Reggie paced her kitchen watching the clock tick closer to the time she’d have to decide whether to get out of the house or be late to meet Sophia. Would she dare blow her off completely? No, she wasn’t mad enough for that.
It had been two days since the last design team meeting, and the time and distance hadn’t tamed the fire in Reggie’s belly from watching Sophia and Governor Seeley go tit for tat on the outcome of the design team’s work.
The governor had asked Sophia to do her a favor, and instead of spitting in her face, Sophia had asked Reggie to step away.
“I guess someone’s face was spit on.” Reggie shoved her feet into her boots and stomped to the door. “Great, now you’re talking to yourself. Pull it together, Northrup.”
She called Ava on the way to meet Sophia.
“So, did you decide to go?”
Reggie thought Ava sounded more entertained by her plight than was appropriate for the situation. “I’m going, but I’m not going to think she’s pretty when I get there.” Reggie gripped the steering wheel harder.
“Bullshit on that one. Reggie, rules are good. Look at our job. We live for rules, even the dumb ones, but this no politicians rule might make you miss out on something great right in front of you.”
“I don’t actually like living for the rules. Our job sucks. But the no politicians rule is a good one.” Reggie glanced at her notebook on the seat next to her to double-check the address. “The governor asked her for a favor and then she asked me to leave. Do you know how many times that same scenario played out for me as a kid? My dad conveniently had some errand for me to run as soon as a friend of his came by asking for a favor? Political favors aren’t usually in the public interest, especially the kind that need to be finalized without an audience.”
Ava sighed. “I know your dad’s a monster. I’ve had the displeasure of spending way too much time with him. It doesn’t mean Sophia was agreeing to sell the governor one of your kidneys. Maybe the governor needed a cooking class recommendation because she’s terrible in the kitchen. Have you thought about doing something radical and talking to Sophia about why she’s the worst?”
“Shove it, that’s a terrible idea.” Reggie was smiling and she knew it was bleeding into her voice.
“I’m full of terrible ideas. That’s why you’re friends with me.”
“Your Jell-O mold donut was a terrible idea. You’re right though, Sophia could be the female version of my political nightmare and I’d still think she’s gorgeous.” Reggie navigated into a parking spot and turned off the engine. “But hormones and body reactions are out of our control.”
“Give her a chance, man, for the love of God. And, Reggie, if you didn’t work with me and all of our rules, what would you do?”
Reggie was silent a long time. Admitting out loud what she’d only ever told her mother, even to Ava, felt precarious. “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher.”
“Political science, I assume?”
“I’m hanging up now. I’ll consider calling you next year.” Reggie picked up her notebook and pen and got out of the truck.
“Hey, Reggie? You’ll make a wonderful teacher. Now go unstubborn your ass and talk to your lady.” Ava made a loud kissing noise through the phone before she hung up.
“She’s not my lady,” she mumbled. She glanced at her watch. She was still a few minutes early but decided not to wait. She and Sophia were meeting Frankie’s friend Kit Marsden to ask her some questions for their design team planning.
Kit had asked them to meet at her job site, which was an active construction site. She’d told them to head for the company truck and she’d meet them there, so that’s what Reggie did. When she came around the truck bed she was greeted by a slender, attractive, butch White woman, and a handsome Black man with a friendly smile, who looked so much like Sophia that Reggie did a double take.
“Are you Reggie Northrup? I’m Kit Marsden.”
Reggie saw the man with her do a double take himself.
“Are you the one my sister Sophia goes on and on about?” He examined her more intently.
“That probably depends on what it is she’s going on about. I’m perfectly willing to plead the Fifth if necessary.” Reggie put her hands in her pockets and let Sophia’s brother take her measure.
“No need, I think she li—”
“Davey, whatever you were about to say, please remove yourself from my business.”
Reggie looked up and locked eyes with Sophia. As promised, her body betrayed her and thoughts raced from “beautiful” to “stunning” to “hot damn.” She looked down quickly to hide her smile and nudged a rock with her shoe.
“Kit, I’ll see you later. Reggie, it was nice meeting you. My name’s David Lamont, in case my sister disowns me after this and I don’t get to meet you again. She’s not so bad. Give her a chance.”
“Davey.”
Reggie heard a warning growl she’d never heard in Sophia’s voice. David must have recognized it too because he scooted across the construction site double-time.
“Sorry I’m late. I see my brother’s stuck his nose in my business, as big brothers love to do.”
Even though she’d chased David off with a growl, Reggie could see how much Sophia loved her brother. It practically radiated off her as she watched him retreat back to work.
“Nice to see you again, Sophia.” Kit extended her hand. “I know David’s his own man, but in case you’re the worrying kind of sister, he’s been a great addition here. We get a lot of newcomers who think this is the job for them, but you’d be surprised how many wash out on the first day. I hope he decides to stick around.”
