Difficult Lessons (3 page)

***

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long, “ Sara said as she stepped up on the sidewalk in front of Mel’s.

“No. Actually I just got here. I was afraid you would give up on me and leave.”

“Well damn! What is going on here?” Mel’s voice was unmistakable as Sara opened the door for Cynthia.

“Mel you act like I never come here. Sheesh!”

“Well you haven’t been here much lately and now two nights in a row. I am impressed. Is this the young lady that Kathy was telling me about last night?”

“I don’t know. What was Kathy telling you?” Sara could not help the smile. “Never mind. I don’t think I want to know. Mel, this is Cynthia Wesley. We met in here last night. She is from Mobile and it seems that she will be joining the math department at Mills in the fall. Cynthia, this loudmouth is Melanie Richards, the proprietor of this fine establishment.”

Mel and Cynthia exchanged pleasantries and a couple of stories about Mobile before Sara ushered Cynthia on into the bar.

             
“If you let her, Mel will talk you to death,”

             
“I heard that, Sara!” Mel called after them.

             
The bar was not as crowded as it had been the night before. More people would come in later on. Saturday nights always seemed to get started later at Mel’s. Sara did not mind the lack of a crowd at all though. She was only interested in Cynthia having a good celebration, as she had called it. 

             
“How about a couple of cold beers, Kathy?”

             
“You got it.” Kathy winked as she set the beers down in front of them

“These two are more set on getting me fixed up than my dad,” Sara commented to Cynthia.

After the first beer was down, Cynthia asked Sara to dance. Sara hesitated but obliged after a little gentle prodding. It was a fast song and Sara was not very comfortable dancing to it, but she did not mind watching Cynthia move to the music. Her hips moved in perfect rhythm and Sara could not stop staring at them. Finally the song was over and they made their way back to the bar to order a second drink.

             
Sara looked up just in time to see two uniformed officers walk through the door.  She remembered the conversation that she had with Mel the night before and got her driver’s license out before they got around to her.

The two finally approached them. Sara handed her license over to the older of the two officers when he asked. He was slightly overweight and had thinning hair.

“Ms. Carson, don’t you teach at Mills High?”

“Yes sir, I do.” She tried to answer politely, but she had this overwhelming feeling of doom.

“I think my daughter is in one of your classes. Shelly Griffin?”

“Yes. Shelly is in my first period. She’s a wonderful young lady. I really enjoy having her in my class.”

“Well thanks. Her mother and I have tried to raise her properly.”

“You have done an excellent job with that, Officer Griffin.”

“You have a nice night, Ms. Carson.” Officer Griffin handed her license back to her and gave Cynthia a quick look before he walked off.

“Well that was awkward,” Sara said with a hint of dread in her voice.

“What was that all about?”

“It seems that fine officer has a daughter in one of my classes.” Sara guzzled what was left of her second beer and waved the bottle at Kathy. I am sure that I will hear about this one. They are a very religious family. The church that they attend is one that is adamantly against gays. They were the leaders in the fight against the marriage amendment when it was voted on a couple of years ago. I guess he will hit the roof since he has found one of his daughter’s teachers in a gay bar.”

“I’m sure everything will be all right. Let’s try not to let this ruin our evening.”  Cynthia’s tone put Sara at ease once again.

Time passed so quickly that Sara had not even noticed how late it was until Mel turned on all the lights. She called it the cockroach signal. When she turned on the bright lights, everyone scattered and ran for the door. 

Mel wandered over to where they were sitting. “You two are so cute together.”

“Just friends, Mel.” Sara cut her off before she could say more. 

“I’m just sayin’…’”

“Sometimes you say too much, but I love you anyway.” Sara stood up and hugged Mel.

“Would you like to come over to the hotel and take a swim tomorrow? There aren’t a lot of people there and the pool is really nice.” Cynthia looked hopeful as she offered the invitation.

“I have lunch plans with my mom. If we are not too late, you just might have company.”

“Tonight was great. Please try to make it tomorrow. It is rather lonely at the pool when you don’t know anyone. “Cynthia leaned in to give Sara a kiss on the cheek.

Chapter 5

Sara looked at her bedside clock and sighed as she undressed. Two late nights in a row, but Cynthia was a dynamic woman and time seemed to fly by when they were together. She could not remember when she had enjoyed spending that much time with someone. 

There was chaos on the battlefield of Sara’s mind. Thoughts of Cynthia, the officers, work; all fought to keep her awake. She finally drifted off just before the sun came blazing through the windows to awaken her.

When she could stay in bed no longer, she got up and made coffee. Her heart beat a little faster when she saw the e-mail from Cynthia in her inbox once again. She was thanking Sara again for a wonderful evening and repeating the invitation to come over and swim later.

I might just do that
, Sara thought with a smile.

Time passed slowly even though Sara tried to keep herself busy. Occasionally thoughts of Cynthia would creep into her mind, but she tried to push them out. This woman was taking a hold on her like no one else ever had.

***

“Have you met anyone, Sara?” Subtlety was not a trait Myra Carson possessed.

“I have met a young lady, Mom. We are just friends though. She just moved to town. She will actually be teaching at the high school next year.”

“Is there a spark there?”

“We just met two days ago, Mom. Besides, we will be working together in the fall.” 

