Wildflowers; After the long wait

chapter 11

There was a soft knock on Alice's office door and she gazed up from her computer screen. A spicy Sierra Bright was standing by the threshold, poking her head through the entrance sporting a new short layered hairdo that cupped her smiling oval face, "Hey, can I come in?" her cheery, high-pitched voice called out and Alice beamed. She scurried up off her chair and ran up to her beloved friend with a girlish squeal of delight.

"Omg I thought we were going to meet up this evening?" Alice grabbed both of Sierra's hands and pulled her into the room.

"I love the new hairdo, you look so hot." she laughed, "Dawn must have had a heart attack." Sierra fluffed her hair, laughing at the irony of it.

"He did, you should have heard him on the drive from the airport down to your office." Sierra had always had long wavy black to brown hair, it when well with her above-average hight and curvy waistline. Her size, as well as her sense of maturity and righteousness, had made her look like the older one, even though she was the younger of the two friends. Sierra and Dawn made a perfect pair. His childish youthful demeanor and her wise but carefree mentality mixed like fine wine and aged cheese. He had once told Alice he was attracted to Sierra's long wavy hair, quote; She looked like An Amazon Goddess.

"Poor baby, why didn't you go home straight away?" she asked, Sierra was going to spent her vacation with Alice, like she always did when she came back from school.

Alice dragged Sierra back to her desk, where she made her sit on Lee's chair. Lee had taken a sick day today. "I couldn't wait to see you." Sierra laughed. Alice walked over to the small cooler next to the water dispenser and grabbed a cold coke for Sierra. "Where are your bags?" she asked noticing her friend had walked into her office with only a small handheld blue purse, which was so unlike her, normally her make-up bag never left her side.

"Oh they're in the jeep, Dawn had to run back to the office so he'll bring them by later." she shrugged, took the drink from Alice's hand and opened it. Alice was so happy to have her friend back home.

"You want to order lunch?" She asked, taking a drink out for herself.

"Sure, we can catch-up, I can't wait to really get to know Emma, she's all Dawn could talk about after he was done berating me for cutting his precious hair." She mimicked Dawn's voice in a deep comical tone and Alice laughed. She could do with a break. All morning she had been behind her desk. "You know what let's scrap ordering in. Why don't we go down to the mall and have lunch? It's on me."

"Cool, that sounds like a plan. Once it's on you." Sierra smiled, jumping up out of her seat as Alice grabbed her purse, she wrapped her hand around her friend's elbow and they headed out to grab a taxi downtown to the mall.

***********************************

"Have you told him what happened after he left, or did you decide that it was best not to talk about it?" Sierra asked right off the bat, in an, I know you better than anyone tone. They had just finished ordering lunch at one of the Delis in the crowded mall, walking back to the large open-air food court, taking a seat among the many tables and chairs. Alice knew her friend very well too, so it was no surprise that she was asking her the one question she didn't want to answer. "No. I haven't." Alice mumbled.

"What?" Sierra demanded, "here you were on the ride down telling me how you wish to start over with him and you haven't told him what happened ten years ago? You need to tell him, or you'll never be able to move on." Sierra didn't like her boyfriend's brother much, not after what he had done to her friend, she wanted to send her foot up to his ass. There was a time she had found him very attractive, when she and Alice were both working in the bar years ago but then she had met Dawn and she had no eyes for any other man. She was willing to accept Dwayne because of  Alice but that didn't mean she had to like him. Dawn had called her a week ago going on and on about the situation between his brother and Alice and Sierra hated hearing her man fussing, he could be such a baby when he couldn't solve something. So, being the greatest girlfriend in the world, she had decided she was going to help.