Lance looked up from the book he was reading to find his friend, standing in the doorway to his hotel room. With a sigh, Lance dog eared the last page he had read and tossed it onto the bed beside him.
"Sorry, man, did you say something?"
JC stepped into the room and sat on the edge of the mattress, his legs extended and his feet crossed in front of him.� He laughed at his friend's lack of concentration and nodded.
"The guys and I are going out tonight...Have a couple drinks.. check out the strip clubs....You up to it?"
Lance leaned back against the headboard and folded his arms behind his head. He answered his friend with a definative shake.
JC raised his eyebrows in question. His brow furrowed with the effort of thought as he searched his memory for the city's signifigance. Lance rolled his eyes and sat up.
"Charlotte, North Carolina...Kerri? Any of this beginning to ring a bell?"
JC laughed, scratching his chest. "So, am I right to assume that you'll be busy for the rest of the evening?"
"With any luck."
JC slapped the sole of Lance's foot and stood. "Alright, stud. Enjoy yourself. Tell Kerri hi for me, alright?"
"Absolutely."
Lance watched his friend leave, closing the door behind him. He glanced at the clock which rested on his nightstand before retrieving the novel he discarded moments before.
11:48.
She should be here any minute now.
Lance returned to his page and continued to read. Every so often, his eyes drifted back to the clock, watching as the hours ticked by. Deeper and deeper he slipped into the world of the Vampire Lestat until his eyes could no longer focus on the page in front of him. With a sigh of disappointment, he reached up and turned off the light overhead. Lance gave the clock one last glance and slid down between the cool sheets, drifting into slumber.
**********************************************
"I waited for you all night....."
Kerri lifted her head and raised her hand to shield her eyes from the blinding sun. Slowly her vision cleared and Lance's face came into view. Kerri smiled welcomingly before returning to her work.
Lance watched as she lowered a rose bush into a freshly dug hole and pushed the soil in around the roots. His impatience grew as she pressed the soil down firmly, completely involved in the task at hand. His foot tapped in a physical show of annoyance as minutes passed with her making no attempt to acknowledge his presence.
"WELL?"
"Well what?"
"Where were you last night? I waited for you all night. I thought something happened to you! You wouldn't BELIEVE the things that went through my mind!"
Lance gestured wildly with his hands as he spoke, emphasizing his displeasure with her actions. Kerri rocked back onto her heels and rested the palms of her hands against her thighs. She gazed at her newly planted shrub deep in thought. Slowly she looked up at Lance and responded.
"I'm really sorry, Lance. I never stopped to think about how much you would worry. It was an incredibly insensitive thing for me to leave you waiting like I did. When did I tell you I would arrive?"
Lance shifted uncomfortably, turning away from her waiting gaze. He looked around nervously, the absurdity of his visit becoming painfully obvious. He struggled to form a reputable comeback to her noted sarcasm. Kerri straightened her back in a show of confidence she gained from his prolonged silence.
"Well Lance? I'm waiting..."
"I called you last week Kerri. I made sure that you knew exactly when I would be here, and how long I could stay. I took for granted that..."
"EXACTLY Lance! You take alot for granted when it comes to me. The things that I do for you, the things I say to encourage you.... Damnit the very fact that I choose to remain a part of your life means nothing to you! You appreciate none of it."
"That's not true, Kerri. You know how much you mean to me. I really wanted to see you last night."
"I'll bet that you did."
"What is that suppose to mean?" Lance narrowed his eyes and waited for an answer.
"It means that I'm starting to feel like one of your little whores. I get a phone call when it's convenient, a couple of hours here and there when you're in town, and what? I'm suppose to be satisfied with that? I'm suppose to what? Should I be GRATEFUL? Grateful that instead of taking your chances like your friends, that you settled for what you assume to be a sure thing? Not anymore. I'm sorry. It's not enough, Lance. YOU are not enough anymore, Lance."
Lance winced at the obvious sarcasm that colored her response. Kerri rose to her feet and brushed the damp soil from the knees of her capri pants. Turning sharply on her heel, she started across the lawn, swiping the palms of her hands across her back pockets as she walked. Lance followed quickly, closing the distance between them.
"Kerri, wait. Kerri...wait!...Damn it, I said WAIT!!"
Lance reached out and closed his hand around her arm. He spun her to face him, her long black hair fanning out around her face as she turned. Infuriated by his attempt to restrain her, Kerri pulled away roughly and shoved him away from her.
