27,400 ~ 29,800

Sam pulled into a truck stop on the outskirts of Lexington. She was hungry and needed a plan. The day has slipped away at break-neck pace, but there was still more to do. Given that she didn’t want to stay in Lexington any longer than she had to, Sam needed a new lead and needed it quick. The clock on the dash said 3:40. She figured she had until roughly 5:00 if she was going to go through formal channels at the University. Damn, Malin, Sam thought again for the 10,000th time since she’d ended their conversation. Why did Malin always distract her? She had things to do, plans to make, and here she was with a little more than an hour before the day was totally shot.

Sam stood in front of the drink cooler and thought about her options. A Monster Rehab and a protein bar? Or the McDonalds next door? Realizing that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, Sam decided on a Double Cheeseburger meal and an extra hamburger for Kate. She carried the bag of food back to the SUV and opened the back hatch. Sam leaned on the bumper, popped a fry in her mouth, and pulled her iPhone out of her pocket. She contemplated for little more than a nano-second before deciding what to do.

“Kate, I gotta do what I gotta do. If it means talking to Holly, so be it.”

With no pause for editing, Sam sent a text to Holly that she hoped wouldn’t but assumed would go unanswered - ‘Hey, I’m in town. Might need a favor’. At this point an apology was superfluous and pussy-footing around with pleasantries wasn’t going to help. Direct was the only way, if it even was a way.

“Hmm… I wonder…” Sam put down her burger and clicked the Facebook icon on her phone. Once upon a time, she and Holly had been friends on Facebook. That ended the day Sam unceremoniously told Holly that it wasn’t going to work out. Holly stormed out and less than an hour later, Sam had been de-friended. For the best, Sam remembered thinking at the time. Right now, though, Sam hoped that Holly hadn’t blocked her. If she was blocked, Holly would be invisible - she wouldn’t even be able to see if Holly still had an account. Sam clicked on the search box and typed ‘Holly Srebotnik’. Not surprisingly, only one appeared on the screen.

“Well, thank God” Sam said as she clicked to view Holly’s profile.

“Christ, Holly, you’re not even private? Everyone can see everything? I didn’t know anyone was that trusting any more.”

It didn’t take Sam long to find what she’d hoped to find. Holly had ‘checked in’ after school at the high school where she worked. ‘Everyone stay safe! Let’s go Bears Lax and track team!’.

“This is too easy. Geez, Holly. Just lay it out there for me. You’re lucky I’m not some crazy stalker.”

Sam balled up her trash and threw the bag into the backseat. She had her plan. She’d find Holly at the high school and talk to her about Liz and her alumni connection. Even though she could potentially be walking into a firing squad, Sam was willing. What she told Malin wasn’t a lie. She was in, all in. She wasn’t going to shy away from a potential source just because the source hated her guts and wished she was dead. Time was of the essence and she needed to get the best information as quickly as she could. The Alumni Office would need official paperwork and authorization before they gave out too many details. She’d gotten lucky in Hamilton, but Sam was certain she wouldn’t get lucky twice. Fuck, Plan B. Holly was now officially Plan A.

Sam typed Holly’s school address into her navigation app and waited for the route to populate. According to Mapquest, it would take twenty-four minutes to get from the truck stop to the high school. She was instantly nervous. ‘Don’t panic, thought Sam. She probably won’t hit you, not on school grounds anyway’. But damn, what if she did? Holly was twenty-seven, 5’11”, and a former NCAA Division I All-America softball pitcher. She’d played pro and been an alternate on the Olympic team. She was tough. And probably pissed. If she took a swing at Sam, Sam would be screwed. Sam immediately decided to keep a safe distance from Holly’s left arm. That thing had to be lethal. Sam was almost a decade older, half a foot shorter, and a tennis player. She could run fast, but that was about all the had. Lesbian stereotypes aside, she was not a fighter.

