Callie had entertained her long enough. “Jenny, either send me the dates or pass on it, but don’t start playing games with me. I don’t have the time see whose tits are bigger, okay?”
“I was just saying...”
“I know you were just saying, but I don’t care,” Callie said. The irritation in her voice signaled the end of the discussion. “If you want to meet with me that’s what you’ll have to do, if not, I’m not losing any sleep over it.”
Bledsoe was visibly uncomfortable with Callie and having to beg someone she despised so intensely. “I’ll see if we can find some time.”
“You do that. I have to run, but it was nice catching up with you,” Callie said, lying without blinking an eye. She saved the good-bye and ignored Bledsoe’s response as she walked down 21st Street before crossing over Pennsylvania Avenue. Callie hesitated as she approached the restaurant, stopping for a brief moment then backtracking a few feet and turning left onto Pennsylvania. A few hundred yards before the Kaiser Permanente building, she reached into her purse and pulled out a small notebook and a pen. She tore out a piece of paper and hurriedly jotted down a note:
Mark,
Been awhile. I think we need to talk when you have a few minutes.
My love to Karen,
Callie
She folded the piece of paper and slipped the notebook back into her purse. She stepped inside the Kaiser offices and approached the reception desk.
“Could you please give this note to Doctor Goldstein?” Callie asked, extending it to the nurse behind the counter.
“Doctor Goldstein won’t be in until later this afternoon,” the nurse said in a very pleasant tone as she took the note from Callie’s hand. “Would you like me to put this in an envelope Miss…?”
“Wheeler, Callie Wheeler, and an envelope is not necessary, ma’am.”
The nurse smiled at Callie. “I will leave it in his mailbox then, if that’s okay with you.”
“That would be great,” Callie said with a smile. “Thank you and have a wonderful rest of your day.” Callie exited the building and hurried around the corner to meet Kacey.
As soon as Callie stepped into the restaurant, she spotted Kacey in a corner to the left of the bar. Kacey waved to her the moment they caught each other’s eyes. Callie glided over to the table and the two women hugged as if they hadn’t seen each other in years before taking their seats.
“You look amazing,” Callie said. “Seems this promotion fits you well.”
“I’m lovin’ it.”
Callie first met Kacey at Kirby Park, just off of Main Street in Kingston, when they were both toddlers. Once their mothers had seen how well they played together, they arranged their schedules to make sure they were at the park at the same time each day. As the two girls grew older, they became inseparable, spending virtually every free moment together. Kacey’s first boyfriend in the highly competitive world of middle school dating came to her via Callie. She had introduced Kacey to Billy Markum at the Cherry Blossom Festival. Billy had a huge crush on Callie, calling her numerous times each day and peeping in her home on weekends. Callie convinced Billy that he stood a much better chance with Kacey, so, as most pre-pubescent boys do, he went for it. Their relationship lasted almost a week, which in sixth grade, is like a lifetime.
They had gone to separate elementary and middle schools, Callie in Kingston, Kacey across the bridge in Wilkes-Barre, until Kacey convinced her parents to move five miles away so the girls could attend the same high school together. It was at Valley West where Callie looked after Kacey and they became the most popular girls in the class of ’99. During their senior year, Callie refused to run for homecoming queen, because doing so meant she would have to run against Kacey, who had dreamed about winning the crown since the fifth grade. Not only did Callie refuse to run, but she garnered enough votes from friends to guarantee Kacey the victory. Kacey never forgot the gesture, one that Callie put almost no stock in. “It’s what friends do,” she said afterwards without giving it a second thought. They spent alternating weekends at each other’s homes and would go on vacations with each other’s families. Kacey’s wavy auburn hair and soft facial features had always drawn people towards her, but as pretty as she was, she wasn’t Callie. In all the time they’d spent together, Kacey never heard Callie utter a word about her own looks, but would make it a point to tell Kacey she was the prettiest girl in the room. Kacey knew better, but liked that Callie always went out of her way to make her feel special.
“Do you like this job better?” Callie asked, referring to Bob Kravitz finally promoting Kacey to the political section of the paper.
“I really do.”
“It’s too bad they didn’t assign you to the social page,” Callie said as she slowly lifted her right hand from under the table and raised it in front of her face, pretending to move her pony-tailed hair out of her eyes.
“The social page? That’s newspaper hell. Why would you…” Kacey stopped mid-sentence when she noticed the ring in front of Callie’s mouth. Her scream reverberated throughout the eatery. Rightfully assuming everyone had to be gawking at her, Kacey quickly covered her mouth and screamed into her hand, “Oh my god, Cal, when did this happen?”
“Two nights ago,” Callie said. She raised her other hand in an attempt to settle Kacey down. “Now, before you get angry at me, we didn’t tell a soul. My parents don’t even know yet…you’re the only person that knows.”
Kacey grabbed Callie’s hand and brought the ring closer for inspection. “How could you do this to me?” she said while she checked the stone for blemishes and coloration.
Callie laughed at her best friend, “It’s all about you, is it?”
“Damn right,” Kacey said, ogling the two-carat diamond.
“We just wanted to share something between ourselves. Please don’t be upset with me,” Callie begged for understanding from the only person she actually wanted it from.
“Okay, I’m going to forgive you this one time, but next time you’d better...”
“Next time?”
“You know what I mean. When you get this kind of big news…wow, this is so awesome.” Kacey released Callie’s hand and pulled a napkin from the dispenser on the table.
“Are you crying, Kace?”
Kacey wiped the tears from her eyes. “Yeah, so what? One of us has to.” Kacey blew her nose gently into the napkin. “I’m just so happy for you.”
“Aww, thank you,” Callie said, releasing the band around her hair and letting the long brown strands fall just past her shoulders.
Kacey took a moment to gather herself. “How did he ask you?”
“Believe me, it wasn’t all that romantic. We were arguing over my dad’s rule, ya’ know…”
“The Sleep In Your Own Room Rule?”
Callie nodded her head. She was comforted by the familiarity of her best friend. “Yup, that’s the one. Anyway, he basically says why get married when we have everything we want now. You know the same old BS he’s always saying. Then he acts like he’s leaving and gets down on one knee, reaches under my pillow, pulls out a box and...that was kind of it.”
“It’s about time,” Kacey said.
“I know, right?”
“When we gonna celebrate?”
“We were thinking next weekend at the beach, but I’ve got it rented out until September. Sort of sucks.”
“We gotta do something…”
“We will, we’re just not sure yet.”