Love changes everything, p.6
Love Changes Everything, page 6
“Convenient,” she replied, without asking either question. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answers.
“It is. How about you? Do you like the night shift?”
Sam sighed. “Not so much the hours as the action. I really am happy to have a little caffeine. It’s getting to be bedtime for me.”
“How do you do it? I’d fall asleep in my chair,” Kirby confessed.
Chuckling, Sam told her about the routine she followed to get ready for spending the night in the hospital.
“So you’ll sleep all day tomorrow?” she asked, then looked at her watch. “Today? Saturday?”
“As long as I can. Hopefully, I’ll study a little tonight. It usually slows down about four or so, and I’ll have some free time.”
Kirby seemed to be thinking of something as she pursed her lips.
“What?” Sam asked.
“Do you want to have dinner with me before work? Tonight?”
The idea of seeing Kirby so soon was exciting, and Sam grew warm at the thought. It was a tempting offer. Sam wanted to see Kirby again, but she didn’t want to push it before an overnight shift. “I don’t think I can do dinner early, but I could meet you at eight, maybe. Then I’ll just come straight to work.”
Kirby seemed to debate for a second. “Okay. That’ll work. Pizza?”
“No Burger King?” Sam asked, remembering the face Kirby had made when Sam suggested it before they went to Stookey’s.
“Ugh!”
They agreed on the Pizza Hut nearby.
“There’s a BK across the street, if you change your mind.”
“Not going to happen.”
“What do you have against that place?”
“Oh, man. It involved stupidity and alcohol and a French fry that came out my nose.”
“Oh, wow. Maybe I don’t want to know.”
Shaking her head, Kirby frowned. “Trust me, you don’t.”
“All we do together is eat,” Sam said, and Kirby laughed.
“Barbeque, doughnuts, pizza. Everything healthy.”
“Don’t forget ice cream. I used to hang out at Pizza Hut with my high school softball buddies. Fun times. There are a few players in the league who I went to high school with, like Teddy.”
Sam noticed that Kirby completely avoided the topic of Teddy. “Oh, yeah? Who else?”
Sam mentioned some names, and Kirby nodded, and they talked about the players they both knew.
“What are your plans for the weekend?” Sam asked. “Other than stalking me?” She pursed her lips as she suppressed a smile.
Kirby yawned. “I’m playing in a golf tournament. In just a few hours, in fact.”
“Maybe you should go, and I should get back to work.”
“Code blue. ER, five minutes,” the operator announced overhead.
Sam stood. “Talk about timing!”
“Is that you?” Kirby asked.
“Yeah. Gotta run.”
Sam reached for Kirby’s mug, but Kirby took hers instead. “You go. I’ll take care of this.”
Suddenly Sam felt a little woozy. For the first time in memory, she didn’t want to go to the code. She wanted to stay right where she was, hanging out with Kirby. “Thanks. See you later,” she said as she started to leave. Then she stopped. “Can I call you when I get up?”
“I’ve been hoping you’d call me for days. I was forced to take matters into my own hands and show up here uninvited.”
Elated, Sam laughed. “I promise I’ll phone you tonight. Thanks again,” she said as she smiled at Kirby, lingering for just a moment before she dashed back to the ER, feeling a high greater than the caffeine could account for.
Chapter Five
A few days later, Sam pulled into Teddy’s driveway and stopped before the large Tudor-style house. She honked the horn, and seconds later, Teddy bounded around the corner with the energy of a dog who’d just escaped the confines of the backyard. Sam laughed at the thought but didn’t share it.
“Can you believe my frickin’ parents took away my frickin’ car? I mean, really? What is the point here? They own a frickin’ car dealership. It’s not like they need it or anything. How am I supposed to get to school? What about work?”
Nodding in sympathy, Sam backed out of the driveway and headed toward the softball field. “What did they say?”
“Oh, they’re just pissed because I’m not graduating and gave me the BS speech about enabling me.” While Sam silently agreed with the Watkinses’ decision, she wondered only why they’d waited so long to start disciplining their daughter. Instead of rubbing it in, though, Sam did what any friend would do and offered to help.
