Brittany hung around for hours. Leanne thought she’d never leave. When the peppy redhead finally did leave, Cassandra soon had to get ready for work.
Leanne hadn’t been included in their conversation. Instead, she sat on the couch with her laptop, finding nothing on Cassandra while the other two women sat at the kitchen table. Brittany was excited about reuniting with an old flame, and that was what most of their conversation was about.
Leanne didn’t like or dislike Brittany. Brittany wasn’t rude to her but she didn’t seem friendly either, with the way she rambled on and on as if she wasn’t even there. She never asked her how she was feeling, how she liked staying with her friend… nothing at all. No attempt at small talk was ever made. All she was intent on doing was focusing on Cassandra and her new but old flame that rocked her world. Leanne wondered if Cassandra was bored but couldn’t see her because the back of the couch faced the kitchen and dining area.
“Sorry about that,” Cassandra said after her chatty friend finally left. Then she glanced at the wall clock.
“Tell me quickly what happened with Angel and your ex,” Leanne said.
“It’s nothing I can tell you quickly. Besides, I really have to get ready for work soon, so the story will just have to wait till some other time. What did you find on me?”
Leanne smiled guiltily.
Cassandra smiled with amusement.
“Nothing really. Just that pay sites have your name, number, and address, supposedly, and your Facebook account, only the account is private.”
“I hardly ever use it,” said Cassandra. “Other than a few email exchanges with some friends and family, most of my online time is spent playing games.”
“So you’re not even going to give me a hint as to what happened in the end?” Leanne pressed.
“No, I’m not. I want to finish the story without being rushed, Leanne.”
They had lunch on Cassandra’s back patio, which consisted of chicken salad. At first, they ate in silence, enjoying the peaceful sights and sounds of nature around them. The backyard was walled off by a tall stockade fence but was large enough to host a variety of trees, flowers, birds, and squirrels.
“Everything looks so well-maintained,” Leanne said.
“Yeah, I come out and weed around the flowers on weekends, and a kid that lives a few houses down comes to mow on Saturday mornings.”
Leanne then remembered Cassandra had said something about moving. “Cass, why are you moving and when? I don’t know if I can get enough money to get into my own place if it’s just a few months, though I really wish I could stay with you. We seem to get along well enough for the most part.”
Cassandra allowed a slight smile while keeping her eyes on a pair of playful squirrels in the back of the yard. “For the most part, huh?”
“Well, when you’re not screaming at me for being a sneaky little devil, as you put it.”
“You were a sneaky little devil, Miss Leanne, and I’ll expect you not to ask my mother any stupid questions tonight like I expected you not to last night.”
“You don’t need to have her come over, Cass. I still have a pronounced limp but I don’t need anyone babysitting me anymore. I can get around just fine.”
“Yeah, you probably could, but I’d feel better if she at least spent the rest of the week with you. Limps cause poor balance. Poor balance causes falls.”
“Yes, Nurse. I’ll accept your mom’s presence for the rest of the week and I won’t ask the wrong questions.”
“You better not.” Cassandra finally turned to face her. “I have plans to join my son in Italy, though I don’t know exactly when. I haven’t put the house on the market yet and I don’t know how long it’ll take to sell. The economy’s better, but not great.”
They sat for a few more moments listening to the sounds of birds chirping around them. When they rose, Leanne limped into the house ahead of Cassandra, who kept an arm outstretched and ready to catch her should she sway off balance. Leanne felt like a kid learning to walk. It wasn’t a nice feeling.
Then Cassandra surprised her by grabbing her from behind and sweeping her off her feet. Leanne squealed with both surprise and delight as the strong nurse carried her to the couch and plopped her down onto her back. Cassandra then knelt down beside her. “You,” she began in a voice of mock reprimand, “better take it easy for the rest of the day.”
Leanne smiled as if to ask what Cassandra was suggesting.
Leanne’s shirt had bounced upward a few inches when Cassandra set her down, exposing her tummy. Cassandra leaned down and kissed her tummy. “You gonna miss me?” the sexy nurse asked.
Leanne nodded and felt herself blushing in ways she had never felt with Kelli.
