Spilled Milk

Chapter 7:

Lucy recovered from her fight with Carlos quickly. There was nothing like an Indian summer day to cheer her heart. She shuffled through autumn leaves glancing at the various buildings that comprised downtown, Olympia. A Halloween colored cat crept up to her so she patted it. She felt on top of the world.

Lucy spied Belinda ambling out of a café across the street. Lucy raced across the street, weaving her way through traffic and avoiding curses from the various drivers. A car swerved and honked at Lucy. She didn't care because she was only a few feet away from the perfect woman, the Venus of Olympia, but Venus disappeared into a record store.

Lucy stared at the over-sized poster which graced the large window for the Sugar Bums latest single. She blew a kiss to Belinda who gazed down at her from the poster. Lucy entered the record store and did not hear the cash registering ringing or the people milling about or the loud music throbbing throughout the cramped space. She focused on the rock diva quietly shuffling through singles. Lucy shuffled through singles too and watched Belinda pick a single and then pay for it, finally exiting the store.

Lucy grabbed a Sugar Bum single and she tossed a couple of dollars onto the rack. She raced out of the store in pursuit of the perfect woman. Wait a minute, she wondered, why was she stalking a woman?

Belinda strode past bookstores and cafes without a care in the world. She turned around as Lucy ducked into a phone booth. Lucy did not want to be caught in the act of spying. How would she possibly explain to Belinda the reasons why she was being tailed by a young disturbed Japanese woman dressed like an Audrey Hepburn throwback?

Belinda climbed the stairs to the library and disappeared behind the heavy wood doors. She peeked out the door. Dang, Lucy thought. "She realizes I am following her. Do I enter the library and speak to her or do I disappear in one of the cracks of the sidewalk?"

Lucy picked up a random book and pretended to read it. She copped a business-like attitude and approached Belinda.

"Hello, I'm looking for a book by a Latin author. I can't recall her last name, but her first name is Julia something…"

Belinda played along with the little game. "Is this author a historian? This is the history department and fiction is upstairs."

"Oh, do you think that the fiction department can help me? I can describe the book to them. It has a yellow cover and…"

Belinda guffawed, "We're not mind readers, but best of luck."

The head librarian interrupted the conversation. "I have a gentleman on the phone that would like information on the Civil Rights Movement. Why don't you take that call."

Belinda studied Lucy then she calmly picked up the phone receiver. "Yeah, what line is he on?" She spoke into the receiver. "How can I help you, sir?"

Lucy examined a flyer on the counter mentioning various Halloween events around town. She decided to leave. Her quest had failed.

Later that day, Lucy day dreamed her way through her waitress shift. She ended her shift, counting her measly tips in the kitchen. When no one was looking, she pulled the Sugar Bums single out of her satchel. She stared at Belinda's photograph. Lucy's coworker, Koko Yamato, came into the kitchen and she peeked at the single over her coworker's shoulder.

She asked, "Who is that?"

"The Sugar Bums. I think you would really, really like them."

Koko fluttered her eyelashes and giggled. "I don't think so."

Lucy giggled along, "I really think so."

Koko bowed to Lucy, picked up a tray with a tea set. She shuffled her way out of the kitchen.

After she completed her waitress shift Lucy walked by her favorite music store. She pined over a blue Telecaster that was displayed in the store window. She entered the store and she glided past a row of electric guitars in all the colors of the rainbow. She caressed the blue one and sighed. Guitars were much better than sex if only she knew how to play one. It wouldn't be too hard to learn judging from the musicians she had seen around town. They only needed to know three or four chords and they played them over and over again. Oh, but she was dreaming.

Lucy arrived at the apartment. She called out to her house mates and realized that she had the place to herself. She put the single on the turntable and took the opportunity to dance like a mad woman around the apartment. It was the least she could do after a long day. She whirled around the kitchen, poured herself a bowl of her favorite cereal and grabbed a book off of the shelf.

She lounged at the table reading The Good Girls Guide to Marriage hoping to knock her attraction to Belinda out of her system. She munched on her cereal. Sweat dripped down her face as she read the book. She decided that she was not cut out for marriage. She slammed the book on the table.