“I certainly am the worrying kind. He says it’s the quality that would least recommend me. I won’t speak for him, but as his sister, I appreciate that you didn’t write him off the minute you saw his application. Most people do when they see he has a record.” Sophia looked at Reggie. “He doesn’t try to hide it, but I’d still appreciate it if you’d keep that to yourself. I’m only willing to share now because I think it’s relevant to some of the questions we might want to ask Kit.”
“You can trust me.”
Kit looked curious as she watched the interaction between the two of them. Reggie felt like there was more to the look than mere observation, it looked like recognition, but she couldn’t be sure.
“If Josh, that’s my cousin and the owner of the company, made hiring decisions based on past mistakes, I sure as hell wouldn’t be here. He’s a pain in my ass, but you won’t find a better man walking the earth as far as I’m concerned. He’s also the worrying kind, so I thought I recognized the look.” Kit pulled some folding chairs from the bed of the truck. “You said you had some questions about my work at Star Recovery?”
Reggie took the offered seat and sat across from Kit. She thrilled when Sophia set her chair closer than was necessary. It was a warm late March day, so the fresh air felt nice, especially since Reggie was now sitting next to the hottest woman she’d ever been this close to.
“Yes, we do. You said you were familiar with the design team from Frankie, right?” Sophia crossed her feet at the ankles and dust kicked up and covered her expensive looking heels.
Kit nodded. “She’s been talking of almost nothing else since it started. The Zookeeper’s participation still baffles me, but I suppose I can see the value if I step back. She and I have a complicated history.”
“You and half this city.”
“Fair point.” Kit got up and rummaged through a cooler in the truck. “Can I get you some water?” She held out a water bottle to each of them.
Reggie took the offered drink. “We’re working on policies to improve access to treatment. I’m sure you see a lot of the barriers through your work at Star. Can you shed any light on the topic that can help us?”
“Where to begin.” Kit took a sip of water. “Access has to be easy. You can’t set up shop in a storefront somewhere and expect everyone to hop on a bus and find you. Star’s well known in the community, but we still have to get out and meet folks where they are.”
“Do you mean literally meet them on a corner or in their home, or meet them where they are mentally in their journey to sobriety?” Sophia was taking notes and only looked up when she asked Kit to clarify.
“Both, actually. But just then I meant physically. A few years ago, Frankie helped organize what she called ‘family dinner’ at the library where my wife is head librarian. The park out front is Parrot Master and the Zookeeper’s territory.”
A look of serenity crossed Kit’s face when she mentioned her wife. Reggie hoped to love someone enough someday to get that look with a passing thought.
“Anyway, Frankie convinced all parties that one night a week, the library would host community organizations and a huge party, and Parrot Master and the Zookeeper would put a closed sign on the park for a few hours. In the middle of the neutral zone is a Star Recovery table. We get people all the time who ask for help and say they never would have known to seek us out.”
“It’s not possible to have a folding table set up on every street corner, and Parrot Master and the Zookeeper aren’t going to shut down their business willingly all that often. Do you have ideas for how you get access out into the most vulnerable communities?” Reggie wrote “diffuse access points” in her notebook and underlined it.
Kit shrugged. “I guess that’s more your department. I’m not a politician or on fancy committees. I can only tell you what I see and what I know from my own experience. If I’d walked past a place to sign up for rehab one of the times I had a brief moment of motivation at the height of my use, who knows, maybe I would have found my way out sooner.”
They talked to Kit a little bit longer, mostly about her past drug use history and ideas for easier access to treatment. Getting folks in the door was often only the first step in the recovery journey, but sometimes the largest. Long term care and follow-up could be the entire focus of another design team group.
“One last question before we go.” Reggie folded her chair, collected Sophia’s, and followed Kit to put them away. “If you were in charge, would your goal be to get rid of drug use, or reduce the harm from use?”
Kit looked from Reggie to Sophia. “You’re never going to rid the world of drugs. Trying is a fool’s errand. What we can all get better at is caring about the people who use those drugs. Addiction is a disease that inflicts suffering indiscriminately. I’ve always thought of it as a tornado sweeping up everyone and anything in its path. Why, as a society, wouldn’t we try to do everything we can to reduce the harm that tornado inflicts?”
After thanking her for her time, they walked off the construction lot together. It was early evening and daylight savings meant sunset wasn’t yet upon them.
As if by mutual consent, they both turned away from their vehicles and walked away from the work site and the return to their lives. At the corner, they turned again and Reggie was amazed at the change in scenery. This street was tree-lined with neatly appointed single family homes. It was a far cry from the bustling city block where her truck was parked.