Cassandra’s lips slowly moved upward and Leanne could feel the heat of them through the thin material of her shirt. Without thinking, she arched her back upwards and pressed against Cassandra, whose hands now slipped inside her shirt and slowly moved upward.
A soft moan of pleasure escaped from Leanne.
Cassandra pulled back and was bringing her lips towards Leanne’s, moving closer and closer…
And then the doorbell rang.
Cassandra rose to her full and impressive height while Leanne pulled her shirt down. She was really coming to hate that goddamn doorbell.
“Just me,” said Cassandra’s mother as she stepped into the house carrying a few plastic grocery bags. She looked at Leanne. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better. I told Cassandra I was fine by myself, but she insisted you come over.”
“At least throughout the week,” Cassandra said.
Leanne eyed the woman coolly. She understood her concern for her daughter, but she still considered her a bit of a snitch just the same. The woman must’ve sensed it too, for she seemed a lot friendlier this time around, as if she were going out of her way to make a point of being that way.
Cassandra hurriedly changed and bound her ebony tresses in a ponytail with the same purple cloth-covered elastic. “Have fun, ladies,” she said as she prepared to leave. “Enjoy whatever pizza you order, too.”
“Actually, I thought I’d cook for us tonight.”
Cassandra kissed her mom appreciatively on the cheek and was gone.
Leanne sighed. Eight hours of boredom stretched ahead of her.
“I thought I’d make us my famous tuna noodle casserole,” said Cassandra’s mom as she set the bags down on the kitchen counter. “Think you’d like that?”
“I’m sure I would,” said Leanne.
Where Leanne couldn’t get the woman to talk the last time around, now she couldn’t get her to shut up. After a while, though, she didn’t mind. Her stories of life in a tiny town just outside of Rome were rather interesting.
“Are the winters rough there?”
“Yeah, I’m afraid so. They’re not horrible. If you want horrible, go to northern Italy. But it does get cold and snowy there.”
Leanne thought a moment and decided her next question would be ok with Cassandra, for she knew every word of their conversation would be relayed to the nurse once she returned home later on. “Both of you sound very American. I take it you lived in Italy later on in life?”
“I lived my first 10 years in New York, then we moved to Italy. When I was twenty-two, I met an American fellow and returned to the States with him. We later married and had Cassandra. I would’ve had half a dozen more kids if I hadn’t developed ovarian cancer and required a hysterectomy.”
Leanne listened intently.
“Cassandra’s been there several times and loves it.”
“Too bad neither of you got the chance to learn much Italian since you guys didn’t grow up there.”
“Oh, but we did. My mother made sure of it and I made sure to teach Cassandra the language every chance I got. Our second language is very much like second nature to us,” Rena said with a smile.
“Io so un po italiano,” said Leanne.
“Do you?”
Leanne nodded, noting that Rena didn’t seem surprised. “Yeah, I learned a little online at a language learning site.”
“Voglio imparare il francese, un giorno,”
“Well, they have a French course you could enroll in,” Leanne said. Then, “Sorry, I’m not as good at speaking and writing Italian as I am with reading it and understanding it when it’s spoken.”
“Oh, that’s ok. A lot of people have trouble in those areas. We can practice when I’m around if you’d like.”
“Ok,” Leanne said with a smile. “I’d like that.”
They spent the rest of the day chatting in both English and Italian, watching movies, and cooking dinner. Leanne couldn’t help much since she still couldn’t walk very well yet, but she sat and watched Cassandra’s mom happily bustle around the kitchen while she kept her company. By nightfall, Leanne decided the woman wasn’t that bad after all.
This time, Leanne was awake when Cassandra returned from home, ponytail now a bit messed up. She had half-hoped she would get to hear the rest of the story of her ex at this time, but understandably enough, the emergency room nurse was pretty tired.
“I just want to check my email and get into bed,” she told Leanne after her mother left. “I know you feel a bit deserted and that I left you hanging about the year’s highlights of my life, but it will just have to wait till tomorrow.”
Though disappointed, Leanne assured her that she understood. She was, she realized, tired as well. The thought of asking Cassandra where she should sleep that night made her feel foolish, and so she simply assumed she would be sleeping alone that night.
To the sound of the soft whooshing of the air conditioner breezing through the ceiling vents, that’s exactly what she did.
ns216.73.216.247da2
