What a beautiful morning to wake up and find!
My best friend Starr Ann and I finished chores early and went directly over to Jodie Diamond's place. No way were we going to let Jodie stay indoors and work on that book on such a glorious day.
Perfect timing. We got to her place as she was finishing up her bath and the three of us decided to hike to the crest of the farthest hill visible from Jodie's porch. When Starr Ann went back outside to turn the horses loose in the pasture, that left Jodie and me alone together for the first time since Wednesday's festivities.
I put my hands on my hips and looked Jodie right in the eye with an expression I hoped would give her a few seconds to worry about my reaction. Didn't happen. She watched Starr Ann walk out the door then turned to me and said, "If Starr Ann will have me, Margo, I swear to you I'm going to love her as hard as anybody's ever been loved."
It's not easy coming up with a response to something like that. Swear to god, I think what I said was, "Sounds good." I defy anyone to compose a more lame reply.
Jodie turned to face me again once she lost sight of Starr Ann. She raised her arms and laced her hands behind her head as she studied me for a few seconds. Then she dropped her arms and shook her head slightly. "Coming across you two this summer has certainly changed the course I thought I was on."
My brain finally kicked back in. "Yeah, Jodie, speaking of coming across..."
She cracked up. "Awfully nice, what happened in your barn, don't you think?"
Starr Ann shot back through the front door right then. Jodie kept her eyes on me, and her smile dipped a bit. "You did want that as much as I did, didn't you?"
I said, "Jodie, do you see this? Do you comprehend the position I'm in? I am standing here with my best friend's lover and my best friend and both of you are suspended, staring at me, waiting for me to say how hot it was having sex with you two days ago, while said best friend happened to not be around."
Jodie and Starr Ann shrugged at each other and said, together, "So?"
"So, let this be a lesson. Spending your life with Starr Ann means finding yourself in one surreal situation after another. I just hope you're ready for it."
Jodie threw out her arms and hugged me real tight. When she drew back, I said, "Now why don't you go put some clothes on, and we'll take that hike."
Covering ground under our own power was a pleasant change from riding the horses. We took Jodie's dogs, Maria and Penelope, with us and they must have run three miles for every one we hiked, with all their darting into the woods and down to the creek and up over every little rise we passed by.
Maria and Penelope were pooped by the time we got back to Jodie's.
