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stopped, peering at it. ”And what did you do?” He glanced up. ”You fall in that hole too?”
”Um, not exactly.” Kerry rubbed her ear. ”I, um, hit it on something.”
”She slugged someone,” Dar supplied helpfully.
Dr. Steve’s eyebrows lifted. ”Did you?” He laughed in surprise, tugging her over to the light. ”Here, let me take a look.”
Dar’s direct stare dared Kerry to protest and the blonde woman merely sighed and went along, wincing as the doctor’s probing hit very sore spots. ”Ow.”
”Can you close your hand?” He asked.
”Um, not really,” Kerry confessed, moving her fingers as far as she could. ”Just that much. It really hurts past that.” She found herself being led over to the x-ray platform and heard Dar’s soft chuckle. ”At least I’m not arguing,” she called back over her shoulder as Dr. Steve positioned the machine.
They finally exited out onto the sunny street, with Dar maneuvering carefully with her crutches, and Kerry cradling a hand that now bore a thin, compression bandage. ”I had no idea a bone bruise hurt that much,” she complained. ”It didn’t feel that bad yesterday.”
”It’s nothing.” Dar mimicked, teasing her with a grin.
”Yeah, yeah yeah,” Kerry sighed, examining the bandage. ”You have to wrap it, though. It’s the first one I’ve ever had.” She wiggled her fingers. ”I’m glad it was just a little bruise.” She dismissed her annoyance and glanced ahead. ”C’mon, there are some nice, big shrimp over there calling my name.”
They moved down the street slowly, evading the Sunday crowds, a definitely mixed bag that ranged from gawking tourists to throngs of locals in a colorful, eclectic show.
Kerry watched the people around her, stepping aside as two very young and very athletic men sped by on roller blades, their short shorts almost revealing what religion they were. Kerry chuckled softly and shook her head, then excused herself as she almost collided with two women strolling through the crowd. They smiled back at her, then let their eyes linger and Kerry blushed a little at the approving looks, as she glanced down.
”Something wrong?” Dar inquired glancing at the retreating pair.
”Um, no, no, I just...” Kerry tugged at her snug white t-shirt and adjusted the buckle on her neatly pressed shorts. ”They, um...”
”They were looking at you?” Dar’s eyes twinkled, as she lowered her voice. ”Don’t blame them, you look very cute.” She let her eyes roam over her companion’s body, and up to her braided hair, pulled back from her face.
Kerry straightened her shoulders a bit under the regard and eyed her friend. ”So why aren’t they all staring at you?” She indicated Dar’s faded denim cutoffs and tucked in crimson polo. Dar had also donned a 114
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favorite baseball cap, which was holding her dark hair off her forehead, and directing the loosely caught pony tail out the back of it.
”Ah ah, staring at a cripple’s in bad taste,” Dar smugly told her.
”Relax. Looking’s a hobby down here. Don’t let it bother you.” She maneuvered around a sidewalk café. “These things aren’t as bad as I thought they’d be.”
“The crutches?” Kerry asked.
“Mm.” Dar flexed her fingers on the handles.
”Hey, you guys.” A strange voice caught their attention and they both stopped to avoid crashing into a tall redhead accompanied by a shorter, ash blonde woman. ”How’s it going?”
Ah, Dar shuffled her mental deck and placed them. The choir leader and her friend from the church. ”Not bad, and you?” she replied politely. ”We got the newsletter the other day. Thanks for sending it.”
”No problem,” The redhead grinned. ”What happened to you guys?” She pointed at Dar’s leg. ”Car accident or something?”
”Or something.” Kerry smiled easily. ”Hi, Anne. That’s a nice shirt.”
Anne grinned back. ”Thanks. Where are you two off to? Just browsing?” She edged out of the stream of traffic. Both women were wearing jeans and t-shirts from the Arts Festival the prior month, and seemed in good spirits.
”We’re headed over to Joe’s for lunch, then for a walk. Dar’s trying to get used to her crutches,” Kerry explained, glancing around. ”What about you?”
Anne shrugged. ”We were just wandering. Mind if we join you?”
She poked her companion. ”Liz here was just saying she was hungry.”
Kerry glanced up at Dar’s face, trying to judge her feelings on the subject. The taller woman’s expression was mildly interested, and she sensed no violent objection. ”Sure, that’d be great. You can tell me about that arts program the newsletter mentioned.”
They walked slowly, in deference to Dar’s knee, until they reached the restaurant, and sat down at a table near the window with a nice view of the water. ”You hang out here.” Kerry put a hand on Dar’s arm.
“I’ll get you a plate, okay?”
It went against Dar’s grain, but even she acknowledged that trying to juggle a plate on crutches would be stupid at best. ”Okay,” she agreed, leaning back and stretching out back muscles strained by the unusual pressure.
She gazed out the window until the other three returned, Kerry setting a plate down in front of her, then trotting off to get one for herself. Anne and Liz sat down, and settled napkins on their laps. ”So, Dar, what did happen to your leg?” Anne asked, taking a forkful of shrimp pasta.
”We were hiking and got into a little problem with a sinkhole.” Dar answered briefly, selecting a bit of cold crab and dipping it in mustard Hurricane Watch
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sauce. ”How’s the choir doing?” She asked Liz politely.
”Mm, it’d do better if I could talk you into joining,” Liz remarked, taking a sip of her sweetened tea.
Dar smiled briefly, acknowledging the compliment. ”My job prevents me from committing to that kind of thing,” she explained,
”and I get sent out of town a lot.” She glanced up as Kerry returned, settling into the chair next to her with a nicely loaded down plate. ”Got enough shrimp there?” she teased gently, grinning when Kerry stuck her tongue out briefly at her.
”So.” Kerry took a bite of garlic bread. ”Tell me about this arts program of yours. There were some classes there I’d love to take, that oil painting one, for instance.”
Anne launched into an enthusiastic explanation and Liz threw in comments, leaving Dar to listen and consume the plate Kerry had provided. Kerry laughed at some of the comments and reached over to touch Dar’s arm frequently as she replied. Dar was content to offer brief nods and short answers to the two other women.
”Ah, Dar, I’ve got to get you some of these,” Kerry interrupted, waving a crawfish at her. ”You’d really like them. Here.” She pulled a tail out and dipped it in butter, then offered it to her lover. Dar smiled amiably and leaned over, taking it between her teeth neatly and chewing it judiciously. ”Right?”
”Right,” Dar agreed, as they all laughed. A motion caught her eye and she turned her head to see a photographer focusing on one of the tables outside, measuring angles and taking a picture. Probably looking for celebrities, Dar mused, with a silent chuckle as she dismissed the man in khakis and returned to her lunch.
Chapter
Ten
”THIS IS GOING to be a circus.” Dar made her way up towards the office, with Kerry pacing alongside. ”I think I’ll make a sign saying what happened and hang it around my damn neck to save me some time.” The cold wind accompanying a weather front that had come through that morning fluttered against her leather jacket, which she was wearing over a pleated, cotton shirt tucked into very comfortable cargo pants. It had been one of the few bright spots of the morning, aside from Kerry’s insistence on ‘helping’ her shower, and she was actually looking forward to appearing in the executive committee meeting so she could watch her co-workers fidget in their wool suits.