“I think it is great that there is potentially someone in your life. You know I worry about you being alone.”

“Mom!” Sara let a little giggle escape. “Friends. If things progress you will be the first to know.”

“Okay. I’ll stop.”

After a pause Sara asked, “What project are you working on now?”

“There is a program that is just getting started to provide books for underprivileged children. We are currently trying to get donations to buy the books and we are taking applications from parents who want to enroll their children in the program. I am trying to persuade businesses to contribute large sums of money. Ideally, we would like to get enough in donations to provide one book a month to each child that is enrolled. We might not meet that goal, but we will get something going.”

“Are you soliciting donations from individuals?” Sara asked taking a sip of her drink.

“Not yet, but we will be doing so in the near future.”

“Why don’t you write up a proposal and send that with a flyer to the school board. They could put the word out to the school employees. You might get a considerable amount from them. The school system itself might donate some money.”

“That is a great idea. I knew you were a smart kid.”

***

When Sara returned home from lunch, she checked her e-mail, looked at the phone, and chastised herself.
Why don’t you just call her? You know you want to.  What are you afraid of?

Sara did not want to give Cynthia the impression that she wanted more than friendship from her. Not wanting to jump into anything too quickly, she decided to wait a little while before calling.

Sara turned on the television and was flipping through the channels when the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Sara. It’s Cynthia. What are you doing?”

“I just got home from lunch with Mom. What about you?”
             
“I am laying here by the pool. There is hardly anyone at the hotel today. I practically have the pool to myself. Why don’t you come on and join me?”

Sara thought she should decline the invitation, but did not. “Will you meet me out front of the hotel?”

“You got it.”

“Okay. Give me time to find my swimsuit. About 30 minutes?”

“I’ll see you then.”

Sara hung up the phone and ran down the hall to her bedroom. It had been so long since she had been swimming, she could not remember where she had put her suit. It took her longer to find it than she thought it would.

I’ll just have to change there,
she thought as she threw everything into a backpack.

***

“You can change in the bathroom or I can step outside the room and you can change in here where you will have more space to move around,” Cynthia graciously offered. 

“The bathroom will be fine,” Sara said as she made a move toward the door. After she got her suit on, she looked herself over in the mirror and made a face. She did not like what she saw. She had never really liked her body. The swimsuit seemed to accentuate her wide shoulders and hips. She looked around the room for her cover-up.

Shit!  I left it in my bag out there.
The realization hit her
.
Sara would have to walk out in just her suit. 

“Wow!” Cynthia was as surprised by her own comment as Sara was. They both blushed. “You look great.” Cynthia’s redness deepened. “I mean, you are very attractive, but that suit really looks good on you.” Cynthia was trying to recover. Sara thanked her and they headed out to the pool laughing.

Sara spread her towel on a chair next to Cynthia’s. She sat down and started rubbing oil on her arms and legs. She noticed Cynthia watching her but decided not to acknowledge it. They talked about the house, what Cynthia was planning to do with the volleyball team, and various other things. 

When Sara turned over, Cynthia offered to put oil on her back and Sara accepted. Cynthia stood and poured oil in her hands. She rubbed her hands together and gently touched Sara’s shoulders. Sara tensed under her touch.

“Are you all right? I don’t bite.”

“I know. It was just warmer than I expected.” Sara hoped Cynthia believed that lie. 

Cynthia’s hands were soft and gentle as she rubbed the oil over every bit of Sara’s exposed skin. Her motions were slow and methodical. It was almost as if she was examining Sara’s back. Cynthia poured more oil in her hands and began rubbing it on Sara’s legs. Sara jumped again as Cynthia touched her left thigh.

“Should I not put oil on your legs?” Cynthia’s voice was almost a whisper.

“I just wasn’t expecting that.” Sara’s voice quivered

“Should I stop?”

“No. It’s okay.” Sara closed her eyes as Cynthia ran her hands down her left leg and back up her right leg. She could feel a trail of heat from Cynthia’s fingertips. Her touch sent tingles up Sara’s spine. Sara could no longer deny the affect that Cynthia was having on her.

After Cynthia finished with the oil, she sat back down. They both remained silent. Sara wondered if Cynthia could detect what she was feeling and if she felt the same way.

Cynthia finally broke the silence. “Join me in the water? It looks inviting.” 

Sara turned over just as Cynthia dove off the edge. Her graceful body created few ripples as it cut through the water. She swam half the length of the pool before Sara could get up. 

The temperature of the water was perfect. It was not so cool that it sent her body into shock, but just cool enough to hopefully remove the red from her face. Sara swam the length of the pool and had turned to swim back when she realized that Cynthia was standing in her way. Sara stood up feeling the water lap at her thighs. 

Cynthia moved closer and placed her hands on Sara’s hips. Sara stared at her speechless. Cynthia moved even closer to Sara and wrapped her arms around her waist. Sara closed her eyes.

“You know what I want to do right now?” Cynthia’s voice was soft and alluring.

“What?” Sara’s breathing was becoming rapid. 

“I want to dunk you.”

Before Sara could react, Cynthia had picked her up and tossed her into the water.  Sara came up from the water breathing heavily. She was not sure if her labored breathing was from the surprise or from the close contact with Cynthia’s body.