“Well, you know I can take you to the games. How about school?”
For a few minutes they discussed their schedules. This was the last week of classes for both of them: Sam at the University of Scranton and Teddy at Wilkes. Their final exams were the next week, so their schedules jibed. And Sam didn’t mind studying at the Wilkes University library if it made her friend’s life a bit easier. She’d have to make an adjustment or two, but basically she could serve as Teddy’s taxi for a little while.
A moment later they pulled into the softball field. Teddy’s team wasn’t practicing, but she was helping Karen Chapman set up the schedule for games and playoffs, and they were meeting at the field. As they walked from the parking lot, Sam was pleasantly surprised to see Kirby. Over pizza on Saturday night she’d mentioned that she liked to get to the field early, and Kirby said she’d try to as well. Sam breathed deeply at the sight of her. Kirby seemed to take her breath away, and she forced Sam to watch her footing.
She was just off balance, thinking about Kirby constantly. A hundred times over the course of the days since she’d last seen her, Sam found herself daydreaming of Kirby. Her smooth, quick swing as she hit a softball. The concentration on her face as she tracked a ground ball. Her quick wit. Her voracious appetite. Her black eyes and flouncy ponytail. Kirby’s laughter, and her own, which just erupted from her when Kirby was around. And this general sense of happiness she’d felt since Kirby arrived in the ER to see her four days ago.
Oh, yes. She’d thought about Kirby. In spite of classes to attend and papers to be written, lab journals to be submitted, she’d thought of Kirby. She’d thought of calling, but she feared the disruption to her routine that Kirby seemed to cause. And she kept wondering why. Kirby was just her teammate, right? A new friend.
So why did Sam feel so obsessed by her?
Why did Sam’s mouth seem to go dry as she thought of that moment Kirby had grasped her hand and pulled her to her feet, when their faces had been mere inches apart and she’d thought Kirby might kiss her? Sam had never experienced anything like it, and she thought in a hundred years she would still recall that moment. And the same fluttering feeling she’d felt at the hospital, when she was about to leave Kirby in the break room. And how they’d lingered in the parking lot after pizza, saying good night for half an hour before Sam finally forced herself into her car just in time to make it to work before her shift started.
It was the weirdest idea she’d ever had, but Sam suddenly realized she had a crush on Kirby. Sam, who had only ever dated one person in her short life. One person who was a guy. Sam had a crush on Kirby, who was most definitely a girl.
The idea shocked her, and for a moment the thought of running entered Sam’s mind. But then Kirby smiled, and Sam melted and thought that having a crush on a girl like Kirby seemed entirely normal.
“Hey, Teddy. Hey, Sam,” Kirby said.
Sam watched the interplay between the two, looking for a clue as to why Kirby hadn’t seemed to want to talk about Teddy. They didn’t say anything, but a flash of something that looked like anger appeared briefly on Teddy’s face, before it faded back to neutral.
“Hi, Kirby,” Teddy said. Then she looked at Sam. “Catch up with you later,” she said and jogged away.
Kirby and Sam continued to the softball field alone, walking quietly beside each other, the subject of Teddy dropped. Sam had known Teddy for eight years, and she was sure there was a story there. But with Teddy, there was always some drama, so it didn’t really surprise her. She’d find out the details on the ride home.
“I had a great time talking with you the other night,” Kirby said after a moment, her tone more serious than Sam expected of her. Everyone was surprising her today. She adjusted her own attitude before replying, then turned to look at Kirby when she spoke.
Just doing that caused Sam’s spirit to soar. “Yeah. I felt like we could have talked all night.”
“Wanna do it again?” Kirby asked, and the hopeful look on her face was delightfully endearing. But Sam’s last paper was due the next day, and although it was about finished, she needed to proofread and print it before handing it in.
“After the game on Saturday?” she offered in compromise, hoping Kirby would say yes.
Kirby nodded. “I’d like that.”
