Duck Sauce

Chapter 1: Geri“Hey! Watch where you’re…” Geri Thorton almost swallowed her gum. Holy crap! The woman who had bumped into her as she came out of the liquor store, nearly causing her to drop the bottle of Grand Marnier Cuvee du Centenaire clutched in her left hand, was almost worth losing a hundred and forty dollars over. The woman’s face reddened. “Oh, I’m really sorry. I’m afraid I wasn’t watching where I was going.” Geri chuckled. “I guess not. I’m kind of hard to miss. But no harm done. I was just a little freaked out because my coworkers would kill me if I dropped this.” Geri held the paper bag containing the expensive liquor aloft. “It’s a gift for our boss’s retirement.” “I don’t know much about alcohol myself. Beyond the occasional glass of wine, that is.” Her full lips turned up slightly at the corners before a frown crossed her face. “I didn’t injure you, did I? You seem a little stunned.” She was stunned all right. She hadn’t met a woman this beautiful in her entire life. Naturally beautiful, too, not thanks to the magic of makeup. Snap out of it, Geri! “No, I’m fine. A little thing like you couldn’t hurt me. It was more like a sparrow running into a window. I should be asking if I hurt you!” The other woman’s head only came up to her shoulder. She couldn’t injure a poodle if she tried. The woman frowned. “No, of course not. No harm done, then, I guess.” “I, uh, haven’t seen you around here before.” Inspired. Do you come here often? What’s your sign? Great pick up, Ger. “That is, I work nearby and…I mean, I know a lot of the people who hang around here. I would’ve remembered…that is, if we’d crossed paths at some point, I mean, are you new in town?” She wanted to smack herself. The other woman smiled broadly then and extended her hand. “Kiara Martin, newcomer. I guess it’s true what they say about small towns.” Geri resisted the urge to shove her calloused hand into her pocket, but instead, took Kiara’s delicate one gently. “I’m Geri, not the most glib person you’ll meet here. Let me try again. Welcome to Whispering Oaks, Kiara. And yes, a lot of what you’ve probably heard is true. It’s not difficult to get to know others in a small town, though that can be a good or a bad thing. Fortunately, most of the people I’ve met here have been friendly.” If you don’t consider the conservative homophobes, but no need to mention that. “Are you new here as well?” “By native standards, yes. I’ve only been here fifteen years.” Kiara laughed, a soft, melodic sound. “Well, Geri, you certainly have seniority over me. I arrived last week. That’s what was distracting me. My household goods have not yet arrived, despite the mover’s assurance they would be here two days after me.” “What a pain.” “Fortunately, my employer is giving me a per diem and is paying my moving expenses. It’s just that I like life a certain way. Orderly. A place for everything, and everything in its place, as they say. I’m just eager to get settled and was hoping for more time to unpack before I got thrown into my job.” “What do you do?” “I’m going to be teaching at the university.” Geri’s eyebrows shot up. Classy and educated besides being drop dead gorgeous. Clearly out of her league, besides the ninety percent probability of her being straight. But when had that ever stopped her? “What will you be teaching?” “Physics.” Geri groaned. Only her worst subject in school and the reason her GPA was what it was and why she didn’t have the confidence to apply to the university herself. “I get the same reaction from most people. Not a crowd favorite.” “Yup, not my strong suit. Never did develop a knack for it. Fortunately, I don’t need it in my job.” Why did you have to open that door? Maybe she never would have asked. Kiara gently guided Geri out of the path of a woman walking a large dog. “And what would that be?” “If you have a minute, would you like to sit on that bench across the street? Unless you’re in a hurry, that is.” Kiara glanced once more at her phone before shoving it back into her purse. “Until my stuff arrives, I really don’t have a whole lot to do and I’m tired of staring at the four walls of my hotel room. But you looked like you were on an important mission when I literally bumped into you. Are you sure you have time to sit?” “It’s a beautiful day, and I can’t get enough of the outdoors.” Or the company of a beautiful woman. “All I really needed to do today was pick up this overpriced booze. The rest of my day was going to be spent cleaning my garage. I don’t mind putting that off. Wasn’t exactly looking forward to it.” Kiara turned and moved toward the pole at the intersection, pressing the button to change the light. “I should warn you, I think that’s just for show.” But almost immediately, the cross traffic stopped. “Huh. I guess you have the touch.” Kiara winked. “You just have to show it who’s boss. That, or be lucky enough to time it just right.” They walked across the street and grabbed two spots on a bench at the edge of the town square, facing a fountain surrounded by kids squealing as the cold mist from the fountain hit them. It was early spring, and although the weather had been mild this past week, the breeze made it chilly. Kiara pulled her