“Cantilever and curtain walls.”
“Right. Those. Anyway, we mostly talked about the design. I… um…”
She danced ahead, spun, and walked backward. “I think it needs something else.”
I arched an eyebrow.
“Art.”
“Art?”
“Exactly! It’s supposed to be a museum, right? What does a museum have? Art! So I was thinking…” She turned without a dance step and walked beside me again. She was silent so long that Wren leaned forward to look at her.
“You were thinking…,” I finally prompted.
“Well, you’ll probably think I’m silly, but…”
“I already think you’re silly. Go ahead and tell me.”
She gave me a shy grin, and her confidence grew along with her excitement. “I was thinking… maybe I could do some art for your model. My take on Rodin for the plaza…”
“Not The Thinker.”
“Oh, please. Give me some credit. No, I was thinking—”
“The Danaïd.”
“Right! How’d you know?”
“I just know. Besides, it goes with the building.”
“Exactly! It echoes the lines and adds a human element. That’s what Siobhan says, by the way.”
“Oh? And what else does Siobhan say?”
She completely missed the wry tone. “That I should do something like Degas too.”
“His sculpture, I’m guessing. Which one?”
“One of the dancers. Duh. Here, hold this.” She handed me her duffel bag without waiting for an answer. Then she danced ahead of us. She did a series of side leaps followed by a jump with a scissor-kick.
“Ten years of ballet,” Wren said dryly.
“Till I was fourteen,” Christy agreed with a grin.
I leaned forward and looked at Wren.
She was doing her best to nurture her sour mood, but it was a losing fight, especially in the face of Christy’s exuberance.
“I told you,” Wren said, “she’s been like this all day. Dancing everywhere, bouncing around. Swear to God, she’s more annoying than the Care Bears.”
Trip utterly failed to hide a smile.
Wren slugged him in the shoulder. She simply glared at me.
I grinned.
“I mean it.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Christy said. “She’s all talk.” She danced out of Wren’s reach. “Ha ha!”
“You know I’ll catch you.”
“Nuh-uh.”
“Yes I will.”
“Only in your dreams.”
Wren lunged.
Christy shrieked and dodged.
Wren ran after her, but Christy was too light, too quick.
“God,” Trip said as they ran out of earshot, “she needs to let off some steam.”
Christy darted around a parked car.
Wren followed, but Christy circled and kept the car between them. All of
a sudden she shot away toward the library.
Trip and I watched them with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.
“Been a bit tense?” I said at last.
“What do you think? She’s so stubborn.”
“Hey, you asked for it.”
“Yeah,” he mused, “I did. But I didn’t think it’d be nonstop.”
“She’s intense.”
“Tell me about it. She wants things to happen right now. And she wants to control everything.” He chuckled darkly. “For example, she can’t understand why you won’t let her fix you up.” He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “Um… you know she’s been—?”
“Matchmaking again? Yeah.” I shrugged. “That’s okay. Christy’s cute and all, but she isn’t my type.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
It was my turn to look at him.
“You should hear some of the things Wren’s told me. Pretty hot stuff.
From when they first lived together.”
“Ah, that’s right,” I said. “I forgot, they were lovers for a while.”
“More than a while. Till Wren and I got together.”
They raced toward us, shrieking like schoolgirls on the playground. Then Christy swung around a signpost to change direction. She dashed toward the library again.
“I think that’s part of what’s been bothering Wren,” Trip said as we watched them in the distance. “She misses her.”
“Christy?”
“Yeah. But… I don’t think it’s just, you know, the sex stuff.”
“Oh?”
“Uh-uh. I think it’s like… well… love, if that makes sense.”
I thought about Susan and my mother’s relationship.
“I know,” he added, “it’s crazy.”
“Not really. Love is love. Sometimes you can’t control who you have feelings for.”
“Yeah, well… I wish I could be as relaxed as you.”
I shrugged. “I’ve had more experience with it.”
Wren finally caught up with Christy and tumbled her to the ground. They landed on a patch of grass near the library doors. Christy struggled, but Wren outweighed her by twenty pounds. She straddled Christy and pinned her arms
to the ground.
People stopped and stared, although it was obvious the girls were only playing.
Trip and I eventually reached them.
“Bridge and dump her,” I suggested to Christy. Much to my surprise, she actually tried. She didn’t have the neck strength, and Wren was too high on her body, but that didn’t stop her from lifting her hips and trying to throw her.
More people started to gather and point.
“Come on,” Trip said to me. “Before someone calls the cops.”
We pulled the girls to their feet. Christy came up laughing, but Wren scowled.
“I almost did it,” Christy said as she brushed twigs from her hair. Her eyes shone with adrenaline.
“You did,” I said. “But… where’d you learn to do that?”
“Seriously? Rich and Laurence were wrestlers.” Her expression clouded before she managed a smile. “They used to teach me. I was always too small, though.”
“Still are, I’m afraid.”
“Hey, I can hold my own!”
I laughed. “I don’t doubt it.”
“Maybe not against Wren the Giant,” Trip said.
“What did you call me?”
“Calm down.” He tried to put an arm around her.
She ducked out of the way and planted her hands squarely on her hips, daring him to try again.
I laughed and cupped my hands around my mouth. “In this corner we have the challenger, Superfly Christy Snuka. And in that corner, the undisputed world cham- peen, Hulk Hilliard.”
“You too?” Wren accused.
I spread my hands. “What can I say? You’re my favorite wrestler.”
“What about me?” Christy said indignantly.
“You’re my favorite pint-sized wrestler.”
“I’m bigger than pint-sized, but okay.”
Wren laughed in spite of herself.
“See?” I said. “It’s impossible to stay mad at us.”
“I wasn’t mad at you,” she said. “I was mad at these two.”
“Me?” Christy bleated. “What’d I do?”
“You tried to cheer me up.”
“A capital offense,” I declared.
Christy nodded with mock gravity. “Off with my head.”
Trip bit a knuckle and shook with suppressed laughter.
“I don’t know why I put up with you all,” Wren huffed.
“Because you love us,” I said.
“That’s okay,” Christy added, “you can’t help it. It’s ’cause we’re so adorable.”
“Maybe you,” Wren said, “but not these two.”
Trip put his arm around her. She let him do it, and he relaxed a bit.
“Come on,” he said reasonably. “Let’s go home. I want a shower before dinner. After that I have forty pages to read, plus a management quiz to study for.”
“Ugh,” I said. “School. Don’t remind me.”
“Don’t get too busy,” Wren told Trip. “I was hoping we could… you know.”
“Uh-oh, make-up sex,” I said with a laugh. “Hey, Christy, care to join me in a not-so-soundproof studio?”