I looked at my watch and stood. I needed to pick up Brenna in 3 hours.
"I have to go - thanks for the coffee." It was on the tip of my tongue to thank her for fixing me up with her oh-so-available daughter, too, but I stopped myself before the sarcastic comment got out. Making Pam feel guilty wouldn't make me feel any better - well, not in the long-run anyway.
Her head jerked up at my sudden movement, hesitant eyes meeting mine. "Oh...uh, ok. Right. Um..." she paused for a moment, checking out the contents of her cup again. "I meant to ask you what you were doing for Christmas...I'm making dinner here, and we'd love to have you. And Greta too - I'm going to call her later."
"I can't, Pam..." she looked stricken, and I hurried to reassure her, "No, no - it's not because of what happened with Kim, I swear. My aunt is coming into town this afternoon, and we already have plans." I walked around the table and gave her a quick hug. "Come on, woman, it's going to take more than me fooling around with your daughter to mess up the friendship I have with you and Ken." I laughed, and it sounded hollow even to me.
"Is that what it was?" she asked quietly, "Fooling around?"
I paused for a long time.
"Well, to her, I guess it was." I forced small smile and squeezed her shoulder as I stepped back.
But it wasn't to me. I left it unsaid.
"Darcy I'm..."
I held up a hand to stop her. "Please - don't take this the wrong way, but I've heard enough 'I'm sorry Darcy's to last me a month." Pam stopped herself with an effort, and I smiled. "I'm an adult and I made my own decisions. And Kim made hers. And that's that."
Pam stood and walked me to the door where we stood awkwardly for a few moments, before she suddenly turned and went back into the kitchen to grab a pad of paper and a pen.
"Here, let me give you her phone number and address, ok?" Her voice was hopeful, but I shook my head.
"No, please don't."
An hour before, I had wanted nothing more than to see Kim, to talk to her and hear what she had to say. Somehow, finding out that Simone wasn't something new; that she had been around for a while and would probably continue to be around, made me change my mind. Now I just wanted to leave it behind and move on.
Her face fell, and she put down the pad down and came back to the door.
I hugged her again. "I'll call you in a few days, ok? Maybe we can get together for New Year's, if you're still in town."
"Ok," she said sadly as I opened the door. "Have a good Christmas, Darce."
"You too, Pam. My love to Ken, and kick Kyle in the butt for me." I paused, and shook my head. "No wait, I'll do that myself the next time I see him."
She smiled at that. "Be well, Darcy."
I nodded in acknowledgement and made my way home.
The first genuine, heartfelt smile to grace my face in what seemed like days happened as I stood amongst a throng of impatient travelers under the sign for carousel 15 at Denver International Airport.
It started when I noticed a group of people hurrying down the escalator, looking behind them with thinly disguised alarm, and got larger as the focus of that wariness came into view in all her beaded, crystaled, lets-sit-around-the-campfire-and-sing-Kumbayah hippy glory.
Aunt Brenna.
Her hair was sandy brown like my own, but where mine was shorter and slightly curly, hers was long - nearly down to her waist - and very straight. Today several small sections of it were braided and threaded with multicolored beads that clicked softly as she walked, and I could smell the patchouli from 30 feet away. Her long skirt - made of something gauzy and semi-transparent - looked like peacock road-kill, and skinny, alarmingly tanned arms poked out of a bright turquoise colored tank top.
God, I loved this woman.
By the time those skinny arms were wrapped around me in a powerful hug and the top of her five-foot three head tucked under my chin, the smile was threatening to split my face in half.
"Hey, you." I said, resisting the temptation to pick her up. Her response was muffled in my shoulder, and I gave her a final squeeze before releasing her.
I grinned and pinched a bit of her shirt between my fingers, teasing her about her outfit. "You do realize that it's December, don't you?"
She ignored the jibe, and stepped back a little, still holding onto my hands.
"Good God, Darcy Rene, you look scrumptious. Where's the skeleton I left here in May?"
I laughed, and pulled a bag off her shoulder. "Too bad you're my straight relative - that kind of talk makes my heart go pitter-pat."
"Oh hell, honey - it's been so long since you got laid that re-runs of the Facts of Life make your heart go pitter-pat..."
My laughter was slightly hysterical, and she looked at my face more closely. "Oh my. Well, well, well. Finally got back on the horse, huh?"
I didn't respond, and she raised pencil thin eyebrows. "Not a smooth ride, I take it. I sense a story behind that broody silence you and your father are so good at..."
I frowned at being compared to my father and shrugged. She grabbed my arm and started moving towards the carousel. "Well, you'll have lots of time to tell your nosy yet surprisingly charming aunt all about it on the drive back to your place."
I sighed. I had a feeling it was going to be a long drive.
To her credit and my amazement, Brenna managed to wait until bags were loaded, parking fee paid, and we were cruising along Pena Boulevard on our way to I-70 before curiosity, which had kept her hopping around on her seat like a third-grader that needed to pee, finally got the best of her.
"Alright, Lil'bit - Give." I rolled my eyes at the nickname; I was five-ten in bare feet, and had been taller than Brenna since I was eleven. "Your aura is completely jacked." She went on, "It's all over the place. What the hell happened to you? I sense a woman is involved in all this."
"Well, Miss Cleo," I said dryly, "I see your amazing psychic abilities have survived the trip from Sedona. Can I talk to Elvis now?" That earned me a smack on the arm and a disapproving glare.
"I didn't need any abilities to figure out what's going on - although your aura is a complete mess - but that hickey on your neck told me all I need to know."
Before I could stop myself my hand flew to my neck, and Brenna cackled with glee.
"Ah-ha! I knew it!"
"Shit." I mumbled. That was one of the oldest tricks in Brenna's 'How to get information from recalcitrant nieces' book, and I couldn't believe I had fallen for it. Again. Sheesh.
"So - as I said before, Lil'bit; spill it."
I sighed and glanced over at her. She had unhooked her seatbelt and turned in her seat to face me.
"Seatbelt." I said mildly.
"I can't see you properly..."
"Seatbelt." I repeated.
"It scratches my skin..."
"Seatbelt."
"I'll be fine, Darcy - it's not my time..."
"Brenna." My voice stopped her. "No seatbelt, no story."
She scowled and reached behind her to pull the seatbelt across her body.
I returned my attention to traffic, hiding a smile.
I heard a click, a rustle of clothes, and a grunt as she tried to make herself comfortable.
"There. Happy now?"
"Yes."
"So."
"So." I said, and paused for a minute. "Ok. I met someone, it was great, didn't work out, end of story."
"That's it?" Her disbelief was obvious. "That's all you're gonna give me?"
"That's all that happened." She shot me another disbelieving look, and I added, "Well, - more or less."
"I'd like the 'more' version, please. Like when did you meet this woman?
"Um, two days ago...sort of."
"Two days?" She stared at me in surprise. "You're this messed up over something that lasted less time than it takes for bathroom caulk to dry?"