The Crying Bridge

The Crying Bridge--Chapter 7

  Around 9:00 am the next morning, Del was doing some gardening. It was a bit too late in the season to plant vegetables, but she had hung several hanging baskets of flowers around the porch and was working on getting some petunias, marigolds and Gerber daisies in the flower beds along the front and side of the porch when the phone rang. She had brought the cordless handset outside with her, and she pulled off her gardening gloves to answer it.

"Del, it's Jenny."

"Hey, Jenny, what's up?"

"Well, I know it's short notice, but I had some plans fall through for tomorrow, and I was feeling a little sorry for myself, so I decided I'd pamper myself by going to the spa and getting a manicure and pedicure, maybe a massage. I was wondering if you'd want to tag along?"

Del was so very happily surprised by the impromptu invitation. "Wow, Jenny, thanks. I'm sorry to hear your plans didn't work out, but I'd love to come. It sounds like a lot of fun."

"Great!" Jenny said enthusiastically. "I'm usually not much of a girly-girl, but I like to indulge every once and awhile. It'll be more fun with a friend, too."

"So what time did you have in mind?" Del asked.

"I have a few things to take care of in the morning, but maybe after lunch? Say around 1:30? We can hit the spa and maybe have an early dinner before we head back."

"Yeah, that works for me. Do you want me to meet you somewhere?"

"I can pick you up. My place is actually farther out than yours."

"Okay," Del said. "As long as it's no trouble. You know where the place is?"

Jenny laughed. "Oh yeah! Back in school it was one of the most popular places to go parking. Greg and I spent a lot of backseat time out there."
Del laughed, too, amused by the idea that her property was a past make-out spot. Maybe that could explain why she and Evan couldn't keep their hands to themselves out here. Blame it on the location. "Okay, I'll be ready at 1:30. And thanks again."

"Sure. See you then," Jenny said and hung up.

Del suddenly had such as a strong sense of belonging that it brought tears to her eyes. She hadn't kept in touch with any of her college friends since leaving Chicago, and all the people she'd met during her marriage to Gavin had been his friends. She was really feeling like she was fitting in. She told herself to stop being so sentimental and get back to work.

She donned the gloves again and set back to her planting. It took the whole morning to get all the flowers in and to add mulch and rock, but when it was finished, it was very pretty. She had always loved gardening and had never gotten the chance in Chicago. She stepped back to survey the work she had done and was very pleased with the results. She discovered that she was very thirsty and was starting to get hungry so she put away all her gardening supplies in the little storage shed out back and threw away the empty cartons the flowers had come in, along with the empty soil, rock and mulch bags.

She left her gardening clogs just inside the front door on a rubber mat and walked barefoot to the bathroom where she splashed water on her face and washed her hands. She checked to make sure she hadn't sunburned while outside, then went to the kitchen for lunch.

She wasn't sure what to have because she had no idea where Evan planned to take her for dinner. After some thought, she opened a small can of tuna and ate it with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes drizzled with vinegar and oil and a few whole grain crackers. She drained a bottle of water, opened a second and finished her lunch with several slices of cantaloupe. She thought she'd have a handful of trail mix and a few cubes of cheese later in the afternoon to hold her over until dinnertime.

There were still a few hours before she had to get ready for her date, so she changed out of her gardening clothes, slipped into an over-sized t-shirt and stretched out on the sofa with a book. The ceiling fan stirred a nice breeze, and a window fan added to it, and it wasn't too terribly hot. In fact, the humidity of yesterday had disappeared and the heat was almost comfortable. After about an hour of reading, she closed the book and her eyes and took a bit of a power nap, waking 30 minutes later. She couldn't remember the last time she had napped. She felt great. She checked her watch. She still had some time...she wouldn't have to actually leave until 4:45 to get to Evan's by 5:00. She decided she would try to figure out what to wear tonight.

She hadn't thought to ask Evan where he planned on taking her, so she wasn't sure whether to dress casually or a little more formally. She opened the door to her walk-in closet and started looking through her wardrobe. She wanted to make sure she was dressed appropriately but also wanted to be cool and comfortable. It took some searching but she found a summer weight suit that she had purchased before she left Chicago and hadn't worn even once. The skirt and jacket were beige, so she chose an emerald green silk camisole to add some color. She also had a pair of open-toe wedge heels in the same shade of green. She put it all out on the bed and looked it over. The effect was good. It was casual enough to not garner any strange looks if they went to a pizza joint, but classy enough to easily pass if they ended up in a finer dining sort of place. She had a small beige handbag with a long strap to carry her keys, wallet and lipstick and she had plenty of jewelry to compliment the ensemble. She'd choose that later.

She was surprised when she noticed the time-it had taken her nearly 45 minutes to get her outfit together, which was unusual for her. She shrugged and just admitted to herself that she wanted to make a good impression. She wanted Evan to find her irresistible. Isn't that what women did when they were dating someone they liked? Sure it was. She laughed a little and headed to the shower.

She lingered in the shower, still having plenty of time and not needing to rush. When she finally emerged, the small bathroom was a little steamy, so she walked naked through the linen closet back into her bedroom where it was a lot cooler, thanks to all the fans blowing throughout the house. She let the cooler air dry her skin as she squeezed the water from her hair with a towel. Naturally curly hair and heat did not go well together, and she had learned long ago not to mess with it too much when the weather was like this. Once most of the moisture was gone, she tossed the towel aside and smoothed an anti-frizz styling cream through the waves and just let her hair go.

She went to the kitchen and had a snack and some fruit juice before going back to the bathroom to finish getting ready. She took her hair and pulled it back against the nape of her neck and secured it with a clip, not minding that several curls immediately sprang lose and fell around her face. She was used to it, so until she decided on a really short haircut, she would deal. She brushed her teeth and did her usual make-up but added a more dramatic long-lasting lipstick instead of gloss. She spritzed on some perfume and started to get dressed. She found some small silver hoop earrings and a chunky silver and emerald ring. She debated on what sort of undergarments to wear and finally tossed caution to the wind and slipped into a lacy thong and matching bra. She didn't have the intention of things getting so far that Evan would get the chance to appreciate the underwear, but it made her feel pretty and sexy and sophisticated. She finished dressing and checked the whole package once in the mirror. She looked nice, classy and not like she'd been trying too hard.

She found the directions Evan had given her the night before, grabbed her car keys and left the cottage, looking forward to finally seeing Evan again.

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