“Get in line.” I agreed. “I think she is after Allison’s job.”
“Uh huh.” Chris offered knowingly. “I sent Allison an email this morning. A certain Assistant District Attorney in New York resigned his position unexpectently yesterday.”
“Simon Brenner?” I asked already knowing the answer.
“He had no choice.” Chris confirmed. “It was either resign or be brought up on charges for prosecutorial misconduct. The really big news is that her also left his wife. Jessica called at my office late last night screaming that I had ruined her marriage.”
“You ruined her marriage?”
“I must have.” Chris laughed slightly. “Lord knows it couldn’t have possibly be because of all of the those women she slept with.”
“Amazing.” Was I all I could say.
“Rita and I were wondering if you had any plans for next weekend?” Chris asked suddenly.
“Not that I can think of.” I responded without thinking. My only immediate thought was how much I enjoyed Chris referring to Rita as her partner. “Probably just the same old thing, why?”
“Would you like to join us for dinner on Friday?” Chris offered.
“Sure.” I shrugged and then it hit me. “Wait! That is Valentines Day. I would be a third wheel.” I protested.
“No.” Chris argued. “It’s just that we thought that you know with Allison away and all …”
“No Chris.” I protested.
Chris tried in vain to get me to agree but I stood firm. The following morning Rita called me. Rita proved to be far more stubborn than Chris. After an hour-long debate I finally caved in and agreed to join the pair for dinner on Friday. Deciding that I need some fresh air I went to check on Mrs. Giavanni. As I started down the staircase I spotted Cheryl Cooper leaving Caroline’s apartment. When Cheryl caught my eye she blushed furiously and ran off. I looked at my watch thinking, “This is not good.”. Cheryl was a history major and she was leaving Caroline’s apartment at nine o’clock on a Sunday morning. I needed to have a little chat with Caroline very soon. As I reached the bottom of the staircase I found Hal standing just around the corner. It was more than a little obvious that he too had seen Cheryl.
“This is not good Stephanie.” Was all he said.
“It doesn’t look that way.” I answered shyly. “I’ll have a talk with Caroline.”
“You need to report her to your department head.” Hal said adamantly.
“Well I don’t know anything for certain.” I lied knowing there could be no other explanation for this mornings events.
“It’s not the first time I have seen one of her students sneaking out of here first thing in the morning.” Hal explained. “It’s against University policy. I haven’t said anything yet but this does put the both of us in a very awkward position.”
“Let me talk to Caroline.” I offered. “Maybe there is a reasonable explanation.”
“Okay.” He conceded. “But if there isn’t and you don’t turn her in I will have to. These are kids were talking about Stephanie. The powers that be at Haven want them to focus on their education. For no other reason than that I agree with the policy. I just never thought I would have to turn someone in. I’ve never thought of myself as some kind of stoolie.”
“I know.” I agreed with a heavy sigh.
I checked on Mrs. Giavanni and found her trying to shovel her driveway. I immediately took the shovel away from her. I couldn’t understand why she need to clear the driveway since she didn’t drive. I shoveled her driveway and walkways and then I ran a few errands for her. After that I joined her for a cup of tea and filled her in on how Allison was doing. After two cups of tea I returned home. I stopped and knocked on Caroline’s door. As the door slowly opened I braced myself. “I was just thinking about you.” She cooed. “Come in.”
“I need to talk to you.” I explained as I entered my former apartment.
“Really?” She smiled slightly. “I’m intrigued.”
“I saw Cheryl Cooper leaving your apartment this morning.” I stated bluntly.
“And?” She responded coyly.
“You do know about the University’s policy don’t you?”
“Cheryl is an adult.” Caroline answered me in a dismissive manner.
“Caroline the University doesn’t allow any leeway in these matters.” I explained.
“Relax.” Caroline responded with a wave of her hand. “Nothing happened. The poor kid just needed someone to talk to. You remember what it was like, being that young and confused.”
“All right.” I answered not completely believing her. “But if this happens again I will have to go to Maureen. I’m sorry in the University’s eyes if there is something going on and I do not report it I could get booted out as well.”
“No worries Stephanie.” Caroline shrugged. “Nothing happened and Maureen let me know in painstaking detail of all of the do’s and don’ts at Haven. Now sit down and relax I was just going to watch some television and have a glass of wine. Why don’t you join me. A hell of a dull way to spend the weekend I know but other than you I don’t really know anyone here.”
I agreed with a slight reluctance. She opened the bottle of chardonnay and turned on the television. Xena was on and we settled in. I was having fun as we drooled over the warrior princess’ exploits and picked apart the historical inaccuracies. When the show ended we flipped through the channels finally deciding that there was nothing worth watching. So we decided to just talk instead. There was something hauntingly familiar about the scene as we chatted away.
How old was I then? Twenty-one possibly twenty-two? I had known Caroline for almost a year at that point. It was a winter night just like tonight and she invited me over to her dorm room. We watched television and drank far too much wine. “Stephanie?” Caroline’s voice jolted me back to the present. “Do you ever think about what happened?”
“Yes.” I answered honestly. “I feel terrible about the way I treated you. The worse part is that it wasn’t the first time I did something like that.”
“I think about that night.” She sighed regrettably. “I was crazy about you. I think that when I invited you over that night that somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that I was going to try to seduce you.”
My mind once again drifted back to that night. The talk and the wine. Her kiss that had driven me insane. Before I knew what was happening I was kissing her back and she was pushing me down onto her bed. As we laid on her bed our bodies became entangled. Her hand had slid gently up my sweater and she began to caress my breast. It was the sudden jolt of pleasure that had snapped me into reality. I jumped off of her bed and made some feeble excuse and ran out of her dorm room. I had wanted her so much then and I was simply too frightened to act on my impulses. “You must have hated me.” I said finally.
“I was hurt more than anything.” She answered softly shifting her body slightly closer to me. “I blamed myself.”
“No it was me.” I groaned. “I wanted you but I was a coward.”
“And now?” She asked in a sultry voice as her fingers ran gently across my thigh.
“Now I am in love with someone else.” I said firmly as I removed her hand from my thigh.
“She’s not here.” Caroline pointed out in a husky tone as she grabbed me and pressed her lips forcibly to my own. Without hesitation I pushed her away from me knowing that whatever passions I had once felt for her were long since dead.
“Jesus Christ Caroline!” I yelled as I jumped off of her futon. “Here’s a new flash for you Sparky! I am in love with my girlfriend!” I spun on my heels to leave.