Stone Cold Fox (8)
I was applying a dash of lip gloss in the mirror when Gale appeared through the swinging door, an irresistible treat, revealing the boldness I suspected was dwelling inside her frumpy frame the whole time. The type of moxie that women like Hannah, Elizabeth and Paisley could only dream of. Without saying a word, I offered my lip gloss to her with a small smile. She shook her head as she came closer to me.
“Not my color,” she said, not wholly incorrect, as it would have washed her out.
“Fun game,” I replied, turning to face her head-on. “You do this every week, I hear?”
“More or less, depending on the guys’ schedules.” Gale jutted her chin out at me like a barracuda. Effective body language for aggression, but not remotely flattering. Another subtle flex about how she didn’t have to care about such things?
“Not yours?” I asked her.
“My schedule is my own. They don’t have the same luxury.”
That did sound luxurious. Rich and single, left to her own devices each day, answering to nobody but herself. The grass is always greener. She looked at her phone instead of me. Dismissive on purpose. I ate it up.
“So,” I said, not wasting any more time, “what do you think?”
“Of you?” Gale almost laughed, setting her gaze upon me again. “Doesn’t really matter what I think, does it?”
“You obviously want to tell me. You followed me here.”
“Followed you?” She laughed this time. I noticed her teeth were in dire need of whitening. “You wanted me to.”
So she knew.
“You’re very pretty,” Gale dully declared, as if it were an insult.
“Oh, well, thank you,” I replied, well aware it was not a compliment.
“Collin always has pretty girlfriends.” She leaned back now with her bottom on the sink, almost childlike, with an impish grin. “And you’re not the first from the fringe.”
“The fringe?” I asked innocently, fully aware of what she meant, but I wanted to hear her explain it. How would she explain this venom of her own?
Gale got up from the sink and inched closer to me, taking small steps.
“Bea, you’re smart, you know what I mean. Perhaps what you don’t know is that this is kind of his thing with relationships. You’re one of many. Collin’s been searching for something for as long as I can remember. How to best put it?” She paused, thinking. “It’s like he’s looking for an identity outside of his own.”
“How admirable,” I said, maintaining my position. She could bump right into me if she wanted to, I wasn’t going to move. “Collin and I have that in common.”
“I bet you do,” she said, closer still, now looking up at me. I had a good five inches on her, but she was undeterred.
“It’s a more compelling way to date, allowing for lifelong discovery. It’s easy to get bored when you know what’s coming,” I said. “And who wants to be bored?”
“I hear you. Such thrills were overlooked when we were all young and foolish. Credited to curiosity, getting it out of the system, experimentation. But we’re all getting older now, Bea, we’re older than they were when they settled down, our parents’ generation, and now with Henry and Marty married off, Elizabeth’s expecting the ring from Evan at any moment, and Collin will be well on his way soon enough. The timing is right, which I’m sure you know, but they won’t allow it to progress much further than where you are right now. And I’m sure you want much more than that, and by the looks of you, I have no doubt you’ll get it. Just not from Collin Case or anyone like him. So I thought I’d give you a fair warning, woman to woman. And by they, I mean—”
“His family. I understand. And while I appreciate you looking out for me, Gale, woman to woman, I can assure you that Collin and I are very serious about each other and that will be communicated to the Cases in due time. So you can take your very considerate, but very misguided, concern for me off your plate.”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt, Bea. That’s all,” she lied, touching my shoulder.
“You’re sweet,” I said, placing my hand atop hers, electrified by our duel. Then I sidled out from her grasp and swung open the door to exit. “We will see you soon, I’m sure.”
The door closed behind me before I could watch her shudder at my pointed use of we. I should have deployed it sooner for my own amusement. I took a deep breath, smiling to myself, before catching Collin’s eye by the entrance. I waved at him. All was well. I was sure of it.
My innocent jousting with Gale was different from Mother’s because I actually enjoyed keeping a female nemesis, whereas Mother largely maintained a safe distance from other women, finding them far too unpredictable. So true, and the tragic cornerstone of the appeal for me. See, men are so much simpler to bat about like a cat does a mouse; it’s not difficult to decipher what they really want—generally power, money and sex—but women and their ambitions are much more complex, more layered. I found it all very fascinating, especially from someone like Gale Wallace-Leicester, who easily could have rested atop her laurels, but instead, she challenged me directly in the women’s restroom of a shithole bar like a fucking cowboy.
Fantastic.
I took Collin’s arm jubilantly as we shuffled out the door. He wouldn’t pick up on it, would he? A harmless hobby just for me? I’ve always told myself I wouldn’t be like her. I couldn’t be like Mother. But engaging with Gale was actually for the good of my relationship with Collin. She needed to know where I stood and where Collin stood. He would never do it, so I’d have to be the representative for our family. The game had a tangible end goal—get Gale out of our business—and it didn’t mean that I couldn’t have a little fun along the way. After all, it had been so long. Collin was basically on lock. Stable. Exactly where I wanted him. I deserved a last hurrah with someone like Gale Wallace-Leicester to take the edge off. Besides, based on her warm welcome of me that evening, she all but deserved to be knocked down a peg or two. I would never do anything to seriously hurt her or put her in harm’s way.