“It feels like we’re a world away.” Sophia looked over her shoulder then left to right. “Where did this little piece of suburbia come from?”
“It’s one of my favorite things about this city, it’s so small that transitions that would take twenty blocks in other places happen street to street here.” Reggie indicated around them. “I wonder what’s around the corner.”
Sophia had an adventurous twinkle in her eye. She took Reggie’s hand and didn’t let go. “Let’s find out.” She gave Reggie’s hand a tug.
Reggie feigned indecision.
Sophia pouted. “Do you have somewhere to go?”
“Nowhere I’d rather be.” Reggie let herself be led down the street.
The feel of Sophia’s hand in hers was causing all of her nerve endings to stampede from her brain back to her hand like a herd of wild horses running free and joyful in the wind. She hoped the evening and this street never ended.
“Are you still mad at me for talking to the governor like a politician the other day?”
“No, you’re hard to stay mad at. I was mad at you when I drove over to our meeting today. But now you’re holding my hand and I can’t stay mad at you when you’re touching me.” Reggie looked down at their joined hands. “But yes, I was mad at you for being a politician with the governor.”
“Reggie, I’m a politician all the time. It’s my job. That keeps coming up as a sticking point for you.”
“Out of curiosity, if I unstuck, where would I go?”
Sophia held up their joined hands in an “I don’t know” motion. “It’s hard to argue there seems to be something here, when we stop loudly disagreeing about everything and think of each other as Reggie and Sophia, two people who might like each other.”
“I do like you, Sophia Giraffe.”
“And I like you too, Hellhound. Try to remember you like me the next time I’m talking to another politician.” Sophia changed their hand position so their fingers intertwined.
“I’ll try. Can you try to be less obvious with your skulking around, trading favors next time? I have bad memories associated with that kind of thing.” Reggie tried to kick a rock but stubbed her toe instead.
“I wasn’t trading any kind of favors.” Sophia pulled her hand away. “Whatever kind of experience you’ve had, that’s not the type of person I am. I asked you to go talk to Bert so you didn’t glare at the governor so long that her security tagged you as a threat.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in an awkward spot with the governor.” The words came out in a whoosh. “Can I have your hand back? Tell me what happened. I’m touchy about anything like that. You see how people react to my last name. I have reasons I’m the way I am.” Reggie reached for Sophia’s hand. She sighed with contentment when Sophia reached back.
“Any chance you want to tell me about those reasons since they keep butting in every time we’re together?” Sophia gave Reggie’s hand a little wiggle.
“Sure, but not right now. I’m walking, holding hands with a woman who, if I’m being honest, takes my breath away a tiny bit. Why would I want to ruin that?” Reggie kept her eyes purposefully forward, but she could feel Sophia looking at her. She was rarely, if ever, ready to talk about her father with anyone.
“Can’t think of any reason at all to ruin something like that. But if you’re short of breath, how are we going to continue our adventure? Should I step away so you can recover yourself?” Sophia started to take a step to the side.
Reggie pulled her closer. Sophia caught her toe on an uneven patch of sidewalk and tripped into Reggie’s arms. Their faces were a novella’s width away from each other. The feel of Sophia in her arms and her breath on her lips was making it hard for Reggie to breathe.
“I should scold you for your poor manners causing me to trip, but your chivalry preventing my fall more than makes up for it.” Sophia leaned forward slowly and at the last moment turned her head and kissed Reggie’s cheek.
Reggie sighed in contentment and displeasure at the kiss. Had Sophia intended to kiss her lips at first? It seemed for a moment as if she had.
Sophia extricated herself from Reggie’s arms and continued down the sidewalk, pulling Reggie with her. “I want to see what’s around the next corner, don’t you?”
“Isn’t that why we’re on this walk?”
“Well, then, a little more walking, a little less distraction.” Sophia winked at her.
“I can’t imagine why I’m distracted, but I’ll try to pay more attention to the trees and the sidewalk. I won’t give the source of my distraction any more attention so I don’t ruin our walk.”
Sophia poked Reggie in the ribs and laughed. “Maybe you don’t know much about women, Reggie, but we don’t generally like to be ignored.”
“Shh, this very attractive woman I like quite a bit said I’m too distractible, so I’m trying to concentrate. Do you mind?” Reggie made a show of looking at a tree as they walked past and scrunched her face into an exaggerated look of focus.
“You like to live dangerously, don’t you, Hellhound?” Sophia squeezed her hand.
That got Reggie’s attention. Sophia took her arm and moved it over her shoulders. She slipped under and snaked her arm around Reggie’s waist.
“I don’t want you getting so distracted you wander off on me. I’m enjoying myself.”
Reggie felt like her heart might thunder out of her chest. Could Sophia feel it beating wildly? Maybe she did like to live wildly. She certainly felt wild right now.