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Elise looked worried. “You’re supposed to be the sane one, sweetie.”
“I am. Usually.” She stared around, her eyes finally brightening as she spotted Sandra coming through the door. Laney waved.
The blonde rushed in happily. “Sorry I’m late. Did you order my latte?”
“I’m having beer,” Laney said. “Tastes better this time of day.”
“I have another client at seven so I can’t drink,” Sandra said.
“Interior design has picked up, huh?”
“Yes,” Sandra gave extra sizzle to the “s” at the end of her reply. “How about you?”
“The law never changes. I mean laws constantly change, but the profession is as cutthroat as ever.”
“I don’t understand you, Laney,” Elise declared. “I thought you were getting out of the corporate game?”
“I’m slowly pulling away, but it’s as though my feet are stuck in quicksand. I try to pull one out and I only sink in further. Erik keeps telling me to just resign.”
“Then do it!” Elise said. She still liked to dress in drab colors, though she managed to perk up the black and brown with a spark of vexation in her eyes.
“I’d rather talk about your next concert,” Laney changed the subject.
That put a smile on Elise’s face. She rummaged through a huge leather bag at her side and pulled tickets from an envelope. “Here. Friday. Two weeks. That’s all I’ll say, exc
ept that I’m playing Chopin, and you’ll love it. And be sure to drag the guys along. I promised Matthew they’d be there.”
“You’re having a hard time getting him to go?” Sandra wondered. “He loves your Chopin.”
“Oh, he’s in one of his restless moods.”
“Like how restless?” Laney wondered.
“You know Matthew, he’s always disgruntled, wouldn’t be happy otherwise.”
“About anything in particular this time?”
“I don’t think so. We usually don’t talk about it. I just sit patiently by until he comes around—or I prod him,” she giggled girlishly.
“You don’t wonder if, maybe…” Laney hesitated, “his restlessness has anything to do with the island?”
That one loaded word awakened Sandra and Elise from the mindless chatter for just an instant. Their bodies took note of the memory, registering that truth in their eyes, while Sandra nervously fidgeted with her straw wrapper.
“No, I don’t think it has anything to do with the island,” Elise answered crisply.
Laney eyed her friends uneasily. “You know we never talk about it. Don’t you wonder about that?”
“Not really,” Sandra answered. “It was sort of like a dream—that’s how I think of it.”
“A pleasant one?” Laney asked.
“A bizarre one…but not an unpleasant one.” Her eyes did look dreamy, so it was easy to believe what she said.
Laney turned to Elise, expecting a reply, though Elise didn’t answer right away, but tossed her long hair back with her delicate hand, and sighed. “Sometimes I think about it, but it doesn’t seem real. And it’s not like a dream for me, it’s as though I stepped into another world for awhile—opened a curtain and slid into another reality—and then stepped back.”
“So, it has no impact on you now?”
“Maybe our sex is a little raunchier. I think Matthew remembers then. He gets rough, I shut up, and submit, and we’re going after each other like a couple of pagans.” She smiled, as though she were holding something back.
