Jingle of Coins by C D Ledbetter Page A

not widening the gap between the door and frame. As she took stock of her visitors, she tried not to let her mouth fall open.
    The tall, willowy blonde standing in the center of the doorway her was perhaps the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen. Long blonde hair curled around the woman’s shoulders, and china doll blue eyes twinkled in a perfectly oval face. Sparkling white teeth made the woman’s smile even more dazzling. Perfectly matched shorts and top, both of peacock blue silk, completed the woman’s attire.
    The second woman, a brunette, was also attractive, although it was obvious that she wasn’t quite in the blonde’s league. Emily covered her gasp with a cough when she realized that the woman’s garb left far more body exposed than covered. The feature that drew most attention was the woman’s long, shapely legs, shown to full advantage by her miniskirt. Bright red toenails stuck out of platform shoes, and the second toe of each foot sported a ring embedded with what looked like diamonds. A flimsy cotton shirt was tied under the woman’s breasts, which strained to burst free of the undersized garment.
    “Hi,” the blonde goddess greeted Emily. “I’m Kate; this is Meg. We thought we’d welcome you to the complex.” She peered at the towel still wrapped around Emily’s head. “Looks like we came at a bad time.”
    “I was just getting out of the shower,” Emily explained, touching the towel self-consciously.
    “Sorry. Tell you what. Why don’t you come over once you’re dressed and join us for a glass of wine?” She motioned to the apartment on Emily’s left. “I live next door; Meg’s a couple doors down.”
    The brunette raised her left hand in greeting. “Meg Sammons,” she said with a wide grin. “Nice to meet you. You have to come,” she continued. “I’ve been trying to get Kate to uncork that bottle for weeks.”
    Emily laughed and shook her head. “Okay. Give me ten minutes.”
    “Great,” Kate agreed. “See you in a few.”
    Emily took her time blow-drying her hair, being careful not to bring the warm air too close to her skull. Styling gel added height to her short locks and allowed her to camouflage the ugly disfiguration that started an inch behind her forehead. The surgeon had done wonders patching her skull back together after the accident, but she still had to be careful not to touch the scar.
    Laughter and splashing sounds drifted in from the pool area as she stepped onto the walkway. Her lips curved into a smile as she listened to the women cheering on the men playing water polo. At least the people in this complex were a gregarious bunch, which made a definite improvement from her apartment in El Cajon. Apart from the time she’d been out gambling with the women in the building, the only laughter she’d ever overheard was from groups of children playing ball. “In for a penny, in for a pound,” she thought mockingly as she knocked on her neighbor’s door.
    A blast of rock music greeted her as Meg opened the door. “Come on in,” she called, dragging Emily into the apartment. “Hope you like hard rock. This one’s a new CD from my favorite group, The Bonegrabbers,” she called out over the beat of the drum solo reverberating through Kate’s apartment.
    Emily winced in pain, as the loud music assaulted her sensitive hearing, and clasped her hands protectively over her ears. “Could you please turn it down?” she shouted over the noise. “I’m recovering from an accident, and loud noises hurt my ears. Sorry, but unless you turn down the volume, I’ll have to leave.”
    “Thank God somebody besides me can’t stand rock,” Kate chimed in as she switched the unit over to a classical station. She held out a long-stemmed wine glass, rimmed with gold. “You okay Emily? You look kind of pale.”
    Emily gingerly loosened her fingers. “Yeah. That’s a lot better, thanks. I hate to ruin your music, but I can’t handle any loud noises. Gives me