Debbie ran her finger over the top of her phone. She hadn’t heard from Micky since the lunch at the condo several weeks earlier. Was she really up for spending a few hours with Micky and Reba? It would be nice to get out of the house for an evening, but with Reba? She shook her head.
“Dee… bee, were, meek?”
Debbie turned to see Gini in the kitchen with the refrigerator door open. “I’ll get it, baby. You want some cookies with your milk?” She set her phone on the coffee table.
When she got to the kitchen, Gini looked up at her and smiled, putting her chin on Debbie’s chest.
“Cutie,” Debbie said.
“Re… mem… ber, milk?” Gini pulled back and put her head down for a second, then faced Debbie. “Re… mem… ber, milk… uff, breast?” She giggled.
“Oh, Gini, listen to you talk. And, yes, I remember when we learned about breast milk.” Debbie got a feeling in her stomach, the feeling she got back when it was just she and Gini living together, and Gini was always touching Debbie’s breast as she explained the body part to her. It was like sex before you knew what sex was. Maybe if she’d had a friend in childhood whom she’d played doctor with, it would have been like that. Not quite; Debbie wasn’t a child and was always aware of being a grownup—a nurse—around Gini. But it was innocent that way.
“Bay… be, drink, mill.” She smiled again.
Maybe Debbie should say yes to Micky’s invitation. Or maybe it was time to go out and find a woman she could go out with.
She poured a glass of milk for both of them, and they drank it with cookies.
A few hours later, Debbie called Micky.
“When were you thinking about going out?” Debbie asked.
“How about tomorrow? I have a study group until seven. We could meet somewhere.”
“I’ll have to check and see if Robert will be home. It would be good to see you and Reba again.”
“No, not Reba. She was just passing through, I guess. Once I got started in school, she decided to take a job in Georgia.”
“I’m sorry, Micky.”
“Not to worry. I’ve been so busy with school I haven’t had much time to think about it. I guess I knew it wasn’t too serious. I mean I did kiss you the last time I saw you.”
“Maybe Reba didn’t like that.”
“Probably not. Let me know about tomorrow night… how about the Legals there by you? You can bring Gini.”
“My favorite place. I’ll get in touch with you after I talk to Robert.”
Debbie confirmed the date after Robert told her he’d make sure he was there at seven.
It was a bit awkward at first, but they started talking about school and their careers, comparing notes. Debbie was surprised she didn’t have the butterflies like she had the last time. She had thought now that Reba was gone, she would feel closer to Micky, but she didn’t. Just a friend talking to a friend.
At the end of the evening, there was a quick hug, that was all.
Debbie and Gini were making frequent trips to New Haven to meet Robert at the architecture firm to put a floor plan together. On one trip, he took Debbie and Gini to the lot. It was located where two streets ended in a cul-de-sac. There was a house to the west, the golf course in the back, and an open green area to the east. Following the path to the natural area, they passed tall trees, manicured bushes, and grass. Then they approached a pond with a water fountain.
“Sweetheart, look at all the trees,” Robert said.
Just then there was a small sound of a bird’s tweet. Gini looked up at him and grinned. “Bird.”
“Yes, there aren’t many here now, but in the spring, they’ll return, and I’ll bet these trees will be full of beautiful birds and sound. Oh, look! Do you see the ducks?” He pointed to the pond.
See… what did he mean by see? Everyone kept saying to her to look and to see. What exactly were they asking her to do?
They walked back to the car and went to Robert’s office. When they got there, a vision of ducks all huddled together slowly emerged in her brain.
“Duck, be… uff, coe.”
He wrapped his arm around her and squeezed. “They’ll be okay. They know how to take care of themselves.”
Then tall trees faded in over the ducks, and a half-frozen water fountain came next. She remembered hearing the water when they were standing looking at the lot.
Robert pointed everything out to her, the tenth fairway, the clubhouse in the distance. And as they walked the land, he indicated where he thought the rooms should be. All of it was coming to her in visions. It was like she was in Robert’s head picturing what he wanted: a large room with comfortable furniture with a view out big windows to her garden with roses and other flowers, a kitchen where she and Debbie could make cookies for Robert, and a roomy bed for her and Robert to make love. She felt his excitement about their new house.
She went with him to all the appointments. He wanted her to be involved throughout the process. He helped her understand the floor plan, and as before, the visions came later of what he was talking about. It would be a sprawling home, mainly one-story, with a game room, one bedroom, and bath upstairs. A “mother-in-law” suite would be built on the front east side for Debbie so she could have a private place. Between the suite and the master’s retreat would be a room set up with a hospital bed and hookup for oxygen and other