“Do you want Stookey’s again, or are you up for a little more adventure?”
Kirby paused and turned to look at her, seemingly intrigued by the mysterious question. “What do you have in mind?”
“Spelunking.”
“You think I don’t know what that means.”
“I know you don’t know what that means.”
“Well, you are absolutely, one hundred percent correct.”
Sam grinned. “Exploring caves. I want to take you for a hike on my mountain.” She’d hiked the previous day, and as she stood on her favorite rock, looking out at the river, she’d thought of how amazing it would be to share the view with Kirby.
Kirby’s face transformed at the thought, and a radiant smile appeared before morphing into a frown. “Are there bats?”
Shaking her head, Sam looked around. “Nothing more dangerous than you’ll see at practice today. If you’re quiet, you might see some deer foraging. Squirrels. Maybe some turkeys, or a snake, or even a porcupine.”
Kirby stopped. “Wait. Are you trying to talk me into this, or out of it?”
Sam looked at her and their eyes locked. Her heart fluttered and her mouth suddenly dried, forcing a swallow. Her answer was the most honest one she could give. “I don’t know.” She should try to talk Kirby out of it. She should try to talk herself out of it. She was heading into a dangerous and strange situation, one in which she felt completely off-kilter. Yet Sam knew that what she was feeling for Kirby was not something usual or common, either. It wasn’t something she’d ever felt before. And even if something was strange about her affinity for Kirby, Sam couldn’t stop seeing her. She simply didn’t want to. She just wanted to keep feeling the way she did when she was with Kirby. Every minute of every day for the rest of her life, she wanted to feel this way.
She saw Kirby swallow, too, and what might have been an awkward moment became something silly, and they both laughed, shaking their heads as they glanced away. “Looks like we’re really early,” Kirby said as the empty softball field came into view.
“Practice isn’t mandatory. It could just be us,” she said, and Sam found herself liking that idea. Actually, since most of the players worked, and some had family obligations, those who were able to attend practice usually showed up a minute before the scheduled starting time and bolted after. Sam loved the field, though, and always stretched out her time here, coming early and staying late. Even if it was just a few extra minutes away from whatever paper or project she had to prepare, this was a wonderful respite from whatever was happening in her real life.
At the field they sat quietly and changed shoes, and Kirby threw a ball to herself while she waited for Sam. After assuming a position just past the infield dirt, they began tossing the ball back and forth. Then Sam began throwing ground balls, mixing in a few pop flies to make it interesting. And, just as Sam predicted, a few minutes before starting time, the coach arrived with the equipment, and a trove of players jogged to the field.
A total of eight of them showed up, and they all assumed a preferred position, but they rotated as players left the field for batting practice. Sam was the first to hit, and when she finished, Kirby was in the on-deck circle, so it wasn’t until they’d both finished their swings that they found themselves together on the infield. Sam was anxious to see how she’d play beside Kirby. With Teddy, there had always been a natural chemistry, and they sensed each other well on the field. Sam knew she felt a connection to Kirby as well, and she was eager to discover how that played out.
Her wait was short-lived. The first pitch was hit in the hole between short and third, and Kirby easily fielded it and came up firing to second. There were no base runners, but Sam imagined if there was one, she would have been out. The next ball was up the middle, on the third-base side of the bag, and Kirby went that way, put her glove down, and, without removing the ball, flicked it to Sam at second.
“Show-off.” Sam chided her, but she was impressed with the play. After a few hits to the outfield, Sam had a chance to field a grounder at second, and she easily tossed it to Kirby for a pretend force-out.
They’d do fine together, Sam realized. No worries. Her on-field chemistry was as easy as it was with Teddy.
After practice, they were the last to leave, and they walked together toward the parking lot. “Is there anything I should bring Saturday?” Kirby asked.
“A small backpack, a bottle of water. Hiking boots.”
“Hiking boots?”
The look of horror on Kirby’s face was priceless. Sam shrugged. “Okay, sneakers,” she said softly, meeting Kirby’s gaze.