Mark sneaked into the apartment. He checked his reflection in the mirror and straightened out his wrinkled T-shirt. He smiled into the mirror and picked at food between his teeth. Had he been walking around looking like that all day? He sprayed breath freshener into his mouth. He casually sauntered into the kitchen where he spied Lucy sulking at the table. "Oh, hi, how's it going?"

Lucy tensed, "Where were you last night? I thought you were going to attend the party."

"Uh, well, I changed my plans at the last minute and I went out with Julia."

Mark poured himself a bowl of cereal. He brought the milk carton to the table and plopped down in a chair. He poured the milk onto his cereal, splashing some on the table. Lucy examined the puddles of milk, scowling at Mark.

"So how's it going with Julia? You spend a lot of time together. Is it serious?"

Mark snickered, choking on milk in the process. "You make it sound like I have cancer. I guess you could say it is serious."

Mark watched Lucy's expression from the corner of his eyes. Lucy rose from the table and took her empty bowl to the sink. She washed it along with the other dirty dishes.

"I'm happy for you."

"I'm glad because I have some news to tell you."

Lucy stopped washing the dishes. She blurted out, "Carlos proposed to me last night."

Mark froze.

"I couldn't accept so he made a huge scene and ruined the party."

Mark lightened the mood with a joke. "Sorry that I missed the theme party."

Lucy scowled at Mark. "Thanks for your sympathy. What is it you wanted to tell me?"

Mark felt gleeful so he poured more milk onto his cereal, splashing more milk onto the table.

"It's not important. Tell me, why did you get involved with Carlos in the first place?"

Lucy dried the kitchen counter with at dishrag making sure she dried up every bit of moisture. She wondered if she should clean up the mess Mark made on the table, but refrained. He was not a child and could clean up after himself. She considered Mark's question. Why did she hook up with Carlos? Was it really because she might be a lesbian?

"I don't know. I guess that he attracted me with his manly scent. Have you ever watched those nature programs on PBS?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Have you ever seen the ones with the bird mating rituals?"

Mark laughed nervously. Lucy continued her diatribe about why she thought she was attracted to Carlos. "The female birds are attracted to the male birds with the brightest feathers and the ones that stick their chests out the furthest."

"So what does that have to do with Carlos? Granted he does seem overly puffed up at times so what you're telling me is that he has bright parrot like feathers and he sticks his chest out the furthest?"

"Well, kind of. He turns me on and he's really good in bed."

"But we're not birds are we? We should be capable of rational thought…and must you share Carlos sexual prowess with me?"

Lucy strode to the table and she grabbed the book she had read earlier. She glared at the puddles of milk on the table.

"Hormones don't have rational thoughts and they prefer to call the shots."

Mark ignored the mess he made and he took his empty bowl to the sink where he rinsed it out. "Lucy, it sounds like you are trying to convince yourself of something."

Mark headed to the living room, grabbed a book off of the shelf and plopped down on the couch. Just as he was about to kick back and dig into the book, Carlos arrived. He passed by Mark on his way to the bedroom.

Lucy yelled at him. "It is nice of you to drop in! Where were you all night?"

"I slept in my car."

Mark dropped his book on the couch and scurried out of the apartment. He thought, there they go again. Do those two ever stop fighting?

Lucy pursued Carlos. She wanted some straight answers from the man that trashed her party. She paced the room while Carlos reclined on the unmade bed. He caressed the wrinkles in the sheets, the same sheets where he delivered a marriage proposal, unaware that he would be so rudely rejected.

Lucy stomped her feet. "You ruined the party. Everyone left!"

"Well, you ruined my life!"

"I think you are exaggerating. I had no idea you were going to propose to me."

"I love you."

"How can you say that when you barely know me?"

Carlos grabbed a pillow and he shoved his face into it. He felt like he would suffocate anyway. Lucy took the pillow away from Carlos. She fluffed it.

"Look, I don't enjoy fighting with you and I do care about you, but I'm not ready for marriage."

She plopped down on the bed and kissed Carlos on top of his head. She caressed his perplexed look away.

"Then is this just a sex thing?"

Lucy laughed, "I think it's a youth thing. I do enjoy sex with you and I don't see anything wrong with that."