and a bunch of texts. She didn"t take time to read the texts or listen to the messages, she hit the speed dial for Abby and listened as the Bluetooth took over and transferred the call to the speakers in the car. The phone rang only once.
"G.o.dd.a.m.n Lauren, where have you been? I"ve been looking for you everywhere. I even sent Sandy to the studio." Abby was breathless.
"We were at the ballet. We turned off our phones last night. What"s happened, what"s the matter?" Lauren asked, with fear in her voice.
Abby sputtered out, "It"s Shelby...she"s...she"s in the hospital...there was an accident, Leah"s dead."
"Oh, my G.o.d," Lauren gasped.
Harper felt a sharp pain in her chest. She echoed Lauren, in a whispered breath, "Oh, my G.o.d."
Abby"s voice came back over the speaker, "Alicia said she drew up papers for you and Shelby, giving you each medical power of attorney over the other. Do you still have that? There are decisions to be made and no one knows anything about Shelby"s family."
Lauren thought a second, "I don"t know. I guess so. I had forgotten all about that. I"m sure she would have gone to Alicia to change it, she should know."