“Their loss.” Allison said bluntly as she absently rubbed her temple.
“Not all of us can have parents like yours Ally.” Chris replied earnestly.
Allison smiled slightly. “Oh yeah my coming out was easy.” She said in a shaky voice. “I was seventeen and they walked in on me and my girlfriend making out in my bedroom. They were relieved when I started dating boys again. Then after I went away to school I decided it was time to sit them down and have ‘the talk’. I was terrified and I will never forget what they said.”
“Well what did they say?” I asked.
“Do we look stupid?” Allison said with a chuckle. “That was it. From then on they just simply accepted me for who I was.”
“What about your parents Stephanie?” Chris asked me.
“They are both dead.” I explained.
“I’m sorry.” Chris answered with genuine kindness.
I was about to thank Chris for her kindness when I noticed that Allison was shaking slightly. “Allison?” I placed a hand on her shoulder. “What?” She answered absently.
“I think we need to get you home.” I said quickly.
“Probably just the tequila.” Allison tried to explain as she slumped over slightly.
“Chris?” I called to her in alarm. Without a word Chris jumped out of her seat and was helping Allison up. “I’ll take her the car.” Chris offered.
“I’ll get the check.” I volunteered.
Allison stumbled slightly as she stood her face turned an unnatural shade of green. “I think maybe I’ll take her to the ladies room first.” Chris said quickly as she rushed Allison towards the restrooms at the back of the diner. I motioned for the waitress and quickly paid the check. I raced towards the restrooms to help them. Just as I approached the bathroom the door swung open. Chris struggled to hold Allison up. I moved to Allison other side and helped Chris drag her outside to the car. As we placed Allison in the backseat I felt her forehead. She was burning up.
“I don’t think it’s the tequila sweetie.” I said to Allison. Chris climbed into the backseat and held Allison.
“I have to agree.” Chris said fearfully. “Based on the way that ladies room looked I have a bad feeling about the clams.”
“Mass. General is just a few minutes away.” I agreed as I plopped into the driver’s seat and sped off.
When we pulled up to the front of the hospital I put the car in park and rushed over to assist Chris with Allison. Chris reached into Allison’s pocket only to have her hands swatted away. “Hey I’m not trying to feel you up.” Chris snapped, “I need to get your wallet. ” She reached down again and was once again pushed away. “Stephanie?” Chris pleaded. “We need her insurance card.” I nodded understanding the urgency. I slipped my hands inside Allison’s jacket and reached in the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her wallet. Not only did Allison not refuse my advances she pulled me closer to her. “Jesus Allison.” Chris laughed as I pulled myself away from Allison’s embrace. I pulled her insurance card from her wallet and handed it to Chris and shoved Allison’s wallet into my pocket.
Just then a security guard began barking at me to move the car. “Do you know if Nicole is still listed as her contact person?” Chris asked me quickly. “Probably.” I said as I hopped into the car. “Oh Chris!” I called out to her as she was entering the ER. “I think Nicole is on duty tonight you might want to have someone page her.” I suggested as I pulled away.
I parked the car in one of the large parking garages and ran off to the emergency room. The placed was full of people. I found Chris and inquired as to what was happening. “They are seeing her now.” Chris explained. “By the looks of it the clams at the diner were a big hit tonight. You were right Nicole is on duty and they paged her. That should make this fun.” She sighed.
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say there’s no love loss between Nicole and I.” Chris grunted. “I can’t believe that someone allowed her to practice medicine.”
“Really!” I shot back.
“Look I’m sorry.” Chris apologized. “Let me try to explain. Nicole was booted out of med school because of her drinking. I watched her drag her family through hell and back. She lied to them, stole from them. The entire time I was with Allison I never once saw that girl sober.”
“Well that’s not the person I know.” I countered. “I don’t think you are being fair to her.”
“Fair to her?” Chris laughed. “What’s fair about being a spoil brat who has no problem with sucking free legal services from me and then running to her sister telling her to dump me?”
“Hold on Chris.” I tried to calm her down. “Now let’s be honest here. Granted using you was wrong, which I’m willing to bet she has already apologized for.” Chris simply nodded in agreement. “But if you were Allison’s sister how would you feel about her relationship? You told me yourself that you’re a womanizer.”
“Honestly?” Chris asked slowly. “I would never let my sister be involved with anyone like myself. But then again my sister is a nun so I don’t need to worry about it.”
We sat down and awaited news on Allison’s condition. The wait was becoming unbearable. “Tell something Stephanie?” Chris asked suddenly. “Sure.” I answered nonchalantly. “Did you know what I was up to tonight?”
“You mean keeping us out so late that we couldn’t have time to do anything when we got home?” I responded with a shrug. “Oh yeah I figured it out fairly quickly. That is why I suggested to Allison that we both call in sick today.”
“I knew I liked you.” Chris smiled in response. Then she grew quiet for a moment before speaking again. “There something you should know. I really do like you but I love Allison. I fell for her the first moment I saw her. We started at the firm at the same time and she just took my breath away. But Jessica Beaumont was there first. I stood back and watched the two of them together for six very long months.”
“Eight months.” I said absently.
“No it was six.” Chris corrected me. “It’s not something that I’m likely to forget. The two of us ended up becoming friends and I had given up on ever being with her. Then one-night years later it happened. I couldn’t believe it. Then I screwed it up. You see I want Allison back and yet I don’t want her back. I know that she doesn’t love me. The one thing I want is for her to be happy. If you can make her happy then … look what I’m trying to say is don’t ever hurt her.”
“I won’t.” I answered frankly. “Now can I ask you something?” I questioned her. “If you love Allison this much then why did you cheat on her?”
“Good question.” Chris sighed. “The first time was pure lust nothing else. The second time was because I got away with it the first time. Then I guess I kept doing it because deep down I suspected that she knew and she wasn’t going to leave me. I thought I could have my cake and eat it too. Or maybe I suspected that she didn’t love me. I think that was the real reason I was sleeping around. It was that I wanted to get caught. Perhaps that is why I brought that woman home to our apartment. Just my luck it proved to be one betrayal too many.”
I tried to process everything that Chris was telling me. There was something nagging at me that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It wasn’t what Chris had just confessed to me it was something Allison had said to me before. I was closing in on the answer when Chris interrupted my thoughts. “So tell me just what is going on with you and Allison?” Chris asked bluntly.
“It’s complicated.” I offered weakly.
“Yeah. I’ve already heard that line from Allison so give.” She pushed.
I couldn’t believe I was doing this but I answered her question honestly. “For starters when we met I was already involved.” I explained.