"Leave me alone, Lance. Get in that little silver 4 Runner of yours and get the hell out of my life. Could I make it any clearer?!?"
"Please...There's something I have to tell you! Just wait..."
"You have 60 seconds, Lance. Go."
Kerri's eyes burned with rage as she glared up at him, her arms folded protectively across her chest. Lance ran his hand through his hair and sighed, searching for the words to say. Kerri's foot tapped in annoyance, her patience growing shorter with each passing moment. She shook her head and turned.
"Goodbye, Lance."
**********************************************
Kerri looked up and smiled at the familiar face framed in her office doorway. Kerri motioned him in quickly, before returning her attention to the telephone she held, cradled against her shoulder. Lance nodded and stepped farther inside, closing the door behind him. Taking a seat across from the large mahogany desk that stood between him and the picture window, he leaned back and waited.
Kerri's perfectly manicured nails clicked across her keyboard as she hastily recorded the instructions she was given. As the physican spoke on and on, Kerri rolled her eyes in mock exasperation, inducing a chuckle from deep within her visitor. Finally she replaced the phone on the desk and sighed.
Folding her hands over her stomach, she relaxed and leaned back in her plush leather desk chair. Swiveling back and forth she smiled, her superiority well noted. Watching her now, Lance realized for the first time the changes that time had made in her. How could he have not noticed?, he wondered.� Somehow while he wasn't looking, Kerri had grown from an insecure young girl, who's every waking hour was devoted to her dreams and her career; into the mature, self assured young woman which sat before him now.
He took a deep breath, hoping that one thing had not changed.
"Sorry about that kiddo, it's been a rough day... So.... What brings you here?"
Lance looked around the room nervously, as he gathered his bearings. Four months had passed since his last stopover in North Carolina. Four months since the fight that threatened the very friendship they shared. Four months that it took for Lance to acquire the courage needed to call her once again.
Four months of thinking...planning....concideration.
Sixteen weeks of his life devoted to self introspection, weighing carefully the different aspects of his life. He questioned himself over and over as to what meant the most to him.� What did he have that he could leave behind? What did he have in his life, or better yet, what was he lacking, that was as much of a necessity as the very air he breathed. One word echoed over and over in his mind. Time and again, one name resounded in his soul.
He loved her...He needed her....
But did he have the strength to give her that answer?
Lance crossed his legs and spun his keyring around his finger, an annoying habit he had yet to abandon. The soft whir of the brass slicing through the air brought him comfort. It gave him something on which to focus his attention, rather than concentrating on whatever problem was at hand. Lance lifted his eyes, realizing he was being watched. Dropping his keys into his lap, he cleared his throat and smiled.
"I had a few days off. I wanted to spend it with my favorite girl."
A ghost of a smile played on her lips. "Danielle Fishel was busy, so you called me, right?"
Lance focused his gaze on her, studying her intently. Taking notice of her look of amusement, he smiled and nodded to give her credit for the well deserved joke.
"Touche'. I deserved that."
"Damn right you did."
Kerri stood and slipped her white labcoat off her shoulders. Shaking her head in amusement, she hung it on her coat rack and turned to face him.
"Alright, Lance. I have a few things to finish up here. Why don't you take my keys and go ahead? I'll be home soon. Then you can tell me all about your new girlfriend and all of her idiosyncracies that seem to drive you crazy."
Lance stood and accepted the keys from her outstretched hand. He kissed her instinctively on her cheek and stepped back quickly. He looked around uncomfortably before releasing a small laugh to release the tension. Lance walked to the door and opened it, pausing to look back into the room.
"Quit trying to save the world, Scarlett, and hurry home. Even Mother Teresa had to take time for dinner." With a wink and a smile, he disappeared into the hall.
**********************************************
In record time, Lance drove his rental car through the familiar streets of downtown Charlotte. He continued on, watching as the elegantly designed skycrapers diminished into smaller buildings, finally disappearing all together. Only beautiful countryside stretched as far as the eye could see. He turned the car between the arches of Kerri's newly layed driveway and pulled to a stop in front of her house.� Climbing out of the seat, he pulled his sunglasses off his face and slid them over the crown of his head. Lance climbed the steps and let himself into her home.
Lance wandered through the house and into the living room, admiring the changes that she had made since purchasing the two story colonial only six months before. Her very own self-titled "Tara" so to speak. Along one wall, professionaly matted and framed photographs of friends and family hung proudly. Lance smiled contently, viewing each one.
Lance's fingertips trailed against a group photograph taken the Christmas before.