light jacket closed. Normally, Geri would have automatically removed her own jacket and put it around the other woman’s shoulders, but that might be crossing the line. Probably not appropriate with someone she just met. Sometimes even women she was involved with got all bent out of shape when she was only trying to be nice. Women! No wonder men complained. Best to play it safe, though Geri moved subtly closer to Kiara, hoping to transmit some body warmth. “This is an unusual time of year to be starting a teaching job.” Kiara’s gaze shifted from the fountain and her blue eyes captured Geri’s attention. They were just a shade darker than the sky. “True. That’s why they’re being so generous about paying my expenses. The professor I’m replacing is retiring rather suddenly due to health issues. Apparently, he’s been there for over forty years and was something of a fixture in the department, very dependable. Guess they thought he’d always be there and weren’t prepared to replace him. I’m fortunate in that I was not only available, my mentor in grad school is friends with the department head at the university so, deserving or not, I come highly recommended. Not sure I like having the bar set so high for my first teaching job, but I’ll do my best to live up to it.” She said it in a way that didn’t come across as bragging. In fact, Kiara looked mildly terrified, and Geri had to consciously stop herself from putting her arm around the woman’s slender shoulders. She needed to divert her thoughts, and quickly. But Kiara beat her to it. “You never answered my question.” “Oh?” “What do you do?” Geri loved her work. In fact, it was the best part of her life. But it was anything but intellectual, especially compared to being a professor of physics. “Um, I work at the garden center a few blocks over. Nature’s Haven.” “That’s interesting! I’m an absolute disaster when it comes to keeping plants alive. Do you offer classes?” “I never thought about it, honestly. It comes so naturally to me. I’ve been playing in the dirt since I could sit up.” Noticing Kiara’s short but polished nails, Geri self-consciously closed her hands to hide her own rough nails that never seemed to get completely clean. “My mother is a master gardener and taught me everything she knows. “ “I’ll tell you what. If you teach a class on the basics of how not to kill every houseplant you touch, I’ll be the first to sign up.” Was Kiara making fun of her? Geri studied her face, but she looked completely sincere. And she wouldn’t be the first smart person who couldn’t seem to master what came so easily to Geri. You just had to listen to the plants. They always told you what they needed. The slight downward turn of a leaf, their normal shade of green a little off. Some things called for more water, or less, or the tiniest bit of help from one of her natural fertilizers. She loved that in the fifteen years she’d been at the nursery, she’d helped bring it into the twenty-first century. Organics of course. Frank had scoffed at hydroponics at first until she proved how successful the technique could be. Now, if she could only get him on board with starting a biodynamic farm on the acreage for sale behind the gardening center. Wait! She kept forgetting that Frank was retiring. She was going to be replacing him and would hopefully be a full owner by the end of the year. It was so hard to believe. Technically he was still going to be a more or less silent partner until she could pull together the funds to buy the business, but he had made it clear to her that from now on, he would not stand in the way of whatever decisions she made. Only the two of them would know that she didn’t actually own the business flat out. It would be her signature on the paychecks. But if all went well, and she could turn a profit with some of her new ideas, maybe she could buy that acreage after all and… “Hello?” Geri flushed. “Sorry. There’s a lot going on at work at the moment and I guess I got a little lost in thought there.” Nice. Ignore the flesh and blood woman only inches away while you’re focusing on your job. Maybe if she gave that much attention to her love life, she wouldn’t be spending all her time talking to plants. “What were you saying?” “I really should be going. I just got a text from my department head. He wants to show me my new office and classroom. I hope my office has a window. Maybe I can stop by sometime and pick up some plants. I don’t suppose you sell anything artificial?” Geri laughed. “Afraid not. But I may be able to locate something low maintenance that could work for you. Come by any time. We’re open seven days a week.” And I’m there most days. “It was nice meeting you. Now I can say I know one person in town. Enjoy the rest of your day.” Kiara rose gracefully and walked toward a parking area past the fountain. Geri stared at her retreating back, taking note of her movements as she maneuvered around some kids playing in the grass. She shook her head. To think she had dreaded having to run this simple errand and had almost asked someone else to do it. Idiot. You’ll probably never see her again. Still, Geri pulled a coin out of her pocket as she walked to the fountain. Never hurts to make a wish.