Sam buzzed past the school once to get the lay of the land. She caught sight of the football field and noticed that a bunch of school buses where parked in a nearby parking lot. Sam wondered where Holly parked. Where would her office be? In the main school building or at the stadium? With nothing but time to kill, it was still not yet 4:30, Sam took a slow drive through the parking lot closest to the stadium. Back in the day, Holly had driven a burgundy Corolla that had been nearing its last legs. Sam was sure that with grad school behind her Holly would have traded it in and would be driving something newer and more ‘her’. She drove past a black Mini Cooper and hit the brakes. Sam put the Xterra in reverse and looked at the car again. It had Kentucky plates like every other car in the lot, however none of the other cars had a license plate holder that said ‘University of Texas Longhorns’, nor did they had a shiny silver ‘longhorn head’ decal affixed to the rear end.

“Bingo!”, Sam said out loud. “Gotcha!”.

As luck would have it, the space next to the Mini was free. Sam pulled the Xterra in and turned off the engine. Now she would wait. She didn’t know how long. How long to track meets and lacrosse games usually last? Regardless, Sam was ready. She opened the back hatch and dug around until she found her folding chair. Sam discarded the sheath and set up the chair. With phone in hand and plenty of Internet access, Sam plopped into the chair and propped her feet up on her bumper. It was a beautiful Spring afternoon and there were worse places to wait.

~

 

“Jesus Christ!!!”

 

Then in a violent whisper, “What in the FUCK are you doing here?”

Sam had nearly dozed off in her chair and almost fell backwards when the voice boomed. Holly stood towering above her, shocked and clearly not happy.

“I texted you to let you know I was here.”

“Here? I assumed you meant Lexington, not staking out my work. And speaking of, how did you know where I worked?”

“Yeah well, you may want to make your Facebook a little more private. You made it pretty easy. You’re lucky I’m not some crazed fan or a teenage boy with the hots for teacher.”

“It’s private for anyone under 21. Not that it’s any of your business. Fuck, Sam. What do you want?”

Sam scrambled to stand up. She had always felt small next to Holly and sitting in a chair certainly didn’t help things. Finally standing at her full height, Sam didn’t feel much better. Holly could still haul off and hit her without a problem. Though, Sam reminded herself, probably not while on school property. Sam held her hand up in front of her eyes to block the sun. Holly had never been beautiful but she’d always been pretty and intimidating. It was that intimidation factor that had initially attracted Sam. At first Holly had been a challenge. Then she wasn’t. Then Sam got wasn't.

The years had been good to Holly. She looked like she was in great shape, pitching shape.

“You pitching again?” Sam asked trying to lighten the mood or change the subject whichever kept Holly decking her or jumping in her car and speeding away.

The question must have taken Holly by surprise because she softened slightly and answered, “I’ve been working out with the ‘Cats pitchers. I’m actually thinking about getting on with one of the pro teams this summer. How did you know?”

“You look fit, crazy fit. I like it.”

“Fuck, Sam…”

The violent whisper was back. Oops. Here we go, thought Sam.

“You’re not allowed to say shit like that to me. Not any more. What in the fuck do you want?!?”

“Bye, Ms. Srebotnik. See you tomorrow before practice?” A lanky teenage boy with ice packs strapped to both his shins hobbled by on his way to his car.

“Absolutely, Tyler. Ice them tonight as much as you can. Nice race today!”

Holly smiled at the boy but the smile was gone when she turned back to Sam.

“You were saying?”

“Look, can I borrow you for a few minutes? Maybe get a drink? It’s not a short story.”

“It’s already past 6:30. Liz will be home around 8:00. This, you, will not make her very happy.”

“There must be someplace we can go. Quick. I promise I’ll make it quick.”

Holly glared. Sam continued.

“I wouldn’t have come all the way to Lexington and staked you out in a high school parking lot if it wasn’t important. You have to believe me.” Sam refused to grovel but she spoke softly hoping it would make her point.

Holly exhaled deeply. She didn’t smile. “Ok. Follow me.”

