“Late late late!”
Eli watches Claudia with a bemused expression as she dashes past him into the bathroom, her hair falling out of a braid, one leg of a black stocking trailing behind its partner.
“Big date?” he asks, taking a sip from his mug of coffee.
“Har har. You know I’m meeting up with that creative writing professor. The one that published three acclaimed novels in the past two years?”
“Ah yes, the literary Wizard of Oz. I forgot that was today.”
“Me too!” she cries. “I’m going to be late.”
# # #
Reggie grabs Sophie’s arm before she can enter the stairwell by Arden’s front door. “Where are you going?”
“What? You never used stairs before?”
“Not when there’s an oh-so-convenient elevator that will carry my oh-so-lazy butt up to the second floor for me.” He releases Sophie and looks her square in the eye. “What’s going on with you the past couple days? You trying to lose weight or something? ‘Cause you’re skinny enough, you know, and I don’t have the time or the energy for an intervention.”
“Huh?”
“Please tell me it’s some stupid new year’s resolution. Then I know it’ll be gone by February.”
“Oh! Because I’m taking the stairs?” She laughs. “No no no, please, you’re too funny.”
“Then what?”
After a moment of internal debate, Sophie sighs. “Alright, but you can’t tell anyone.”
“Oh goodie, we’re in fourth grade again.”
“Actually, I skipped fourth–”
“Just tell me!”
Sophie quickly glances around to make sure no one can overhear. “Diego kissed me at the party.”
“GET OUT!”
“Shhh!” Sophie clamps her hand over Reggie’s mouth. “God, I should just say it into the PA system.”
“Shawry,” he apologizes. Sophie pulls back her hand and wipes it on her skirt. “But seriously, the Hot Ass from Caracas?”
Sophie shoots him a look. “You’re aware that doesn’t actually rhyme, right? But yes, him.”
“Wow. I know about thirty girls who are going to kill you.” He grins at the thought. “But that doesn’t really explain the stairs…”
“His cube is right by the elevator!”
“Wait, you’re avoiding him?”
“Just… until I figure some things out.”
Reggie shakes his head. “This is why I hate girls. You give us such mixed signals. I bet you were all over him when he kissed you.”
“I was not,” Sophie says with all the dignity she can muster. “But I did get a text message from X right after. That’s what I have to figure out.”
“Ooohhh.” Reggie was friends with both Sophie and X in college and knows their whole complicated history. “Okay, I guess that’s fair.”
“Thanks, Judge Judy. Now can we take the stairs?”
Reggie glances longingly at the elevator.
“You know,” Sophie says, “maybe you wouldn’t have as many girl problems if you took better care of yourself.”
“Hey! What are you trying to say?”
“Nothing.” She smiles innocently. Glaring, Reggie pushes past her and takes the stairs, two at a time. Following behind, one at a time, Sophie chuckles to herself. “Guys are so easy sometimes.”
# # #
Claudia fidgets with her mug of hot cider, discreetly attempting to check her watch. She’s only been meeting with Professor Moneywords for ten minutes and already she’s itching to go. He is loud, arrogant, and a little too bold for her tastes.
As if reading her mind, the professor pulls out a flask and pours a bit of whiskey into his second cup of coffee. She stares wide-eyed. “Um, is that… is that allowed?”
“Does it matter?” He takes a swig. “Actually, there are two more lessons for you right there. Number one: break the rules. Number two: alcohol, drugs, and sex.” He winks. “Those are the key ingredients to a successful creative life.”
She smiles politely and thinks, They pay this man to teach?
# # #
“I need puppy therapy!” Claudia says as soon as she gets home. Max of course is more than happy to oblige. As she tosses sticks to him in the backyard, someone calls her name. Before Claudia can look for herself, Max takes off, bounding towards the voice. Claudia sighs and gives chase.
Her neighbor Lynne is waiting for them with a rawhide in one hand and a glass of iced tea in the other. “I was out birdwatching and saw you playing in the yard,” she says, giving them each their treats.
“You’re too kind.”
“Eh, I’m selfish too.” Lynne sits on a patio chair and motions for Claudia to do the same. “I wanted the company.”
Grabbing Max’s leash, Claudia sits and sips her tea. They make small talk, learning the basics about each other’s backgrounds. Lynne works a substitute teacher, part-time due to arthritis. Claudia mentions growing up in Texas, and Lynne asks what brought her to the Midwest.
“Well, my boyfriend Eli got a great job out here, so I followed. I’m a writer, and I can type a novel anywhere.” She frowns. “Or at least, that’s what I thought until today.”
“What’s giving you doubts now?”
Claudia sighs. “I met up with a local writing professor, and he basically said I need to move to New York and become a cracked out alcoholic prostitute.” At Lynne’s expression, she adds, “Well, not exactly that. But let’s just say he suggested a few shortcuts to creativity that I didn’t want to take.”
“Sweetie, there are no shortcuts in life.”
“Well then how about some really good directions?”
Lynne laughs. “I’m going to go ahead and guess that you’re already on the right path and doing just fine.”
“What makes you say that?”
“As a teacher, you see a lot of kids, and in a small city like this, you end up hearing about a lot of them later. I’ve learned that it’s the people who worry about being lost who aren’t, and the ones who don’t give it a second thought who are.”
“So constantly second-guessing myself is a good thing?”
“Not exactly. But it does mean you care.” Lynne refills their glasses and settles back into her chair. “My advice is to think less and do more. And watch some birds. It’s very relaxing.”
Claudia smiles. Since she has a little time before Eli gets home from work, she decides to take Lynne’s advice. Together they sit on her back porch and look for birds, the sun setting spectacularly in the distance.