“That, I can manage.”
They lingered at Sam’s car for another twenty minutes, but the setting sun left a chill in the air, and Sam retreated to the shelter of her car while she waited for Teddy. A moment later, she appeared, walking beside Karen, engrossed in conversation. The angry Teddy she’d brought to the field earlier had disappeared, and Sam couldn’t help but wonder why.
“Brrr,” she said as she closed the car door and splayed her fingers before the heat vents. “It feels like winter.”
Sam backed up the car and headed toward Teddy’s. “You must be getting sick. The temperature is perfectly fine. So, spill. What’s up with you and Kirby?”
Teddy shook her head, then sucked in a breath. “That story would require beer. Bottles and bottles of beer.”
“Hmm,” Sam replied. “Sounds interesting.”
Teddy sighed. “Okay, look. You can’t go to the same school and play on the same team for three years without having some drama.”
Sam nodded. Although she wanted to know more, she knew she wouldn’t learn anything else until Teddy was ready.
Without further discussion of Kirby, Sam dropped Teddy off and headed home. Her house, a small ranch on Tilbury Terrace, sat back from the street, out of the harsh glare of the streetlight but instead illuminated by dozens of artistically arranged accent lights. A floodlight sensed the motion of her car and illuminated the macadam as she turned into the driveway. As always, she parked in the right bay, beside her mom’s car, in what would always be known as her father’s side of the garage. After closing the door and locking the house, she walked into the breezeway.
“I’m home,” she shouted into the quiet house, then waited for a response. When she heard none, the tension in her body settled in her gut. “Mom?” she asked, as she walked toward the living room, her steps tentative.
Cushions were arranged neatly on the couch, and a magazine sat squarely on an end table next to the television remote. But otherwise, the room was empty.
“Mom?” she asked again, heading toward the kitchen. The light above the stove burned perpetually, casting a soft glow over the spotless kitchen. A cookie jar sat on the island, but the table and the counters were clean, without even a dish in the sink. A light glowed through the sliding doors at the far end of the room.
Slowly walking that way, Sam forced herself to breathe, willed her tight chest to expand and suck in air. Ever since her father’s death eight years ago, she’d had these panic attacks when her mother didn’t answer. Tunnel vision focused on the room beyond the doors, and when she reached them, she lifted her hand and spread anchoring fingers on cool glass. An involuntary sigh escaped when she saw her mom sitting in a cozy chair, reading. Brandy, her Yorkshire terrier, sat on the floor beside her. Suddenly, he heard her, and his little ears shot straight into the air as he raised his head and flew toward her, barking excitedly as he scratched at the glass.
Sliding back the door, Sam bent down and picked him up. “Hello, you little cutie,” she said as he welcomed her home with kisses.
She greeted her mom cheerfully, the trepidation she’d felt a moment earlier beginning to ease. The room was painted a vibrant yellow and furnished with overstuffed wicker furniture, and she sat across from her mom on the couch, the dog resting happily beside her.
“Hi, Lovey,” her mom said. It was her typical greeting, and it always made Sam smile. “How was your day?”
“It was good,” Sam said as she sank into the cushions and rubbed Brandy’s head, just the way he liked it.
“What was so good about it?” Irene Burkhart curled her legs underneath her, removed her reading glasses, and appraised her. Sam stared right back, seeing a vision of herself in forty years. Other than the long, lean frame she’d inherited from her dad, she was cast from a mold of her mom. The blond hair, green eyes, and full mouth Sam saw in the mirror were the same ones she’d been looking at across the dinner table her entire life.
“Hmm,” Sam murmured, and before she could filter, she blurted it out. The thing that had been on her mind for days. The girl she couldn’t stop thinking about. “I made a new friend,” she said, holding her breath after the words left her mouth. That shouldn’t have been an anxiety-provoking revelation, but it was, and Sam was anxious for her mother’s response.
“How nice! I suspect you’ll be making a few new friends in the coming months. What’s her name? Or is it a him? You modern girls have as many male friends as females, don’t you?”