Sam fired up the Xterra and followed behind Holly’s Mini Cooper. They exited the parking lot onto the main street, but soon turned into an older residential neighborhood. A left and right turn later, Holly pulled into a driveway. Sam parked on the street.

“Come on. This is as close as anything. We’ve got rum. And Diet Coke.”

Sam jogged up the walk and followed Holly to the front door.

“She can come.” Holly said pointing at Kate.

The house was small and neat, but had a definite lived in feel. Sam could see photos from Holly’s glory days as a Texas Longhorn as well as more recent vacation pictures. Holly dropped her bag on the dining room table and motioned for Sam to follow.

“Don’t get too comfortable. I’ll make us a drink. You tell me why in the fuck you are in Lexington. Then you’re gone. Deal?”

Sam said, “Deal” even though she knew it was going to be more involved than that. She leaned against the counter and watched Holly make a two heavy drinks. She handed one to Sam and took a big drag out of hers.

“Well…?”

Sam quickly hit the highlights and how she had ended up in Hamilton, Ohio this morning (was it just this morning) and now in Lexington. She omitted certain facts, like the hearts and her suspicions about Ruth and her mother. Holly got the bare bones story. Ruth went to Kentucky and Sam needed to see if the Alumni office new of her current whereabouts.

“But I’m not an alum. How am I supposed to help you?” The words were still hanging in the air when Holly realized exactly what Sam was asking.

“Oh, no. No. No way. You can’t ask her.”

“No, but you can.”

“Not a chance. Sam, I’d love to help you. It’s actually sweet that your mom wants to find her friend after all these years, but… Liz isn’t nearly as forgiving as I am. And don’t let the good rum fool you, I’m not that forgiving either.”

“It’s been a long time. She can’t be as angry. What if we explained it to her? Played on her UK alumni sympathies. This woman - Ruth - went to UK and may have even married a professor. That sounds kinda cool from an alum perspective, doesn’t it?

“You’ll never get to tell her the story. She’ll KILL you first. Seriously, Sam. You stole her girlfriend.”

“Duh, but she got you back. Everything happens for a reason…” Sam was grasping, trying anything.

Sam went on. “Look, she doesn’t even have to see me or talk to me. You could tell her that a friend needs a favor and leave it at that. See if she can access the alum website and then you text me the info.”

Holly looked like she might actually be pondering the idea. She guzzled the rest of her drink before speaking again.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but ok. Ok. I’ll try it.”

“Oh my God, thank you!” Sam stepped forward as if to give Holly a hug, but stopped short.

“I don’t keep secrets from my girlfriend so I’m going to have to tell her that it’s for you. I’m going to say it’s more for your mom than for you. She’s close to her mom. She’ll like that you’re doing this for your mom.”

“Fabulous. Whatever you need to do.”

Sam finished her drink and put her glass in the sink.

“Do you think you can do this tonight? I really need to get answers quick. My vacation is slipping by.”

“I should be able to. Shouldn’t take too long. You going to find a hotel? Or do you have another ex-girlfriend in town you plan to stalk tonight?”

“Shockingly, no. You’re the only one. That I know of”.

Holly showed Sam to the door.

“Text me the information that you know about Ruth and I’ll see what Liz can dig up for you. I’ll text you later and let you know what’s up.”

“I really appreciate it, Holly. Really. I may hate my mom, but I love a good mystery.”

Sam opened the driver’s side door and Kate jumped in. Holly had followed them down the walk.

“Speaking of, I loved the last book. Annika… She’s a great match for Nic. Better than Lainey ever was.” Her voice trailed off and she looked away. ‘Lainy’ was the character Sam had based on Holly, her protagonist Nic’s love interest before she met Annika.

“Thanks. Hey, Holly. It was great seeing you. You seem happy. I’m glad.”

Holly looked up and met Sam’s gaze before turning to walk back up the walk. Sam drove off thinking she may need to stop for food before checking into the hotel. She hadn’t had Chinese in days. Maybe she’d be able to find a buffet. And maybe she’d call Malin. Or maybe not.