Next Time by Robin Alexander Page B

“Let’s just wait and see what happens tonight.”
    “Okay, what’re we ordering—Chinese or are you feeling Mexican?”
    “I could do some mixed grill fajitas. Want me to pick them up on the way over?”
    Payton drummed her fingers on the top of her piano. “I’ll make a pitcher of margaritas.”
    “Great, I’ll see you around six thirty.”
    When the call ended, Payton sank back down on her bench. She didn’t like how the situation was being handled and knew it wasn’t really fair to fuss at Jana. There was no way she could be open-minded. She saw herself as Ryann’s ally and felt that Ryann should’ve been the one Melanie talked to first.
    *******
    At six thirty that evening, Payton was in the window like Grace’s dog Trevor with her nose pressed to the glass. She had deadlines looming but hadn’t written anything but hate songs dedicated to Leigh. “Is this your first time to act like slime, or have you been a greedy bitch all along? She wears your ring with pride and doesn’t know all the things you hide. Cold days are coming soon…buffoon.”
    The second Jana’s tires hit her driveway, Payton returned to the kitchen and poured the pitcher of margaritas she’d mixed into two glasses and set them on the kitchen table. Jana didn’t bother to knock; she knew the door would be open. She strode into the kitchen with a large paper sack and set it on the table.
    “Good food two nights in a row! Melanie’s been feeding me what she calls ‘clean’ food. Free-range chicken is good, but it’s always baked, and we have it every night with veggies that are hardly cooked.”
    “That you have to come over here to eat what you like means you’re already poultry whipped,” Payton said as she dug into the bag and pulled out all the Styrofoam containers. “What time is she supposed to meet Leigh?”
    “Anytime now. She may already be over there. Have we turned into gossip hounds? We didn’t used to care about this kind of thing.”
    “It’s Ryann I’m worried about.” Payton pushed a plate in Jana’s direction. “I like her, she’s a decent person, and she’s in the dark in all of this. It makes me sad for her, and I feel like a jerk.”
    Jana spooned the meat and shrimp mixture onto a tortilla. “I think you’re more into her than you’re willing to admit.”
    “No, I admit it. I would’ve asked her out the night we met if she wasn’t in a relationship, but let’s put that in the box. I like her as a person. She’s genuine, and I consider her a friend.”
    Jana stopped what she was doing and gave Payton a little shove. “You’re into her, seriously into her…shit! I thought I noticed it when you were at the barbecue, but I shrugged it off because you are not that stupid.”
    “Don’t call me that you…you accountant.”
    “Was that supposed to be an insult?”
    “You’re so mathematical. You get turned on by retirement and savings accounts. You’re so…practical. How can you possibly understand how I feel?”
    Jana threw her hands on her hips. “Now I’m insulted.”
    “You called me stupid. I’m not, but I’m drawn to Ryann by something that doesn’t even make sense to me. I know you won’t get it, either.”
    “Payton, even if they break up tonight, Ryann will be damaged for a long time.”
    “I know,” Payton said miserably. “I have to stay away from her.”
    They both sat, and Jana watched Payton just stare at the food on her plate. “Yes, I’m logical, sometimes too much. You’re on the opposite end of the spectrum. My brain leads me, your heart leads you. So let’s apply some logic here, maybe it’ll help.”
    “Okay.” Payton sighed and picked up her margarita.
    “For now, let’s just agree that you truly don’t know Ryann.”
    “I feel like I do. That’s the thing, I feel like I’ve known her all my life. I know it’s crazy. If I believed in reincarnation, I’d swear we were together in another life.”
    “That’s a feeling,” Jana said