"Hey."
"Don't even think about it. I know you too well, Laura Taylor. If you think I'm going to believe that you're going to behave yourself tonight then I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you." Leaning in, Jenny gave her ex-lover a friendly kiss on the cheek. "I'll call you tomorrow."
An hour later the kitchen floor was mopped to a brilliant shine and the counters also reflected the same luster. Laura took her cleaning frenzy into the living room. Deciding that the table near the entryway needed a good polishing, she pulled out a fresh rag and the bottle of polish from the cleaning closet. While rubbing the cloth over the wood, Laura let her mind wander. You could have stay, Jen. I would have behaved. Her lip curled up as a devilish look crossed her face. Well, maybe not. Oh well, guess it's just me and my imagination tonight. The bright lights showed the multitude of fingerprints smudging the table surface. I can't believe you two. I just polished this yesterday. The pleasant scent of lemon filled the air as she moved the polish covered rag over the wood. I'm going to have to talk to Crystal about putting her fingers all over the place, Laura thought to herself, knowing her roommate was just as responsible for the smeared tabletop as her ex-lover. Deciding to check up on her wayward roommate, she quickly finished polishing the table and headed upstairs.
Laura quietly opened the door to Crystal's room. The night light plugged into the far wall outlet provided enough illumination for her to make her way over to the bed without stumbling into anything. "You awake?" she asked softly. "I just came in to check on you." Receiving no answer, Laura leaned over and tucked the edges of the blanket around the sleeping form. "I really wish you wouldn't get so wasted all the time," she whispered. "You don't need the drugs."
"Hmm?" came the groggy voice.
"Shh, it's just me," Laura replied, shifting back so her body wasn't too close to Crystal's. "I was just checking up on you." "Oh." Crystal rolled onto her back. "What time is it?"
"Close to ten. What time do you have to be at work tomorrow?"
"'round seven or so," the half-asleep woman mumbled.
"Well then roll over and get some sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow." Laura stood up and took a step toward the door. "Have a good day if I don't see you in the morning." She almost reached the door when she heard Crystal call to her.
"Laura?"
"Hmm?" It was several seconds before she heard the soft reply.
"Thanks for not being mad at me."
Laura walked back over to the bed and knelt down, resting her forearms on the soft blanket. "Hey, that's what friends are for, right? To help you when you're down?" Reaching out, she tugged the blanket up over Crystal's exposed shoulder. "I told you I'd rather come get you than have you driving like that. Now get some sleep."
After leaving Crystal's room, Laura returned downstairs to finish cleaning up before retiring to her own room. While the bed was a tempting sight, the computer proved to be a more powerful draw and Laura found herself watching the familiar startup logos and tests flash across the screen. Maybe something will come to me, she thought hopefully, reviewing the handwritten notes she kept next to the computer. Her main character, Bobbi, just saved a family from being killed in a warehouse fire and that was where Laura's creative juices trickled up. So now what? The family thanks Bobbi and she falls for the oldest daughter? Somehow thei.e.that seemed so good when Laura first started the novel now felt cliché and simplistic. Why would she fall for the daughter of the furniture baron? Laura rubbed her face. "This just isn't working," Laura said an hour later when no new words appeared on the screen. The sound of a door opening drew her attention away from the frustrating characters. Laura listened as Crystal made her way into the bathroom. A thump followed by a muffled curse drew her out of her chair. "Crystal? Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I just ran into the hamper, that's all," came the reply. Laura turned her attention back to the paper before her. This just doesn't make sense. The whole family is there so why would Bobbi notice Julie and not pay most of her attention to Julie's father? The one that makes all the money? It's not like Julie looks ravishing all disheveled and covered with dirt. Laura struggled with the problem until she heard a gentle knock on her door. "Come in."
The door opened and Crystal poked her head inside. "It sounded like you were still up."
"I am." Laura motioned at the monitor. "I'm just working on my story but it doesn't seem to be cooperating tonight."
"It's your story. You don't know what happens next?" Crystal stepped inside and looked at the screen. "I don't see anything but a green screen."
"I minimized it." Laura reached out and clicked on the mouse. The screen filled with text. "I just had Bobbi rescue the furniture baron and his family from the arsonist who tried to blow them up in a warehouse fire. Now Bobbi meets the baron's daughter Julie for the first time and I can't figure out how or why she'd run into her again."
"And you're trying to put the two women together?"
"Well it is a lesbian novel, Crystal," Laura said, a smile forming on her lips. "The i.e.is that Bobbi and Julie become lovers and live happily ever after. Of course they have to go through all sorts of challenges and trials before that happens. But nothing's going to happen if I can't figure out what to do next." She leaned back, giving Crystal more room to look at the words on the screen. "See right now Julie's father is going to thank Bobbi for rescuing them and then the police are going to arrive. I can't figure out how to get her and Julie to talk to each other or even what they would talk about."
"Maybe Bobbi, that's the one that's the hero, right?"
"Yeah, she's the private investigator who gets there just in the nick of time to save them from the bomb. Here, you can sit on the cabinet if you want." Laura pointed at the small two drawer file cabinet next to the desk. Crystal took the suggestion, resting her back against the wall. The blonde hair hung limply against her head, her shirt and pants rumpled from sleep. Laura noticed the bright red polish adorning the bare toes. The chipped surface led Laura to believe that Crystal had not bothered to paint them since the last time she worked at the Tom Cat Club. With a start Laura realized she had missed what Crystal said. "I'm sorry, what?"
"You said Bobbi just rescued them from a fire, right?"
"Right, arsonist sets warehouse full of flammable chemicals on fire with the family trapped inside."
"So what if whatever her name is got burned and had to go to the hospital? Then Bobbi can go visit her."
"Well I don't think I want to disfigure one of my main characters. Doesn't exactly make for the best visual images for the readers."
"You don't have to disfigure her, just give her a small burn, like on her arm or something," Crystal picked up a spongy ball from the desk and squeezed it. "What's this?"
"A stress ball," Laura replied. Looking down at her neatly written notes, she nodded. "I suppose I could put a mild burn in there. It's between semesters so it's not like Julie would have to worry about carrying books or anything. I could have her go visit Bobbi's office to thank her for saving her life." Picking up her pen, Laura busily scribbled notes into the margins of the paper. "Then of course if Julie goes to Bobbi's office she'll see the books on the shelf and suspect Bobbi's gay and that would lead in perfectly with the bar scene" Laura's voice trailed off as she flipped pages in her notebook and made additional notes. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Crystal rhythmically squeezing the stress ball. "Jenny gave that to me. She says it's supposed to help when I get stressed."
"Does it?"
"I don't know. If I think of it, I suppose it does. Usually I just go on a cleaning spree."
"You must not think of it often," Crystal said, tossing the ball back on the desk. Laura smiled at the gentle ribbing and set the pen down. "So what are you doing up, anyway? I left you over an hour ago and you were basically dead to the world."