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KIM BALDWIN. Gable rolled down the window and Erin put her hands on the sill and leaned down to talk to her
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Gable rolled down the window and Erin put her hands on the sill and leaned down to talk to her.
“Are you all right? You were kind of quiet tonight.”
“Sure. I’m F ne. Just got a lot on my mind.”
“Anything I can help with?”
“No. Thanks. Mostly work and family stuff.” She hated lying, especially to Erin. But she couldn’t admit the real reason she wasn’t behaving like herself.
“Okay. Well, if you change your mind, you know I’m here for you.” Erin smiled at her, such a sweet smile that Gable’s heart ached all the more that this woman would always be out of reach.
“Thanks, Erin.”
“Hey, I stopped you because I wanted to ask if I could get you to come over on Saturday and help me.”
“Help you?”
“Yeah, they’re supposed to deliver my new furniture that morning.
I know I’ll be wanting to move it around, see what works best.” She leaned closer to Gable. “I’ll F x you lunch if you say yes. Please?”
Gable couldn’t refuse. She was secretly very pleased that Erin had asked her and not Tim. Even though it was getting more and more unbearable to be near Erin, she couldn’t say no.
“Sure. What time?”
“Noon? They should have come and gone by then.”
“Okay. See you then. And have fun tomorrow with Tim.” She said the right things and forced herself to smile.
She went through half a box of Russell Stover that night. A new record.
v
Friday was one of the longest days ever. The pharmacy was aggravatingly slow all day, giving her far too much time to relive every moment she’d spent with Erin and think too much about the dreams that had been keeping her awake.
By evening she was pacing the f oor like a nervous father whose daughter was on her F rst date. She tried to watch television, but nothing held her interest. And she was too keyed up to focus on a book. She
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FORCE OF NATURE
settled for eating the other half of the box of chocolates, then tried to go to bed early so the night would pass more quickly.
It was all futile. Thoughts of Erin consumed her.
v
Saturday Gable awoke groggy from another restless night of erotic dreams and downed four cups of coffee on her porch, waiting impatiently for noon so she could head over to Erin’s. She got so tired of staring at her watch that she decided to ride her bike so she could leave her house at eleven F fteen and work out some of her nervous energy.
You’re a masochist, you know, she told herself forty minutes later as she pedaled over the rise that led down to Erin’s place. Why are youso anxious to hear about her date with Tim?
Erin greeted her with her usual bright smile and pulled her into the cabin’s great room by one arm. “I can’t wait to see how everything’s going to look once it’s all put in place. Thanks for coming.”
“Glad to help,” Gable said.
The furniture that Erin had bought during their shopping expedition—bed, futon for the guest room, dresser, desk, bookcases, nightstands—lay scattered around the large space. The only thing missing was the piano, which was special ordered and would take weeks to arrive.
Gable couldn’t stop herself. Wondering about Erin and Tim had kept her awake all night, after all. She could think of nothing else. “So how was your date?” She tried to keep her voice steady, but her blood was pounding in her ears.
“Nice,” Erin said. “Tim’s a very sweet man. Just like you said. We ended up going to that theater in Cadillac that has those classic movie festivals—you know the one I mean?”
“Uh-huh.” Her stomach was tied up in knots.
“They’re showing The African Queen, complete with original trailers and interviews with the actors and John Huston.”
“That’s a great movie.”
“Yeah, Tim likes a lot of the same movies we do. They’re showing a bunch of the Hepburn-Tracy movies next month. Desk Set, Pat and
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